The California Latino Demographic Databook

The California Latino Demographic Databook

Overview: In the last quarter of a century, California's Latino population has grown markedly, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of the total population. In 1970, California's 2.4 million Latinos represented less than one-eighth of the state's total population. The 7.5 million Latinos counted in the 1990 census represented a quarter of California's residents.

By 2005, more than a third of all Californians are projected to be Latino. The portrait of California Latinos in the California Latino Demographic Databook addresses the characteristics of this growing population, detailing characteristics for Latinos by national origin, nativity, citizenship, and period of entry for the foreign-born, and providing comparative figures for non-Hispanic whites, blacks, and Asians.

Research and analysis were conducted at UC DATA. Funding for this project was provided by UC MEXUS and the California Policy Seminar [now the California Policy Research Center], which also published the book . An overview and highlights of the Latino Databook, as well as information about ordering, may be found in the CPS Brief. Selected tables and figures are shown below, organized by chapter.

Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the broadest features of California's Latino population-- its size and its growth rates both past and projected-- with a particular emphasis on geographic distribution, temporal trends, and immigration history.

* Selected figures on this site include:

Table 2.1, Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Populations in California, 1990.
Figure 2.1A, Racial/Ethnic Composition of the California Population, 1990.
Figure 2.1B, Composition of the California Hispanic Population, 1990.
Map 2.1, Percent Hispanic Populations in California, 1990.
Table 2.2, Percent of U.S. Hispanic Population in California, 1990.
Figure 2.2, Percent of U.S. Hispanic Population in California, 1990.
Map 2.3, Growth in the Percent Hispanic Populations in the U.S., 1990.
Map 2.4, Absolute Growth in Hispanic Populations in the U.S., 1990.
Map 2.5, Percent Hispanic, California Counties, 1990.
Map 2.6, Number Hispanic, California Counties, 1990.
Map 2.7, Absolute Growth in Percent Hispanic, California Counties, 1990.
Map 2.8, Absolute Growth in Number Hispanic, California Counties, 1990.
Table 2.7, Immigrants Admitted as Permanent California Residents from Selected Countries, 1972-1991.

Chapter 3 turns to issues of population and household composition-age structure, sex ratios, household and family size, living arrangements, fertility, and marital status.

* Selected figures on this site include:

Table 3.1A, Percentage of Californians in Selected Age Groups by Detailed Origin.
Figure 3.1D, Population Pyramids for Selected California Populations.
Figure 3.4B, Size of Hispanic Households by Nativity, Period of Entry, and Citizenship, 1990.
Figure 3.4C, Size of Non-Hispanic Households by Nativity, Period of Entry, and Citizenship, 1990.

In Chapter 4 we shift from the more demographic focus of the previous chapter and build a fuller description of Latino populations in terms of their "human capital." The specific focus of this chapter is the linguistic and educational characteristics of Latinos.

* Selected figures on this site include:

Figure 4.5B, Percent of Hispanic Californians Age 22-24 Who Are High School Graduates by Nativity, Period of Entry, and Citizenship, 1990.
Figure 4.5C, Percent of Non-Hispanic Californians Age 22-24 Who Are High School Graduates by Nativity, Period of Entry, and Citizenship, 1990.

Human capital issues lay the basis for Chapter 5, which deals with labor force characteristics: labor force participation, unemployment, occupation, industry, self-employment, and business ownership.

* Selected figures on this site include:

Table 5.3A, Labor Force Status of Young Californians by Age Group and Detailed Origin, 1990.
Figure 5.10A, Percent of Californians in Selected Occupations by Detailed Origin, 1990.
Figure 5.12A, Hispanic-Owned Business Enterprises in California, 1982, 1987, and 1990.
Figure 5.13, Percent Hispanic-Owned Business Enterprises in California, 1982, 1987, and 1990.
Figure 5.15A, Percent of California Firms Owned by Hispanics, by Industrial Sector, 1992.

In Chapter 6 we turn to issues of economic well-being, providing measures of median and per capita income, income distribution, and sources of income, as well as poverty levels and use of government social services.

* Selected figures on this site include:

Figure 6.1B, Median Household Incomes of Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Californians (by selected characteristics), 1989.
Figure 6.9A, Percent of California Families Below the Poverty Line (by selected characteristics), 1989.

In Chapter 7 we turn to issues of political participation, examining current and historical registration and turnout and the impact of age structure and citizenship.

* Selected figures on this site include:

Table 7.2, Composition of California Adult, Adult Citizen, Registered, and Voting Populations by Race/Ethnicity, 1980-1996.

This Databook is available for purchase from the California Policy Research Center. Ordering information is available on the CPRC website, or by contacting:

The California Policy Research Center
1950 Addison Street, Suite 202
Berkeley, CA 94704-1182
phone: (510) 643-9328
email: cprc@ucop.edu

http://socrates.berkeley.edu:7101/new_web/ldb/ldbintro.html
copyright 1998, Regents of the University of California
last updated: 2008/01/30