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White Americans in California

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White Californians
Total population
22.05 million (41.2%) white alone (2020 census[1])
Languages
California English, European languages, Arabic, Persian, Armenian, others
Religion
Christianity, Judaism, Irreligion, Islam[2]

White Californians are White Americans living in California who currently comprise 41.2% of the state's population according to the official 2020 census.[3]

As of 2015, California has the third-largest minority population in the United States.[4] Non-Hispanic whites decreased from about 76.3–78% of the state's population in 1970[5] to 36.5% in 2019.[6] It was estimated in 2015 that Hispanic and Latino Americans became more numerous than non-Hispanic White Americans for the first time.[4] Since 2000 U.S. census, California has been known as the second state in U.S. history (after Hawaii since its statehood in 1959) to have a non-white majority. Most people who identify as white in California say their heritage is Mexican, German, Irish, English, Italian, French, Spanish, Scottish, Polish, Salvadoran, Swedish, Portuguese, Dutch, Armenian, or British. There is also sizable Iranian, Bulgarian, Romanian, Greek, Hungarian, Austrian, Danish, Lithuanian, Finnish, Lebanese, Ukrainian, white Australian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovak, and Albanian populations in California.[7][8] Most European immigrants in California came from Ireland, Germany, and United Kingdom, with a smaller number who came from France and Italy.[9]

According to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau, 9.8% of White Californians were Germans, 7.8% Irish, 6.9% English and 4.3% were Italians.[10]

History

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Further information: History of California

The first White people to come to the modern-day State of California were the Spanish people. The area that became California was a part of the Spanish Empire, and after 1821, part of Mexico.[11] While under Spanish and Mexican rule, California's population was a diverse mix of people with White, Mestizo, African and Indigenous ancestry, with Native people being the largest population.[12] By 1846, more White Americans had begun to enter California from other parts of the United States, making up 10% of the non-Native population.[13]

The California gold rush (1848–1855) began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California.[14] In 1848, there were 7,000 persons of Mexican and Spanish descent, 700 Americans, 200 Europeans, and 110,000 Native Americans.[15] The news of gold brought some 300,000 people throughout the Gold Rush to California from the rest of the United States and abroad.[16] Two-thirds of these new arrivals were Americans, mostly from the Atlantic Seaboard. [13] In 1850, a year after California's admission to the United States, the first state census showed California's entire non-Native population at 92,597.[15][13]

While Northern California became predominantly white by the mid-19th century, Southern California remained mainly Mexican until the first major waves of white immigrants began to arrive in the 1880s after the Southern Pacific railroad reached Los Angeles.[17] Between 1880 and 1920, Southern California’s population grew from 64,000 to 1.3 million, which included an influx of white health-seekers, real estate investors, and Midwestern farmers.[17] As Southern California in the late nineteenth century was promoted as a “semi-tropical” paradise ideal for health and agriculture, these groups of immigrants, many of whom were middle-to-upper-class Americans, moved into the region via the newly built railroads connecting Southern California to the rest of the United States.[17][18] A 1913 census shows that white Americans composed 95% of California’s population.[19] Other sources note that by 1910, 96% of the population of Los Angeles was white.[20] Although this is probably an overestimation due to flaws in statistical methods, it shows the significant white predominance in California by the early 20th century.

In the 1930s, about 350,000 mostly White migrants, known as Okies, came to California from the rural Great Plains states and the surrounding area. Their descendants may make up as much as one eighth of California's population, particularly in the Central Valley and rural areas.[21]

As a result of new arrivals from the American Midwest and continued immigration to the United States from other countries, California's White population grew, and by 1940, 90% of the state self-identified as White.[13] By 1990, following increased arrivals into the state of people of other races and nationalities, the White non-hispanic population had decreased, with 43% of the state population claiming Asian, African, Latin American or Native American ancestry.[13]

By region

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Blue areas are predominately non-Hispanic white

San Francisco Bay Area

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In 2000 the racial makeup of the nine-county Bay Area was 3,941,687 (58.1%) white and 3,392,204 (50.0%) non-Hispanic white.[citation needed]

In 2010 the Bay Area was 3,755,823 (52.5%) White, and 3,032,903 (42.4%) non-Hispanic white.[citation needed]

The percentage of non-Hispanic white people in the overall Bay Area is projected to decrease, while the percentage of non-Hispanic white people in the city of San Francisco is projected to increase.[22]

