The Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), prepares the official population projections for the region:  Projections indicate that the Inland Empire portion of Southern California will continue to experience a rise in population growth in the coming years.  Indeed, as per the 2000 Census, SCAG reports that the greatest increases in population continued to be in the Inland Empire and the Central Valley.  These areas grew at a higher rate than any other portion of the state.  For instance, the Inland Empire (Riverside and San Bernardino Counties) added over 666,000 persons between 1990 and 2000 (for more information see www.scag.ca.gov/census) and continues to increase with 3.5 million residents the Inland Empire will grow more than 35% between 2000 and 2009.

SCAG County Population Forecasts
 

County	1994	2000	2005	2010	2015	2020
Imperial	138,400	149,000	172,000	207,000	241,000	280,000
Los Angeles	9,231,600	9,818,200	10,329,500	10,868,900	11,513,400	12,249,100
Orange	2,595,300	2,859,200	3,005,800	3,105,300	3,165,400	3,244,600
Riverside	1,376,900	1,687,800	1,976,900	2,265,300	2,531,700	2,816,000
San Bernardino	1,558,600	1,772,500	2,005,400	2,239,600	2,512,700	2,830,100
Ventura	709,900	712,700	744,900	804,300	861,600	932,300
SCGA	15,610,700	16,999,000	18,234,000	19,491,000	20,826,000	22,352,000

Source: SCGA, 1998 RTP Adopted Forecast, April 1998