Latinos in America: Hispanic Population Become Largest Ethnic Group in California, 2nd State to See Trend

History continues to repeat itself. After more than a century, California's population has again become predominantly Latino. With this news, it is evident that the country's racial and ethnic demography is continuing to evolve as in the past decade the Latino population has grown exponentially in specific parts of the country in addition to California.

According to the Pew Research Center, California's Latino population became the largest ethnic group in the state this month. They cited Governor Jerry Brown's state budget as an indication of the change. The Latino population has grown to 39 percent this month, surpassing the 38.8 percent white non-Hispanic population. The rest of California's racial and ethnic is broken down into 13 percent Asian-American or Pacific Islander, 5.8 percent black non-Hispanic and less than 1 percent Native American.

The increase in the Latino population correlates with the projected increases nation-wide. The Pew Research Center reports that the Hispanic population has increased six-fold since the 1970s, to about 53 million in 2012. Between 2000 and 2012, the Hispanic population increased 50 percent while the overall population only increased 12 percent.

California now joins New Mexico as the second state with the predominantly Hispanic population. Not since 1850 has the majority of California's population been Hispanic. Estimated at about 14 million, California has the largest Hispanic population of any state, according to the Pew Research Center. They project that Texas will soon follow. With a population of 10 million Latinos and 11.6 million white non-Hispanics living in the Lone Star state, making up 38.2 percent and 44 percent respectively, of the 26 million state residents. In contrast with 31.9 percent Latinos and 52.4 percent whites, the statistics show a greater increase in the Latino population.

The only other trend noticeable in the report is that the black population in California appears to be decreasing. In 1990, out of 29.7 million residents 7.1 percent were black. In 2000, out of 33.9 million the black population had decreased to 6.4 percent.