State Population of 47.9 Million Forecast by 2020

California will have 47.9 million people by 2020, growing 52% in the next 26 years, the U.S. Census Bureau predicted Wednesday.

Already the nation’s most populous state with 31.4 million people in 1993, California will lead the nation in population growth with 16.5 million new residents, forecasters said. That would raise California’s share of the nation’s population from 12.2% in 1993 to 14.7% by 2020.

The projections also show the percentage of non-Hispanic white Californians declining, while the percentage of blacks, Asians and Hispanics would climb.

Hispanics--a Census Bureau category that covers Latinos but can include people of any race--will become the most numerous, making up 36.5% of the population by 2020, up from 27.3% in 1993. Non-Hispanic whites would be 34% of the population, down from 52% in 1993.

The bureau said about 10 million new state residents will be immigrants from other countries between 1990 and 2020, tops in the nation. That number could change if government policies are altered.

Also, 4 million Californians will move out of the state by the year 2020, continuing a trend that began as the job market soured and residents fled social problems. They will also represent the largest state out-migration.