The census results are out for California, and there are some surprises. The population has increased by only 10 percent over the last decade, the smallest percentage ever in the state’s history. As a result, this will be the first time since reaching statehood in 1850 that California will not gain a congressional seat as a result of the census. The census also showed that the ethnic makeup of California is changing. In the last census, whites made up 47 percent of the state’s population, but their number has dropped to just 40 percent. The fastest growing group is Hispanics.
California’s changing population is reflected in Santa Cruz County, which was almost stagnant in terms of population growth. The total population of the county was 262,382, just 6,780 (2.7 percent) higher than the 2000 population. The city of Santa Cruz grew by 9.8 percent (5,353 people), from 54,593 in 2000 to 59,946 in 2010.
The one outlier is Watsonville, the county’s second-largest city, which grew by 15.7 percent, for a total population of 51,199. Watsonville is also the most Hispanic city in the county, with Latinos accounting for 81 percent of the population. By way of contrast, Latinos are the second largest ethnic group in the city of Santa Cruz, but still constitute just under 20 percent of the total population. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel and the New York Times.
