Early last year, Pew Research predicted that Latinos would surpass whites as the largest racial/ethnic group in California. Recently, the nonpartisan fact tank confirmed that the milestone was reached in 2014 when non-Hispanic whites became outnumbered by the state's 15 million Hispanics.

California, the most populous state in the nation, joined New Mexico as the second state with an outstripping Latino population. California reached the Latino-surplus benchmark more than a decade after New Mexico, with the majority-inversion occurring in 2003.

California's Hispanic/Latino population has surpassed non-Hispanic whites. The Census Bureau released new number, which showed that as of July 1, 2014, the 14.99 million Latinos living in California have outnumbered the 14.92 million whites in the state.

During the 1970s, 2.4 million Latinos resided in California, accounting for 12 percent of the population. Concurrently, the 15.5 million whites living in the state made up more than 75 percent of residents. By the 1990s, the Hispanic population jumped to 7.7 million (25 percent of the state's population), and continued to soar after that. Recently published projections show that by 2060, Latinos will account for 49 percent of the state's population. However, it could be a half-century (or longer) before Hispanics become a full majority in California.

Texas, known for its large Latino population, will likely be next in line to follow New Mexico and California's footsteps. The U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey shared that in 2012, there were 10 million Latinos and 11.6 million non-Hispanic whites living in Texas, making up 38.2 percent and 44.4 percent, respectively, of the state's 26.1 million residents. Because Hispanics have made up 63.5 percent of Texas' population increase since 2000, it's expected that the Hispanic population will continue to grow at a quicker pace than the state's non-Hispanic white population.

After Texas, other states aren't likely to follow suit any time soon. While Florida, Arizona and Nevada have sizable Latino populations, U.S. birth rates and immigration has slackened in those states, where Latinos represent about a third of the states' population.

California's continued influx, like national Latino growth, can be attributed to a number of factors, including immigration and second- and third-generation citizens opting to settle down to start a family. Also, for eons, California has been a top destination for immigrants emigrating from Latin America, even as relocation slowed due to the Great Recession.

Even as Latino's numbers have surpassed non-Latino white, future growth will slow due to diminishing birth rates among Hispanics. Compared to projections published in 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau has reduced Latino population projections by nearly 30 million by 2050.

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