Census Shows Influx of Asians on Peninsula, Hispanics in Inglewood : Demographics: Rolling Hills Estates saw a 186% increase in Asians; Inglewood’s Hispanic population has risen 134% since 1980.

The South Bay’s Asian and Hispanic communities have swelled dramatically in the last 10 years, mirroring increases recorded in much of California, newly released census figures show.

The figures, which provide the first detailed look at the ethnic information gathered during the 1990 census, continue a trend that demographers say first became evident in the 1980 census.

“This is a very desirable place for people to migrate to, particularly for Asians and Hispanics,” said David Heer, a USC professor of sociology and associate director of the university’s Population Research Laboratory.

Heer attributed much of the increase to new immigrants seeking ethnic enclaves like the ones that previous arrivals have created in many South Bay cities. The area’s diverse economy also helps to attract new residents, he said.

The figures released Tuesday give information on 16 South Bay cities and Lennox, an unincorporated county area but do not include San Pedro, Wilmington, Harbor City and Harbor Gateway, which are part of the city of Los Angeles. Information about those communities should become more readily available over the next few weeks.

The statistics that are available, however, show thousands of Asians moving onto the Palos Verdes Peninsula and into Torrance, while Hispanic newcomers are moving into the South Bay’s inland areas, such as Inglewood, Hawthorne and Lennox.

The largest changes in Asian population among the four peninsula cities were recorded in Palos Verdes Estates, which saw a 181% jump, and Rolling Hills Estates, which experienced a 186% increase. Experts attributed the leaps to burgeoning Japanese business activity in Torrance, where the number of Asian residents increased 113%.

Among Hispanic populations, Inglewood’s 134% increase was the largest in the South Bay, followed by jumps of 91% in Hawthorne and 78% in Lennox.

In the 1990 census, the term Hispanic--as opposed to Latino--is used to describe people of Spanish and Latin American origin. They may be of any race. The term Anglo refers to non-Hispanic whites.

Economic factors apparently played the primary role in determining where new arrivals settled, Heer said.

“We already have documented that the Asian population of Los Angeles County is exceptionally well-educated,” he said. “So it’s not surprising that they’re coming into affluent areas that have very desirable residential neighborhoods.”

Many new Hispanic arrivals are coming to California because of poor economic conditions in their home countries, officials said. Hispanics chose inland locations, city officials said, because those cities are more affordable.

“Housing is generally less expensive here than elsewhere . . . and I would say that they receive a warmer welcome here,” said Norm Cravens, assistant city manager in Inglewood, where the Anglo population dropped from nearly 21% in 1980 to 8.5% in 1990.

In recent years, the city has made a point of producing public materials in both English and Spanish, hiring more Spanish-speaking employees and encouraging cultural understanding through festivals and other public celebrations.

Inglewood, Hawthorne and the Lennox area also have seen an explosion in the number of children within their borders.

In Inglewood, the school district has had to absorb the increase without building any new campuses.

“Five of our 13 schools are year-round now,” Cravens said. “It’s been a real challenge.”

In contrast, the South Bay’s affluent cities have watched their numbers of children plummet.

“What you see now are empty-nest couples in these areas who are not selling their homes--perhaps, I think, because they have such low taxes on them--and so when the children grow up they leave, and their parents remain,” Heer said.

The trend has been particularly pronounced on the peninsula, in the three beach cities and in Torrance, statistics show.

It is a direction that saddens some city officials.

“Torrance traditionally has been a family community, and families should include children,” Mayor Katy Geissert said. “It’s troublesome to think that our housing stock has become so expensive that we’re precluding young families from living here in increasing numbers.”

ETHNIC BREAKDOWN

Following are the latest U.S. Census figures on the racial/ethnic population breakdown in South Bay communities compared to the 1980 totals. In the data, the U.S. Census makes a distinction between racial groups and ethnic groups. All categories except “Hispanic” are considered racial groups. Anglos are non-Hispanic whites. The “Hispanic” category is considered an ethnic group and includes Hispanics of all races. All of the groups together represent the total population picture.

% change % change Total Anglo from ’80 Black from ’80 Asian AVALON 2,918 1,709 13 4 na 24 CARSON 83,995 18,596 -28 21,542 -9 19,875 EL SEGUNDO 15,223 12,897 6 133 171 733 GARDENA 49,847 10,471 -26 11,443 13 16,153 HAWTHORNE 71,349 21,891 -33 19,383 165 7,346 HERMOSA BEACH 18,219 15,980 -1 197 9 681 INGLEWOOD 109,602 9,330 -53 54,935 3 2,383 LAWNDALE 27,331 12,593 -11 2,077 247 3,054 LENNOX 22,767 1,361 -68 1,260 -48 552 LOMITA 19,382 13,273 -9 532 224 1,665 MANHAT. BEACH 32,063 28,730 -1 198 62 1,388 P.V. ESTATES 13,512 11,105 -16 154 16 1,840 RANCHO P.V. 41,659 30,063 -2 771 5 8,478 REDONDO BEACH 60,167 48,010 2 921 50 3,997 ROLLING HILLS 1,871 1,577 -13 26 4 186 R.H. ESTATES 7,789 6,129 -10 60 -26 1,246 TORRANCE 133,107 88,390 -14 1,871 116 28,821

