By now, you have probably heard that California, while still the country’s most populous state by far, isn’t growing as quickly as the rest of the nation. The reversal of a decades-long boom, which will strip California of a congressional seat for the first time, was initially documented in a preview of census data this spring.
But when the U.S. Census Bureau fully released the data from its 2020 survey last week, it revealed a more complicated, nuanced picture of how California — and the 39.5 million of us who call the state home — has changed over the past decade.
Here are five major takeaways:
White people are no longer the biggest group
In 2020, more than 39 percent of Californians identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, compared with the approximately 35 percent who reported they were white and not Hispanic, my colleague Jill Cowan reported.
The shift makes California one of only five states or territories where white people do not make up the largest group. The others are Hawaii, New Mexico, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Asians are among the fastest-growing ethnic groups
The percentage of Californians who identify as Asian or part-Asian grew by more than 27 percent between 2010 and 2020, one of the biggest increases among ethnic groups.
By comparison, the proportion of Californians who identified as Black or part-Black increased by 5 percent.
California has long been home to a higher share of Asian residents than the rest of the nation. In 2020, approximately 18 percent of Californians identified as Asian or part-Asian, compared with 7 percent nationwide.
Most stunning, four of the top five counties nationwide with the highest proportion of Asian residents are in California: Santa Clara, San Francisco, Alameda and San Mateo.
The state didn’t grow equally
California grew by 2.3 million residents over the past decade — an increase of about 6 percent — but that rise wasn’t distributed evenly across the state.
Los Angeles County, which remains the most populous with more than 10 million residents, experienced a 2 percent increase, while many other rural counties swelled by more than 10 percent.
Here are some of the winners and losers, in terms of population changes:
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Counties with the biggest percentage growth in population: Trinity (17 percent increase), San Benito, Placer, San Joaquin, Yuba
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Counties with the biggest numerical increase in population: Riverside (228,544 more people), San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, Alameda
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Counties with the biggest percentage drop in population: Modoc (10 percent decrease), Mono, Lassen, Mariposa, Butte
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Counties with the biggest numerical drop in population: Butte (8,368 fewer people), Lassen, Mariposa, Mono, Modoc
San Francisco is the most childless city in the U.S.
Among the 100 most populous cities in the nation, San Francisco has the smallest share of residents under 18, as first reported by The San Francisco Chronicle.
Thirteen percent of San Francisco’s population is under 18, compared with 22 percent in the state overall and nationwide. The longstanding trend in San Francisco is often attributed to the region’s extremely high cost of living, the newspaper reports.
California is the second-most diverse state in the nation
There’s a roughly 70 percent chance that two California residents chosen at random would be from different ethnic or racial backgrounds, according to census data. When it comes to this metric, known as the diversity index, California ranks second nationwide after Hawaii.
Both Solano and Alameda Counties rank in the nation’s 10 most diverse counties. Explore how California’s counties stack up.
What we’re eating
Tejal Rao, California restaurant critic for The Times, has started a newsletter dedicated to the delights of vegetarian cooking. The kale-sauce pasta featured in the first edition is scrumptious.
Where we’re traveling
Today’s California travel tip comes from John Le Pouvoir, a reader who lives in Pollock Pines. John writes:
In this era of climate change, here’s a ‘see it before it is gone’ idea. Jot Dean Ice Cave. Way up north, in the Medicine Lake Highlands Volcanic Area.
Tell us about the best spots to visit in California. Email your suggestions to [email protected]. We’ll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter.
Tell us
Whether you’re a parent, teacher or student, I’d love to hear from you about the first day of school.
Please send me a few sentences about your (or your child’s) return to the classroom, including your name, school, age and grade, if appropriate. Your response may be published in an upcoming edition of the newsletter.
Joy, anger, fear, boredom — I want to hear it all. Email me at [email protected].
And before you go, some good news
A new skating rink in East Oakland is providing opportunities for fun while rejuvenating the neighborhood, reports the news site The Oaklandside.
On a recent Sunday at the rink, where songs by Beyoncé and E-40 boomed, “everyone present appeared to be feeling the vibes.”
