Manteca added 1,996 residents last year breaking the 80,000 barrier for a population of 81,345 as of Jan. 1, 2018.
That means Manteca’s population has essentially doubled in the past 28 years. The city had 40,773 residents in 1990. Manteca is six times larger than it was in 1970 when it had 13,284 residents — 553 less residents than Ripon’s current population of 15,847 residents.
The numbers are gleaned from population estimates released Tuesday by the state Department of Finance as of Jan. 1, 2018.
The fastest growing area in the Northern San Joaquin Valley is the South County and the four cities whose economies are becoming more tied into the Bay Area via freeway umbilical cords with each passing year.
The cities of Manteca, Tracy, Lathrop, and Ripon added 4,464 residents in 2017. The four cities have a combined population of 214,013 or 1,679 less than Modesto’s 215,692 residents that ranks as California’s 19th largest city. Stockton is the largest city in the Northern San Joaquin Valley and 13th statewide with 315,103 people.
The three county Northern San Joaquin Valley — San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced counties — added 22,005 residents. Stockton added 3,379 and Modesto grew by 1,511.
The three-county region has a combined population of 1,594,343.  If the Northern San Joaquin Valley were a separate state it would rank 40th based on population. It would be ahead of Hawaii, New Hampshire, Maine, Rhode Island, Montana, Delaware, South Dakota, North Dakota, Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming plus the District of Columbia.
California as a whole is still by far the most populous state in the union with 39,810,000 residents having grown 0.86 percent in 2017 to increase the population by 309,000. At the current rate, the Golden State will surpass 40 million residents by the end of this year.
Monday’s Department of Finance release noted in 2017:
uManteca added the second highest number of new resident in the Northern San Joaquin Valley with a 1,996 gain. It was topped only by Stockton that added 3,379 residents solidifying its spot as the largest city in the three counties at 315,103.
uStockton is the largest city in the 209 followed by Modesto at 215,693, Tracy at 92,553, Merced at 86,750 and Manteca fifth at 81,345.
uLathrop was the 13th fastest growing city in California percentage wise growing 3.8 percent by adding 884 residents. Crescent City topped the list with an annual growth rate of 6.7 percent.
uIn terms of percentage of population gain 12 of the top 100 cities in California for growth where in the Northern San Joaquin Valley. Lathrop was 13th, Hughson 14th, Dos Palos 19th, Livingston 35th, Manteca 40th, Los Banos 43rd, Oakdale 49th, Lodi 71st, Ripon 72nd, Atwater 75th, Tracy 83rd, and Gustine 88th.
uManteca is now the 112th largest city out of 482 statewide.
uManteca at its current growth rate will top 100,000 residents in 2027. If that happens, Manteca will have quadrupled in size in 47 years. The city’s population in 1980 was 23,150 residents or 1,118 less residents than Lathrop is at today at 24,268.
uLathrop at its current growth rate will top 36,000 residents in 2028.
uRipon at its current growth rate will top 20,000 residents in 2030.
uThe top 10 cities in the entire 209 region including valley and foothill cities are, in descending order, Stockton, Modesto, Tracy, Merced, Manteca, Turlock, Lodi, Ceres, Los Banos, and Atwater.
Other highlights from a state Department of Finance press release based on the population growth is as follows:
uGrowth was strongest in the more densely populated counties in the Bay Area, the Central Valley, and Southern California, averaging 0.86 percent.  Of California’s 482 cities, 421 saw gains in population, 57 saw reductions, and 4 experienced no change.
uThe three fastest growing counties on a percentage basis were Merced (1.8 percent, 4,900 persons), Placer (1.7 percent, 6,400 persons), and San Joaquin (1.5 percent, 11,500 persons); all attributing their growth to a combination of an increase in housing construction and positive domestic migration.
uLos Angeles, California’s largest city, grew by almost 33,000 persons (0.8 percent) in 2017 adding on to a population of over four million (4,054,000).  San Diego, California’s second largest city with a population of 1,420,000, added almost 20,000 persons during the year. San Francisco, with a population of 884,000, added almost 10,000 persons, while Irvine with a population of 276,000, added almost 9,000 persons in 2017. San Jose (1,051,000) rounds out the top five largest numeric changes with an increase of 8,500 persons.
uCalifornia’s statewide housing growth, as measured by net unit growth in completed housing units for 2017, was 85,000 units. Total housing in California reached 14,158,000 units, a 0.6- percent increase.
uThroughout the state, more than 13,200 housing units were demolished in 2017, with wildfires heavily influencing a number of areas. The counties with most housing loss due to fire include Sonoma (2.6 percent), Napa (1.1 percent), and Mendocino (1.0 percent). Between 2010 and 2016, an average of 5,500 housing units were demolished statewide.
uSanta Rosa in Sonoma County lost 3,081 housing units as a result of the wildfires, the most in the state.  However, overall change in Santa Rosa population is positive (0.2 percent) due to a large annexation of almost 2,000 housing units. While the Thomas fire in Ventura County was the largest by area, fewer housing units were affected. The current estimates do not include complete impacts from that fire, and will be revised next year.
uRanked by net housing gains, Los Angeles (13,852), San Diego (5,961), San Francisco (4,464), Irvine (3,798), and San Jose (2,590) added the most housing units in 2017.
uOf the ten largest cities in California, Sacramento had the largest percentage gain in population
(1.43 percent, or 7,000) edging out San Diego (1.42 percent, or 20,000). Sacramento surpassed 500,000 for the first time.
uOf the 14,158,000 housing units in California, 9,147,000 are single family and 4,449,000 are multi-family with 562,000 mobile homes.  Multi-family housing growth outpaced single family housing by over 12,000 net units (“net” refers to new construction minus demolition), continuing a six-year trend.  Los Angeles led the state with 12,488 multi-family units, comprising 90.2 percent of their total housing growth, followed by San Diego (5,241 for 87.9 percent), San Francisco (4,469 for 100 percent), and San Jose (2,421 for 93.5 percent).
uGroup quarters account for about 2 percent of the total state population (849,000). This population includes, among others, those living in college dorms (239,000) and in correctional facilities (216,000).  In 2017, the group quarters population grew by just over 7,000 people or 0.86 percent, which is slightly faster than the state (0.78 percent). The college dormitory population grew faster at 7,500 (3.3 percent), local jails grew by 1,800 (2.4 percent) and state prisons decreased by 1,500 (less than 1 percent).
uState prisons are generally located in remote areas; as a result, increases or decreases in this population can account for significant changes in their respective locations. For example, state prison declines led to population decreases in Susanville in Lassen County, Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, and Victorville in San Bernardino County, while driving population increases in Avenal in Kings County, Crescent City in Del Norte County, and California City in Kern County.
The population estimates are produced annually by the Department of Finance for use by local areas to calculate their annual appropriations limit. The State Controller’s Office uses Finance’s estimates to update their population figures for distribution of state subventions to cities and counties, and to comply with various state codes.