Saratoga has grown slowly since the census in 1990

By Kara Chalmers

The population of Saratoga increased by 3,189 people since the census of April 1990, according to a report issued by the Demographic Research Unit of the California Department of Finance.

Although Saratoga's 11 percent increase is comparable in size to growth in many cities in Santa Clara County--like Los Gatos and Campbell--it is smaller than the increases Milpitas, Morgan Hill and Gilroy, which have grown by 27 percent, 33 percent and 24 percent, respectively, during the past decade.

"Saratoga is not one to have substantial growth," said John Malson, research program specialist in the demographic research unit. He attributed the city's slow growth to its unique geography, which includes hills unsuitable for construction. "Saratoga doesn't have space to do too much expanding. Any growth is fill-in," he said.

Unlike the population of Santa Clara County, which has steadily climbed to more than 1.7 million since 1990, Saratoga's population has not increased steadily throughout the decade. From 1990 to 1991, the number of people dropped before beginning to rise gradually to the present 31,250 total. The biggest increase of the decade--850 people--occurred from 1996 to 1997. Since then, the increases have been steady, but smaller: 450 people from 1997 to 1998 and 200 people from 1998 to 1999.

According to Malson, before 1990, California was in a "boom" period, and the area's economic growth translated to more jobs and thus more people.

"We [Californians] attract a lot of people from elsewhere in the U.S., and even if we're in a recession, migration from Latin America and abroad is only slightly affected," Malson said. "But when the economy goes bad, domestic migration becomes negative--people leave."

Malson explained Saratoga's 850-person increase between 1996 and 1997 as a "pent-up growth spurt," resulting from the end of the recession in 1995 and the demand for workers in the Silicon Valley.

Saratoga's Administrative Services department issued a report on the city's demographic and financial statistics as part of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1999. According to this report, the region's strong economy has also meant an 87 percent increase in assessed valuations of Saratoga properties in the past decade. The biggest yearly increase--9 percent--was from 1998 to 1999. This meant that property taxes increased in the past year and so did the city's general fund.

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