The three groups have grown by more than a third in a decade. Blacks and Native Americans have posted smaller gains, while the number of whites has declined by 8 percent. The rest of the West has yet to replicate California's experience. Except for New Mexico, the other states on this side of the Rockies remain predominantly white. The impact has been most pronounced in Nevada, where the Latino and Asian populations ballooned by 144 percent and 123 percent, respectively.
Demographers say more of the same is in store for the entire nation.
They envision a minority-majority United States by 2050. Passel cited the harsh treatment of immigrants from eastern and southern Europe around the turn of the 20th century, the era of America's last great ethnic shakeup. Now, it is often the descendants of immigrants who are uncomfortable with the claim-stakers from overseas. He was picking up a takeout order at Noriega Street's Peking Restaurant. The street, which slouches toward the windy bay, is part of the Sunset district's new Chinatown.