L.A. County Leads U.S. in Numbers of Latinos, Asians

By overwhelming margins, Los Angeles County in 1997 had larger populations of Latinos and Asians than any other county in the nation, according to recent estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Other Southern California counties--from San Diego to Ventura--also showed distinctly larger numbers of Latinos and people of Asian and Pacific Island heritage, growth that experts attribute to continued immigration, as well as to relatively high birthrates between 1990 and 1997.

But no place in the nation comes close to Los Angeles County in terms of the size of those two minority groups.

The estimated Latino population in the county last year was 4,000,642, a 19.3% rise since 1990. As a result, Latinos--including those who identified themselves as white or black--composed about 44% of the county’s 9,145,219 total population.

“It’s not really a large surprise,” said Amy Smith, a statistician at Census Bureau headquarters in Maryland. She stressed that Los Angeles remains the nation’s major point of entry from Asia and Latin America.

The local Latino total dwarfed the nation’s second-ranked county in that category, Florida’s Dade (home of Miami), which had 1.139 million Latinos, mainly Cubans and other Caribbeans. New York City’s five boroughs are treated separately by the Census Bureau, but showed a combined total of 2.021 million Latinos.

Los Angeles County was estimated to have an Asian and Pacific Islander population last year of 1,187,392, 19.5% more than in 1990. Honolulu County in Hawaii was ranked second, with 559,752 Asian/Pacific Islanders. If New York City were treated as a single entity, again, it would rank second, with 687,547 Asians.

The gains among Latinos and Asians are particularly dramatic when compared with Los Angeles County’s overall population increase of 3.1%. That relatively sluggish figure reflects large numbers of U.S. citizens who moved away during the recession even as foreign immigration to Los Angeles was strong.

The non-Latino white population actually decreased 13.9% from 1990, to 3,124,613, although analysts say the improved economy has begun to attract more non-Latino whites to the area in the past couple of years.

Meanwhile, the number of African American residents in Los Angeles County also dropped, by 1.8%, to 1,019,214. Their population increased somewhat in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, a destination for middle-class blacks from Los Angeles.

Andrew Malakates, head of research for the Los Angeles County Department of Regional Planning, predicted that the local increase in the Latino and Asian populations would continue 15 or 20 years even if immigration from Latin America and Asia dropped sharply.

“It’s not going to change any time soon,” he said.

The reason, he said, is that immigrant families tend to have more children than families who have been in the United States for at least a generation.

The large numbers of people in various ethnic and national groups in Los Angeles County may slow assimilation because their native cultures will continue “to flourish and stay viable” far from their countries of origin, said Dowell Myers, a population expert and associate professor at USC’s School of Policy, Planning and Development. Plus, he said, a critical mass of immigrants continues to be a magnet for newcomers who want to join relatives and friends.

The new census estimates show that Latino populations in other Southern California counties rose at even higher rates than in Los Angeles. Orange County was estimated to have 761,228 Latinos, the fifth-highest number in the nation, reflecting an increase of 35% since 1990. The ranks of Latinos rose an estimated 36% in San Diego County, 33% in Ventura County, 53% in Riverside County and 41% in San Bernardino County.

Orange County ranked third in the nation for Asian/Pacific Islanders, with 344,330, up 36% since 1990. San Diego was sixth, with 280,096, a 35% rise. Overall Asian numbers were much smaller in other parts of the region, but growth rates were strong: 38% in San Bernardino County, 48% in Riverside County and 36% in Ventura County.

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Ethnic Population Shift

The population of Los Angeles County experienced significant ethnic changes between 1990 and 1997, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates. Latino and Asian-Pacific Islander population grew fast, while number of blacks and non-Latino whites decreased.

County total: +3.1%

Latinio total: +19.3%

White Latino: +19.5%

Non-Latino white: -13.9%

Black: -1.8%

Asian/Pacific +19.5%

American Indian: -1.7%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau