Hispanics have officially outnumbered whites in California, reaching a population of 14.99 million people, versus the 14.92 million white non-Hispanics who live in the state. This milestone, which had been expected for a while, finally arrived in July 2014, based on the latest estimates from the US Census Bureau.
Hispanics had already become the largest ethnic group in New Mexico, but the numbers in California are bigger: with its almost 15 million of them, California has the largest such population in the country. The county of Los Angeles, with 4.9 million, holds a similar record, followed by Harris County in Texas (1.9 million) and Miami-Dade County in Florida (1.8 million). Overall, the US Hispanic the population reached a record 55 million in 2014.
But the Census shows another trend: Hispanics are growing at a slower pace than in the past. As the Pew Research Center noted after the new estimates were made public, the Hispanic population grew just 2.1% in 2014. This is far from the average 5% growth during the 1995 to 2000 peak period.
But Hispanics still have a higher birth rate and a younger population. The median age for white Americans is 34, versus 29 for Hispanic Americans, suggesting they are more likely to have children.