Whites no longer the majority in California

California now has no ethnic majority, according to the state's census returns. Registering an expected, but hitherto undocumented, shift in the state's ethnic composition, last year's census showed the non-Hispanic white population slipping below 50 per cent for the first time.California now has no ethnic majority, according to the state's census returns. Registering an expected, but hitherto undocumented, shift in the state's ethnic composition, last year's census showed the non-Hispanic white population slipping below 50 per cent for the first time.

As it has so often, California ­ the most populous state of the Union ­ is foreshadowing a national trend. Non-Hispanic whites are expected to lose their majority status across the US by about the year 2050, marking one of the biggest demographic changes since the country was founded.

But an unexpectedly large increase, especially in the Hispanic population, over the past 10 years suggests that white Americans could lose their majority status sooner.

According to the census figures, 46.7 per cent of the state's 34 million population is non-Hispanic white. People classifying themselves as Hispanic constitute 32 per cent and people of Asian origin ­ 12 per cent, up from 9 per cent 10 years ago. The proportion of blacks remained constant at 7 per cent.

Showing the striking growth in the Hispanic population, the census found that more than 43 per cent of under-18s in California are Hispanic, compared with 35 per cent a decade ago.

California is not the first state where whites are not in the majority. New Mexico ­ with its large number of Hispanics, Hawaii with its indigenous population, and Washington DC, where the majority is black ­ were all there first. But it is the largest state, and the one commonly hailed as reflecting America's future.