Test Census Shows 67% Rise in Asians in 9 Communities

The Asian population in nine Los Angeles County communities has grown 67% since 1980, accompanied by a small increase in the Latino population and a drop in the numbers of whites, according to a U.S. Census Bureau count released Thursday.

The count--the first Census Bureau population figures for the county since 1980--shows a dramatic jump in the Asian population in nine central and east Los Angeles County communities. From 1980 to 1986, in communities extending from East Los Angeles to Bell Gardens to South El Monte, Asians rose from 8% of the overall population to 13%.

Fastest-Growing Group

Census Bureau officials and private demographers said the trial run for the 1990 census provides further proof that Asians are the fastest-growing group in Los Angeles County and tend to cluster in a few communities.

“It’s consistent with the huge jump in Asian population between 1970 and 1980 that we saw both nationally and locally,” said Don Nakanishi, a UCLA professor who has done extensive research on population trends. “In the past, those communities had a large migration of Latinos. Now, we’re finding Asians moving into them.”

Since 1980, the count showed, the Latino population in the nine communities grew only 5% while whites dropped 7%. The overall population rose only 3.6%.

The most dramatic example of Asian population growth is Monterey Park, where Asians make up 51% of the city’s 61,000 residents--the highest such concentration in the nation.

In six years alone, the count showed, the number of Asians in the suburban community five miles east of Los Angeles has jumped from 18,312 to 31,500--a 72% increase.

Over the last 15 years, Monterey Park has gone from a predominantly white community to a predominantly Asian one.

1st Suburban Chinatown

The continued influx of newcomers from Taiwan, Vietnam and China has transformed Monterey Park into what scholars regard as the nation’s first suburban Chinatown. The profound changes have also brought deep divisions between longtime white and Latino residents and newcomer Asians. Race has become a factor in city elections, redevelopment and the schools.

The 51% figure “doesn’t surprise us,” said Monterey Park City Manager Lloyd de Llamas. “It’s certainly consistent with the enrollment in the schools, the issuance of business licenses and the other types of indicators that we’ve seen informally. But it’s still pretty dramatic.”

Bud Steinfeld, an information specialist with the U.S. Census Bureau in Los Angeles, said the trial sites were chosen because they were thought to contain large numbers of illegal aliens, refugees and newcomers from Asia and Central America--populations that traditionally are difficult to count.

“We were looking for places where it would be tough to utilize some of our methodology--communities that have undergone change,” he said. “These numbers should be very good. Obviously they are not perfect. We have never taken a perfect census.”

Test New Procedures

Steinfeld said the count was designed to test new techniques and procedures that the agency may use in the 1990 census. For instance, census workers passed out information brochures through churches, schools, community organizations and grocery stores.

“Many newcomers do not know what the census is all about. They’re hesitant because we are a government agency,” he said. “So our message to them was that the census is a good thing. It is safe and confidential.”

Private demographers who have been critical of the census for undercounting Asian and Latino newcomers applauded the new effort. But they doubted whether community outreach would be enough to overcome the fear and distrust.

“The Asian population, because of the tendency to live as extended families and to have a significant concentration of illegals, is the most difficult to count,” said Jerry Walters, a Los Angeles marketing consultant and an expert in Asian population trends. “There is a lot of evidence that indicates that the 1980 census undercounted Asians by possibly as high as 50%.”

Steinfeld said that while the agency did not have any definitive figures on the undercount, it was far below 50%. “A number of minority groups have been undercounted when compared to the white population,” he said. “But our estimates show an undercount of maybe 4% or 5%.”

ASIAN POPULATION GROWTH

Census updates in nine communities east of downtown Los Angeles show gains in Asian population between 1980 and 1986. Because many residents of Spanish origin list themselves as “white” with the Census Bureau, some population figures exceed the total for a community.

% of % of % Change Total Pop. Total Pop. Community ’86 Pop. ‘80-’86 1980 1986 Monterey Park 61,246 +12.7% White 21,617 -16.7% 48% 35% Black 1,174 +70.6% 1% 2% Asian 31,467 +71.8% 33% 51% Latino 18,693 -11.2% 39% 31% Bell Gardens 37,160 +8.9% White 22,152 -13.2% 76% 60% Black 225 +32.4% 1% 1% Asian 866 +250.0% 1% 2% Latino 28,703 +30.9% 62% 77% Pico Rivera 54,852 +2.8% White 38,310 +2.1% 70% 70% Black 255 +107.0% 1% 1% Asian 2,124 +184.1% 2% 2% Latino 43,140 +6.0% 75% 79% Commerce 11,238 +6.9% White 6,619 -24.0% 70% 59% Black 85 +123.7% 1% 1% Asian 271 +316.9% 1% 2% Latino 9,871 +10.5% 81% 88% South El Monte 17,986 +8.2% White 8,955 +15.0% 63% 50% Black 90 +76.5% 1% 1% Asian 701 +147.7% 2% 4% Latino 14,491 +12.1% 75% 81% East Los Angeles 107,990 -1.7% White 58,275 -0.1% 53% 54% Black 624 +44.8% 1% 1% Asian 2,452 +80.7% 1% 2% Latino 101,985 -1.4% 94% 94% South San Gabriel 5,531 +2.0% White 3,162 +4.7% 56% 56% Black 45 -29.6% 1% 1% Asian 1,196 +52.9% 14% 22% Latino 3,346 -0.8% 62% 60% Montebello 55,198 +4.3% White 28,749 -11.5% 62% 52% Black 398 +32.7% 1% 1% Asian 9,329 +29.7% 13% 16% Latino 33,689 +7.3% 60% 61% West Whittier 21,984 +4.7% White 16,364 +6.0% 74% 74% Black 78 +110.8% 1% 1% Asian 629 +129.6% 1% 3% Latino 14,513 +13.8% 57% 66%