The trend predicted 15 years ago is becoming reality. To me, it spells interesting marketing and retail -- for example a store that caters to young Filipino's called "Beach" in Daly City. Fascinating.
Census: Minorities overtop whites
Caucasians now make up less than 50 percent of Bay Area population but trend unlikely to continue, experts say
By Michele R. Marcucci, STAFF WRITER - Oakland Tribune
Non-Hispanic whites now make up less than half of the Bay Area's population, while the numbers of Hispanics and Asians continue to grow, census data released today show.
But demographic experts believe the trends may slow in California as immigrants, looking for jobs and cheaper housing, head to other states.
The Bay Area's foreign-born population also is on the rise, and more of its residents spoke foreign languages in 2005 than in 2000, the data, which mirror state and national trends, show.
Non-Hispanic whites made up 46 percent of the Bay Area's total population, down from 50 percent in 2000, the census estimates show. Non-Hispanic Asians made up 22 percent of the area's population, up from 19 percent, and African Americans who didn't also list Hispanic origin were the same as five years ago, at
7 percent.
More than one in five Bay Area residents, 22 percent, were Hispanic, the data show. The Census Bureau counts Hispanic origin as an ethnicity rather than a race, so it is separate from the Bureau's race counts. It includes people of each race.
The trends were the same across California. More than a third of the state's household residents were Hispanic, up from 32 percent five years ago. Non-Hispanic whites made up 43 percent of thepopulation, down from nearly 47 percent five years ago.
Non-Hispanic whites made up just 38 percent of Alameda County's population in 2005, and more than 78 percent of Marin County's, the data show. Napa County had the highest proportion of Hispanics, with an estimated 28 percent of the residents counted listing Hispanic origin, with Marin County the lowest with 12 percent.
California had the nation's highest percentage of foreign-born residents, at 27 percent, and highest percentage of foreign-language speakers, at 42 percent. One in five Californians spoke English less than "very well," the estimates show — more than any state in the nation.
A higher proportion of Bay Area residents spoke languages other than English than in 2000, and slightly more were estimated to lack English proficiency than five years ago, the data show.
Demographic experts said they weren't surprised by the numbers, which they said reflect state trends that started more than a decade ago and are a product of immigration and higher birth rates for some immigrant groups. But one expert said he thinks the trends are slowing in California, as immigrants head to other states for cheaper housing and for jobs.
"California is becoming a through-place,
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rather than an eventual residence, mainly because of housing prices," said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California.
The data show that growing diversity has reached nearly every state. From South Carolina's budding immigrant population to the fast-rising number of Hispanics in Arkansas, nonwhites make up an increasing share of the population in every state but West Virginia.
Pachon says immigrants' increasingly developed social networks are helping to lead them to jobs and housing across the country.
"People have become aware that you can buy a house in Georgia for $90,000, whereas in San Francisco, $90,000 is don't make me laugh," he said.
The Bay Area was better educated than it was half a decade ago, with a higher percentage of people earning high school diplomas and bachelor's degrees than five years earlier, the data show.
It also is aging, the data show. San Francisco's residents were the oldest among the nation's 15 largest cities, with a median age of 39.4 years. It also had the highest percentage of seniors, with 14.6 of the city's household population 65 or older.
The numbers come from the American Community Survey, an annual survey which the Census Bureau hopes will replace the decennial census and which they are billing as a mid-decade look at local and national demographic trends. This year, the bureau surveyed people in some 3 million households and released data for cities and counties with 65,000 residents or more.
But the data don't include people living in group quarters like college dormitories, prisons or institutions — people who, during the 2000 census, made up between 1 and 5 percent of Bay Area counties' population. And the estimates come with margins of error that widen as a county or city's population shrinks.
For more information from the American Community Survey, go online to http://www.census.gov.
Census: Minorities overtop whites
Caucasians now make up less than 50 percent of Bay Area population but trend unlikely to continue, experts say
By Michele R. Marcucci, STAFF WRITER - Oakland Tribune
Non-Hispanic whites now make up less than half of the Bay Area's population, while the numbers of Hispanics and Asians continue to grow, census data released today show.
But demographic experts believe the trends may slow in California as immigrants, looking for jobs and cheaper housing, head to other states.
The Bay Area's foreign-born population also is on the rise, and more of its residents spoke foreign languages in 2005 than in 2000, the data, which mirror state and national trends, show.
Non-Hispanic whites made up 46 percent of the Bay Area's total population, down from 50 percent in 2000, the census estimates show. Non-Hispanic Asians made up 22 percent of the area's population, up from 19 percent, and African Americans who didn't also list Hispanic origin were the same as five years ago, at
7 percent.
More than one in five Bay Area residents, 22 percent, were Hispanic, the data show. The Census Bureau counts Hispanic origin as an ethnicity rather than a race, so it is separate from the Bureau's race counts. It includes people of each race.
The trends were the same across California. More than a third of the state's household residents were Hispanic, up from 32 percent five years ago. Non-Hispanic whites made up 43 percent of thepopulation, down from nearly 47 percent five years ago.
Non-Hispanic whites made up just 38 percent of Alameda County's population in 2005, and more than 78 percent of Marin County's, the data show. Napa County had the highest proportion of Hispanics, with an estimated 28 percent of the residents counted listing Hispanic origin, with Marin County the lowest with 12 percent.
California had the nation's highest percentage of foreign-born residents, at 27 percent, and highest percentage of foreign-language speakers, at 42 percent. One in five Californians spoke English less than "very well," the estimates show — more than any state in the nation.
A higher proportion of Bay Area residents spoke languages other than English than in 2000, and slightly more were estimated to lack English proficiency than five years ago, the data show.
Demographic experts said they weren't surprised by the numbers, which they said reflect state trends that started more than a decade ago and are a product of immigration and higher birth rates for some immigrant groups. But one expert said he thinks the trends are slowing in California, as immigrants head to other states for cheaper housing and for jobs.
"California is becoming a through-place,
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rather than an eventual residence, mainly because of housing prices," said Harry Pachon, president of the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute at the University of Southern California.
The data show that growing diversity has reached nearly every state. From South Carolina's budding immigrant population to the fast-rising number of Hispanics in Arkansas, nonwhites make up an increasing share of the population in every state but West Virginia.
Pachon says immigrants' increasingly developed social networks are helping to lead them to jobs and housing across the country.
"People have become aware that you can buy a house in Georgia for $90,000, whereas in San Francisco, $90,000 is don't make me laugh," he said.
The Bay Area was better educated than it was half a decade ago, with a higher percentage of people earning high school diplomas and bachelor's degrees than five years earlier, the data show.
It also is aging, the data show. San Francisco's residents were the oldest among the nation's 15 largest cities, with a median age of 39.4 years. It also had the highest percentage of seniors, with 14.6 of the city's household population 65 or older.
The numbers come from the American Community Survey, an annual survey which the Census Bureau hopes will replace the decennial census and which they are billing as a mid-decade look at local and national demographic trends. This year, the bureau surveyed people in some 3 million households and released data for cities and counties with 65,000 residents or more.
But the data don't include people living in group quarters like college dormitories, prisons or institutions — people who, during the 2000 census, made up between 1 and 5 percent of Bay Area counties' population. And the estimates come with margins of error that widen as a county or city's population shrinks.
For more information from the American Community Survey, go online to http://www.census.gov.
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