FOCUS: CHANGES IN ETHNIC POPULATIONS
Whites: In Several Cities, No Longer the Majority
Highest Percentage of Whites in Los Angeles County
Hidden Hills: 89.0%
Malibu: 88.5%
Westlake Village: 86.6%
Manhattan Beach: 85.4%
Hermosa Beach: 85.2%
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Highest Percentage of Whites Outside Los Angeles County
Laguna Woods (Orange County): 94.4%
Indian Wells (Riverside County): 93.9%
Del Mar (San Diego County): 90.9%
Lake San Marcos (San Diego County): 90.9%
Pine Valley (San Diego County): 90.6%
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Notable Population Changes--Notes and Numbers
Los Angeles County’s white population fell 18%, the largest drop in the state. White population statewide decreased 7%.
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In the city of Los Angeles, whites are now 30% of the population, down from 37% in 1990.
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Whites still hold a majority in 37% of all census tracts in Los Angeles County. But in one-third of county tracts, they constitute less than 20% of the population.
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Whites slipped from majority status in Diamond Bar, Downey, Temple City, Arcadia, Whittier, Long Beach and Covina in the 1990s. Despite significant drops, they held onto bare majorities in Lancaster, Torrance and Lakewood.
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In Riverside County, whites no longer were the majority in the city of Riverside. County-wide, the white share fell from 64% to 51%.
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Older suburbs in the South Bay, San Gabriel Valley and in Orange County registered the biggest percentage decrease in the white population, mostly displaced by Latinos and Asians.
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In Orange County, whites became minorities in Anaheim and Garden Grove. Overall, whites barely held onto a majority, falling from 65% to 51% of the total population.
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Whites in Ventura County fell from 66% to 57% of the total population.
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The biggest percentage increases in white populations in Los Angeles County occurred in the new suburbs of the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys. Whites held significant majorities in Westlake Village, Hidden Hills, and Malibu.
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White Percentage of Population in Southern California
For six-county area of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
1990: 52.0%
2000: 41.4%
Multiple Races*: 1.9% (In 2000, multiple races could be selected.)
Latinos: Four Counties See a Surge in Numbers
Highest Percentage of Latinos in Los Angeles County
East Los Angeles: 91.3%
Maywood: 90.7%
Walnut Park: 90.3%
Huntington Park: 89.7%
Commerce: 87.5%
Cudahy: 87.5%
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Highest Percentage of Latinos Outside Los Angeles County
Mecca (Riverside County): 93.9%
Coachella (Riverside County): 93.6%
El Rio (Ventura County): 71.4%
Indio (Riverside County): 71.1%
Santa Ana (Orange County): 70.9%
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Notable Population Changes--Notes and Numbers
The rate of growth of Latino population was less robust in Los Angeles County (20.7%) than the statewide average (35%).
The Latino population surged by 71.8% in Riverside County, 66.2% in San Bernardino County, 46.1% in Orange County and 34.1% in Ventura County.
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Orange County’s Latino population (875,579) now exceeds that of San Antonio, Texas (671,394).
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Latino populations rose by more than 40% in a number of rural counties -- for example, Yolo (43.7%), Yuba (46.7%), Madera (64.3%) and Nevada (42.4%).
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The Latino population in the city of Los Angeles increased 18.4%. That was less than the rise in many other Southern California cities -- for instance, Ontario (60.2%), Long Beach (56%), Riverside (55.4%), San Bernardino (46.9%), and Santa Ana (27.7%).
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San Francisco’s Latino population increased only 2.8%, while its Asian-Pacific Islander numbers rose 17.5%.
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The growth in the Latino population accounted for between 62.9% and 79.7% of the statewide population growth of 4.1 million.
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In L.A. County, Latinos (20.7%) and Asians (26.4%) showed population growth while the populations of whites declined 18.2% and blacks dropped 3.6%.
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Latino Percentage of Population in Southern California
For six-county area of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
1990: 29.9%
2000: 35.1%
Multiple Races: 3.2% (In 2000, multiple races could be selected.)
Blacks: Dispersal, and Pockets of Dramatic Growth
Highest Percentage of Blacks in Los Angeles County
View Park-Windsor Hills: 87.2%
Ladera Heights: 70.1%
West Compton: 61.4%
Westmont: 57.2%
West Athens: 55.5%
Highest Percentage of Blacks Outside Los Angeles County
Rialto (San Bernardino County): 21.7%
Moreno Valley (Riverside County): 19.3%
San Bernardino: 16.0%
Perris (Riverside County): 15.4%
La Presa (San Diego County): 13.9%
Notable Population Changes--Notes and Numbers
Los Angeles County lost roughly 300,000 blacks--a 3.6% drop. Blacks in California grew by 4.3%, to as much as 2.5 million.
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Blacks joined all other ethnic groups in moving to Palmdale. The city, now 14% black, registered the state’s biggest jump of that group.
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Riverside and San Bernardino counties showed the most dramatic growth of blacks of all counties in the state. More than 41,000 blacks moved into San Bernardino County in the 1990s. Nearly 110,000 whites moved out.
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The black population of Lancaster grew by about 265%, to 18,548. In Lakewood, blacks increased by 218%.
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The state’s top six places for black growth were in the Los Angeles region: Palmdale, Moreno Valley, Lancaster, Long Beach, Hawthorne and Fontana.
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The black populations of Los Angeles, Compton and Pasadena dropped by more than 67,000 between 1990 and 2000.
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The black population of Fontana city, in San Bernardino County, doubled to 14,600.
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Black Percentage of Population in Southern California
For six-county area of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
1990: 7.7%
2000: 7.1%
Multiple Races: 1.0% (In 2000, multiple races could be selected.)
Asians: The Largest Increase of Any Group Statewide
Highest Percentage of Asians in Los Angeles County
Monterey Park: 61.5%
Cerritos: 58.4%
Walnut: 55.6%
Rowland Heights: 50.3%
San Gabriel: 48.8%
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Highest Percentage of Asians Outside Los Angeles County
La Palma (Orange County): 44.9%
Westminster (Orange County): 38.4%
Garden Grove (Orange County): 31.4%
Irvine (Orange County): 29.8%
Fountain Valley (Orange County): 26.0%
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Notable Population Changes--Notes and Numbers
California’s Asian population grew more quickly since the 1990 Census than any other ethnic group statewide and in the five-county Southern California region.
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Asians now comprise nearly 13% of California’s population, maintaining their position as the state’s third-largest population group.
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Asians surpassed blacks as the third-largest population group in Los Angeles County, but remained in fourth place in the city of Los Angeles.
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Much of the Asian population growth took place in suburbs. Among 15 large counties, those with 500,000 people or more, the fastest Asian growth occurred in Santa Clara, Alameda, Orange and Riverside.
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The wide gaps between rich and poor Asians identified in the 1990 census remain. A 50.5% majority of San Marino residents now report Asian ancestry, and the Asian population has exploded in affluent areas such as Arcadia, Diamond Bar and Rowland Heights. Meanwhile, large pockets of poverty remain in places like Los Angeles Chinatown, South El Monte and Long Beach’s Little Pnom Penh.
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Among the large counties, San Bernardino ranked sixth in Asian growth, with Los Angeles placing 11th and Ventura County ranking 12th.
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Demographers believe the majority of Asian population growth is now driven by births, rather than immigration.
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Asian Percentage of Population in Southern California
For six-county area of Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange, San Diego, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
1990: 8.6%
2000: 10.3%
Multiple Races: 1.5% (In 2000, multiple races could be selected.)