% change from ’80 AVALON 167 CARSON 68 EL SEGUNDO 207 GARDENA 33 HAWTHORNE 92 HERMOSA BEACH 68 INGLEWOOD 65 LAWNDALE 112 LENNOX 31 LOMITA 72 MANHAT. BEACH 79 P.V. ESTATES 181 RANCHO P.V. 135 REDONDO BEACH 98 ROLLING HILLS 83 R.H. ESTATES 186 TORRANCE 113

% change % change % change Am. Ind. from ’80 Other from’80 Hispanic from ’80 AVALON 11 -25 0 -100 1,170 142 CARSON 341 -21 228 -71 23,413 24 EL SEGUNDO 59 -28 19 -76 1,382 28 GARDENA 170 27 104 -82 11,506 49 HAWTHORNE 245 -21 265 -64 22,219 91 HERMOSA BEACH 74 -34 20 -80 1,267 13 INGLEWOOD 265 -2 440 -70 42,249 134 LAWNDALE 154 -28 94 -74 9,359 40 LENNOX 45 -48 61 -81 19,478 78 LOMITA 120 -19 36 -68 3,756 31 MANHAT. BEACH 78 -26 24 -80 1,645 21 P.V. ESTATES 12 -12 3 -97 398 20 RANCHO P.V. 92 5 40 -87 2,215 104 REDONDO BEACH 255 -31 67 -86 6,917 6 ROLLING HILLS 0 -100 3 -67 79 -14 R.H. ESTATES 5 -60 10 -80 339 14 TORRANCE 456 -15 171 -86 13,398 24

Notes: Percent change for Asian and American Indian categories include Hispanics and non-Hispanics.

POPULATION AND HOUSING DATA

Following are the latest U.S. Census figures on the numbers of adults and children living in South Bay communities, along with the percentage change from the 1980 Census.

% change % change City Adults from ’80 Children from ’80 AVALON 2,177 38 741 66 CARSON 61,061 14 22,934 -17 EL SEGUNDO 12,361 14 2,862 -3 GARDENA 38,328 13 11,519 1 HAWTHORNE 53,314 26 18,035 28 HERMOSA BEACH 16,320 4 1,899 -21 INGLEWOOD 76,604 14 32,998 22 LAWNDALE 19,925 22 7,406 3 LENNOX 14,224 24 8,533 22 LOMITA 14,851 5 4,531 -2 MANHATTAN BEACH 26,798 8 5,265 -21 PALOS VERDES ESTATES 10,661 4 2,851 -30 RANCHO PALOS VERDES 32,773 27 8,886 -17 REDONDO BEACH 50,407 11 9,760 -17 ROLLING HILLS 1,464 2 407 -34 ROLLING HILLS ESTATES 6,098 8 1,691 -18 TORRANCE 105,934 7 27,173 -12

% change % change City Dwellings from ’80 Per dwelling from ’80 AVALON 1,888 107 1.5 -30 CARSON 24,441 7 3.4 -4 EL SEGUNDO 7,190 20 2.1 -8 GARDENA 19,037 12 2.6 -2 HAWTHORNE 29,214 27 2.4 0 HERMOSA BEACH 9,689 6 1.9 -5 INGLEWOOD 38,713 5 2.8 10 LAWNDALE 9,778 20 2.8 -3 LENNOX 5,228 -5 4.4 29 LOMITA 8,255 7 2.3 -3 MANHATTAN BEACH 14,695 12 2.2 -9 PALOS VERDES ESTATES 5,131 7 2.6 -13 RANCHO PALOS VERDES 15,468 30 2.7 -12 REDONDO BEACH 28,220 15 2.1 -8 ROLLING HILLS 674 7 2.8 -15 ROLLING HILLS ESTATES 2,873 13 2.7 -10 TORRANCE 54,927 11 2.4 -7

ETHNIC GROUPS

Following are the latest U.S. Census figures on the breakdown of ethnic groups as a percentage of population in South Bay communities. In the data, the U.S. Census makes a distinction between racial groups and ethnic groups. All categories except “Hispanic” are considered racial groups. The “Hispanic” category is considered an ethnic group and includes Hispanics of all races.

City Anglo Black Asian Am. Ind. Other Hispanic AVALON 58.6 0.1 0.8 0.4 0.0 40.1 CARSON 22.1 25.6 23.7 0.4 0.3 27.9 EL SEGUNDO 84.7 0.9 4.8 0.4 0.1 9.1 GARDENA 21.0 23.0 32.4 0.3 0.2 23.1 HAWTHORNE 30.7 27.2 10.3 0.3 0.4 31.1 HERMOSA BEACH 87.7 1.1 3.7 0.4 0.1 7.0 INGLEWOOD 8.5 50.1 2.2 0.2 0.4 38.5 LAWNDALE 46.1 7.6 11.2 0.6 0.3 34.2 LENNOX 6.0 5.5 2.4 0.2 0.3 85.6 LOMITA 68.5 2.7 8.6 0.6 0.2 19.4 MANHATTAN BEACH 89.6 0.6 4.3 0.2 0.1 5.1 PALOS VERDES ESTATES 82.2 1.1 13.6 0.1 0.0 2.9 RANCHO PALOS VERDES 72.2 1.9 20.4 0.2 0.1 5.3 REDONDO BEACH 79.8 1.5 6.6 0.4 0.1 11.5 ROLLING HILLS 84.3 1.4 9.9 0.0 0.2 4.2 ROLLING HILLS ESTATES 78.7 0.8 16.0 0.1 0.1 4.4 TORRANCE 66.4 1.4 21.7 0.3 0.1 10.1

Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census