The New Census: Los Angeles Latino Population Up Sharply

Los Angeles County’s Latino population grew at a rate of more than three times the general population’s over the last 10 years.

According to numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau Tuesday, the group grew by 10.5 percent between April 2000 and April 2010--from 4.2 million to 4.6 million.

During that same time, the overall population in Los Angeles County rose by just 3.1 percent—from 9.5 million in 2000 to 9.8 million in 2010.

Only the Asian population grew more rapidly.  It was up by 18.4 percent,  to 1.3 million in April 2010.  

Los Angeles’s white population also rose over the same decade, growing by 6.4 percent to 4.9 million.

Other ethnic groups in Los Angeles County saw a decrease.  The number of African-Americans was down by 7.9 percent. The American Indian/Alaskan native population decreased by 5.4 percent.  And Native Hawaiians/Other Pacific Islanders dropped 3.5 percent.

Even the number of so-called “Two or More Races” decreased by as much as 6.6 percent, according to the Census Bureau’s new American FactFinder site.

California, overall, seems to be moving toward the middle.

The Census figures show the state’s population up 10 percent, from 33.8 to 37.2 million residents.

Inland California counties accounted for much of that growth.

Riverside County had the biggest jump, increasing 41 percent from 2000 to 2010. The city of Beaumont in that county leaped 224 percent from 11,384 to 36,887 people.

Next was Placer County with a 40 percent jump.

Other counties that grew more than 20 percent included Imperial, Kern, Madera, Merced and Tulare.

San Francisco County’s population also rose 3 percent, while San Diego County jumped 10 percent.

The only counties that saw population decreases were three small regions in the Sierra Nevada. They were Alpine County (down 3 percent), Plumas County (down 4 percent) and Sierra County (down 9 percent).