SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Sacramento is the fastest-growing big city in California, according to numbers released Thursday.

The Golden State's population has also topped 38 million, making it home to one in every eight Americans.

The state Department of Finance estimates that California passed the 38 million benchmark by nearly 50,000 residents on January 1. That's up by nearly 500,000 people, or more than 1 percent, from a year ago.

The state has about the same population as the country of Poland.

Officials said Sacramento added 8,762 people last year, for a population increase of 1.9 percent. Proportionally, that is bigger growth than other big cities.

Sacramento is currently the state's seventh-largest city.

The state also said Los Angeles, the nation's second largest city, now has more than 4 million residents. That's about half as many as New York City.

Finance officials previously thought Los Angeles topped 4 million last year. But revised estimates released Thursday lowered last year's projection.