New Report Finds California Has Lost 3 Yosemites' Worth of Open Land to Sprawl

ARLINGTON, Va., Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- California has lost more than 3,740 square miles of natural habitat and agricultural land to development since 1982, according to a new report from NumbersUSA. That's an area equivalent to three Yosemite National Parks, or nearly the entire land mass of Los Angeles County.

"California's population has doubled over the past five decades," said Leon Kolankiewicz, an environmental planner and the report's lead author. "That growth naturally led to sprawl, as developers constructed new homes, roads, and office parks to meet demand. In fact, our analysis shows that population growth drove 91% of the total loss of open land."

Californians of all political stripes lament this sprawl and its consequences, from a 500% increase in time lost to traffic delays to a 150% jump in housing prices even after adjusting for inflation. A new survey of over 1,000 likely California voters found that 93% say it is important to protect the state's remaining open spaces from further development. More than half of Republicans, Democrats, and Independents prefer that California's population remain stable or become smaller. Nearly four times as many voters favored cutting annual immigration -- now the primary driver of U.S. population growth, according to federal Census data -- as favored increasing it.

"California was once a paradise. But now, residents increasingly face rising congestion, higher prices, reduced access to nature, and a declining quality of life," said Philip Cafaro, NumbersUSA Board Member and co-author of the report. "Californians across the political spectrum are rightly concerned about those problems -- and they're ready to chart a new course."

Visit californiasprawl.org to learn more. To schedule an interview with Leon Kolankiewicz or Philip Cafaro, contact John O'Connor at [email protected] or (202) 981-5042.

About NumbersUSA Education and Research Foundation

A nonpartisan 501(c)3 organization, NumbersUSA has educated voters since 1996 about immigration policies to protect America's wage-earners, natural habitats, and local communities. The organization was founded by journalist/author Roy Beck to promote the immigration recommendations of two prominent federal commissions -- the Jordan Commission chaired by civil rights leader Barbara Jordan, and the President's Council on Sustainable Development's Population and Consumption Task Force.

Media Contact:
John O'Connor
(202) 981-5042
[email protected] 

SOURCE NumbersUSA