When did Socal overtake Norcal as the more populous region of California?

[jimrtex]

I can't seem to find solid information on this - I found some maps that suggest it was the 1940s, but I couldn't be sure.

Population of States and Counties of the United States: 1790 to 1990

See link to Excel file for counties in Part III at bottom of page.

[jimrtex]

That would depend on what you consider to be SoCal and NorCal, which many people seem to disagree on.

A modern definition would include everything south of Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Whether Santa Barbara was included would depend on if there was a Central Coast Region.

But are Bakersfield and Death Valley in Northern California?

[jimrtex]

That would depend on what you consider to be SoCal and NorCal, which many people seem to disagree on.

A modern definition would include everything south of Los Angeles and San Bernardino. Whether Santa Barbara was included would depend on if there was a Central Coast Region.

But are Bakersfield and Death Valley in Northern California?

....No, just no.

And the answer is WWII when Hollywood started to really take off. Between that and San Francisco running out of room to grow...

What about Fresno, Modesto, San Jose, San Mateo, Colma?

The most prominent physical separation between North and South is San Francisco Bay.

[jimrtex]

I like this definition. Chess players in Bakersfield would likely prefer to drive to LA or Anaheim for events.

Little League places Bakersfield in the North, and Santa Maria, Santa Barbara, Ventura in the south. This might be for reasons of competitive balance. California sends two teams to the West Regional.