The economy isn’t producing many jobs, and builders aren’t putting a lot of houses up, but new numbers from the state Department of Finance show that population in the Yuba-Sutter region is still on the rise.

Sutter County’s population went up 1.3 percent from 2008 to 2009, while Yuba County’s rose 1.5 percent. Within the counties, Yuba City’s growth was the largest, adding 1.6 percent, or about an additional 1,000 new residents, for a total of 63,647.

In Yuba County, the largest growth was in the unincorporated areas that include Linda, Olivehurst and Plumas Lake. Those areas added less than a thousand new residents last year, to grow to 56,514.

Marysville grew by .9 percent, to 12,838 residents, and Wheatland grew by .9 percent, to 3,548 residents. Live Oak grew by 1.5 percent to a total of 8,571 people.

By percentage increase, Colusa was one of the fastest-growing cities over the last year, with 3.4 percent growth to make its population 5,900, according to Department of Finance estimates. That was 14th biggest in the state.

The state department estimates population figures annually to help determine population-centered payments from the state to local governments, and the figures are also used for academic research and market research. The new figures are the estimate as of Jan. 1.

California’s overall population is now 38.2 million, the most populous in the country. The top five most-populous cities were Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco and Fresno, which supplanted Long Beach. San Jose joined San Diego and Los Angeles as California cities with more than 1 million residents.

More people in Mid-Valley

New population estimates as of Jan. 1, 2009, according to the state Department of Finance

PLACE                 2008         2009         Percent change

Sutter County     96,306     96,554         1.3

Yuba City             62,616     63,647         1.6

Live Oak                 8,445     8,571             1.5

Yuba County         71,803     72,900         1.5

Marysville                 12,725     12,838         0.9

Wheatland             3,518         3,548             0.9