Latinos become the largest ethnic group in California

Perhaps today or certainly sometime very soon, another baby will be born or a new immigrant will arrive and the number of Latinos in California will equal the state's non-Hispanic white population, according to official state population projections.

The term Latino is an ethnic rather than racial designation, according to the Census Bureau. Most Latinos are white, but the bureau draws a distinction between Latinos and non-Hispanic whites.

Fifteen years ago, non-Hispanic whites outnumbered Latinos in California by roughly 5 million, census figures show reports the Sacramento Bee.

But the Latino population has grown quickly through immigration and comparatively high birth rates. At the same time, the number of whites has fallen as birth rates in that population dropped and more of them left the state than came here.

"We're adding a substantial number of Latinos through immigration," said Hans Johnson, senior fellow at the Public Policy Institute of California. "Many of them are young adults ready to start families."

Today, California has approximately 15 million Latinos and 15 million non-Hispanic whites.
"The Hispanic population will be even with the number of non-Hispanic whites by mid-2013," state Department of Finance demographers wrote in their most recent series of population projections.  "Early in 2014, the Hispanic population will become the plurality in California for the first time since California became a state."
By 2064, according to the state Department of Finance, California will have 25 million Latinos and 15.6 million whites.

Asian Immigration
From day one California has attracted millions of immigrants from Asia.  Currently Asian-Americans make up about 13% of California's population. 

Cities with Asian American majority populations

Places with more than 100,000 people

• Daly City (55.6%)
• Fremont (50.6%)

Places with between 25,000 and 100,000 people

• Monterey Park (66.9%)
• Walnut (63.6%)
• Cupertino (63.3%)
• Milpitas (62.2%)
• Cerritos (61.9%)
• San Gabriel (60.7%)
• Rosemead (60.7%)
• Rowland Heights (59.8%)
• Arcadia (59.2%)
• Temple City (55.7%)
• Alhambra (52.9%)
• Diamond Bar (52.5%)
• Union City (50.9%)

Places with fewer than 25,000 people

• San Marino (53.5%)
• Camino Tassajara (50.6%)

Racial/ethnic makeup of California  - as percent of total population, 2010

	African American	Latinos	Native American/ Alaskan Native	Asian	Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders	White
Percent of population	5.8%	37.6%	0.4%	12.8%	0.3%	40.1%
Number of people	2,163,804	14,013,719	162,250	4,775,070	128,577	14,956,253

Source: U.S. Census 2010, U.S. Census Bureau

Racial/Ethnic Makeup, Under 18   (California, 2010)

	African American	Latinos	Native American/ Alaskan Native	Asian	Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders	White
Percent of population	5.6%	51.2%	0.4%	10.4%	0.3%	27.4%
Number of people	523,525	4,756,220	37,230	965,988	32,178	2,546,395

Source: U.S. Census 2010, U.S. Census Bureau

Median Household Income, (California, 2010)

California, 2010	African American	Latino	Native American/Alaska Native	Asian	Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander	White
Median Household Income (dollars)	46,320	43,856	44,620	73,440	64,705	69,224

Source: American Community Survey, 3-year Estimates, U.S. Census Bureau

See more at:  www.cpehn.org/democharts.