California Latino Population Growth: Latinos Set To Take Majority Over Whites Come March

The San Francisco Gate reports that California is set to become the second Latino-majority state in the nation, as the percentage of Latinos in the population is expected to surpass that of non-Hispanic whites by this March. The paper writes that according to a report on shifting demographics in the state in Governor Jerry Brown’s 2014-2015 budget proposal, Latinos will make up 39 percent of the population, compared to the 38.8 percent of the state which is non-Hispanic white. If the news seems to come as déjà vu, you’re not far off – the change will occur seven months later than state demographers had previously thought, as Latino birth rates were lower than expected.

California will join New Mexico and Hawaii as the only non-white-majority states in the nation. Only in New Mexico do Hispanics have a higher share of the population, with 47 percent, according to the Pew Center. The Pew Hispanic Center’s associate director, Mark Lopez, told the Associated Press last year that Hispanics will likely become the largest group in Texas – where 38 percent of the population is Hispanic – within the next 10 years. But he also noted that California’s milestone is especially significant because of its size. Some 38.2 million people live in the state.

Mexicans figure most prominently among Hispanics in California, especially in urban centers like Los Angeles, where 78 percent of Latinos are of Mexican descent (the next biggest ethnicity is Salvadorian, with 8 percent). Perhaps in no other US city is one national group so thoroughly represented. For example, in New York City and northeastern New Jersey, Puerto Ricans are only 28 percent of the Latino population; in Washington, D.C., 32 percent are Salvadorian; and in Miami, 54 percent of Hispanics are of Cuban descent, according to Pew Hispanic Center data.