> From Register Staff

State statistics show Napa County is the demographic oddball of the North Bay.

More people moved into Napa County than away during the 12-month period that ended July 1, a feat not managed by Solano or Sonoma counties, according to numbers released last week by the State Department of Finance.

In all, Napa County gained 909 residents -- an increase of 0.9 percent -- after taking into account births, deaths and the movement of residents, making it the 35th fastest-growing county in the state. That's far ahead of No. 44 Solano County, No. 51 Sonoma County and much of the Bay Area. Napa ranked the third fastest-growing county in the Bay Area, behind Contra Costa and Alameda counties, respectively.

Still, fast is a word best applied to Napa's numbers only in comparison with neighbors. Figures show Napa County is growing at a slower pace than in past years. Growth has cooled significantly since 2000-2003, when the county regularly gained more than 1,400 residents each year, nearly breaking 2,000 in 2001. Percentage-wise, growth ranged between about 1.4 percent and 1.8 percent between 2000 and 2003.

The county's slower-but-steady growth mirrors that of the state.

California's population has topped 37 million, but is growing at a slower rate than in past years. Still the nation's most populous state, California added 498,387 residents in the 12-month period that ended July 1, 2005, an increase of 1.37 percent. The total population is 37,004,661 people.

Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Orange counties had the largest numerical increases in population, with Los Angeles gaining more than 92,000 residents in the period studied by demographers.

Seventy percent of Californians live in the nine largest counties, which include the five major Southern California counties as well as Santa Clara, Alameda, Sacramento and Contra Costa.

Riverside County had the largest percentage increase in population -- 4.41 percent -- in the period studied. That was followed by Yuba County with 3.85 percent, Placer with 3.43 percent, Kern with a 3.23 percent and Colusa with a 3.16 percent.

Five counties -- Inyo, Modoc, Mono, Sierra and Alpine -- lost population, according to the report.

The state's figure differs from that released in December by the U.S. Census Bureau, which estimated California's population at 36.1 million.

With the U.S. population at 296.4 million, about one in eight U.S. residents lives in California, based on the state data.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.