Los Angeles metropolitan area

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54.6% White, 32.2% white alone. Malibu, Hidden Hills, Manhattan Beach, Agua Dulce, Calabasas and Agoura Hills have the highest percentage of whites in Los Angeles County.[23] Whites in the Los Angeles area are also concentrated in Hollywood Hills, Bel Air and North San Gabriel Valley.[24]

By county

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Nevada County has the highest white percentage of any county in California.[25]

Politics

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Non-Hispanic whites comprise 60% of registered voters in California.[26]

Future

[edit]

The non-Hispanic white population as a percentage of the whole is projected to decrease in California.[27]

Ancestries

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Ancestry by origin[8] Number % (do not add to 100)
Albania Albanians 2,204
Armenia Armenians 199,987 5.7%
Austria Austrians 10,977
Basque Country (autonomous community) Basque 7,996
Belgium Belgians 7,452
United Kingdom British 123,112 40%
Bulgaria Bulgarians 10,158
Cyprus Cypriots 193
Czech Republic Czechs 17,866
Denmark Danes 30,879
Netherlands Dutch 69,112
England English 455,396 13%
Estonia Estonians 1,421
France French 91,701
Finland Finns 12,888
Germany Germans 587,486 16.7%
Greece Greeks 50,673
Hungary Hungarians 30,971
Iceland Icelanders 1,959
Republic of Ireland Irish 489,015 13.9%
Italy Italians 425,772 12.1%
Latvia Latvians 3,382
Lithuania Lithuanians 12,324
Luxembourg Luxembourgers 297
North Macedonia Macedonians 1,208
Malta Maltese 2,201
Norway Norwegians 105,797 3%
Poland Polish 472,869 13.5%
Portugal Portuguese 118,856 3.4%
Romania Romanians 30,685
Russia Russians 137,259 3.9%
Serbia Serbians 8,993
Slovakia Slovaks 7,376
Slovenia Slovenes 3,538
Sweden Swedish 19,581
Turkey Turkish 18,701
Ukraine Ukrainians 64,985
Total 3,512,158 100%

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "CALIFORNIA: 2020 Census". 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  2. ^ Whites who are in California
  3. ^ "CALIFORNIA: 2020 Census". 2021. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  4. ^ a b Panzar, Javier (July 8, 2015). "It's official: Latinos now outnumber whites in California". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  5. ^ "Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, California". Census.gov. Archived from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  6. ^ "Census". Census.gov. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  7. ^ ROOTS BEYOND RACE
  8. ^ a b "Explore Census Data".
  9. ^ A Companion to California History. p. 153.
  10. ^ "White – California".
  11. ^ Building 201, Mailing Address: Golden Gate National Recreation Area; Francisco, Fort Mason San; Us, CA 94123-0022 Phone:561-4700 Contact. "The Spanish and Mexican period, 1776 to 1846 - Golden Gate National Recreation Area (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ Chan, Sucheng (2000). "A People of Exceptional Character: Ethnic Diversity, Nativism, and Racism in the California Gold Rush". California History. 79 (2): 44–85. doi:10.2307/25463688. JSTOR 25463688.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Shaping California History". Faculty.washington.edu. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  14. ^ "The Gold Rush of California: A Bibliography of Periodical Articles". California State University, Stanislaus. 2002. Archived from the original on July 1, 2007. Retrieved January 23, 2008.
  15. ^ a b "Changing Demographics: El Dorado County". El Dorado: Land Use in California's Mother Lode. Retrieved May 21, 2021.
  16. ^ "California Gold Rush, 1848–1864". Learn California.org, a site designed for the California Secretary of State. Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved August 22, 2011.
  17. ^ a b c Gendzel, Glen (2008). "Not Just a Golden State: Three Anglo "Rushes" in the Making of Southern California, 1880-1920". Southern California Quarterly. 90 (4): 349–378. doi:10.2307/41172443. ISSN 0038-3929.
  18. ^ Knight, Henry (2013). Tropic of hopes : California, Florida, and the selling of American paradise, 1869-1929. Gainesville: University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-4481-1. OCLC 823011221.
  19. ^ Bureau, US Census. "1910 Census: Volume 2. Population, Reports by States, with Statistics for Counties, Cities, and Other Civil Divisions: Alabama-Montana". Census.gov. Retrieved March 15, 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  20. ^ Farmer, Jared (2013). Trees in paradise : a California history. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-07802-2. OCLC 889889389.
  21. ^ Loh, Jules (October 18, 1992). "Okies--They Sank Roots and Changed the Heart of California : History: Unwanted and shunned, the 1930s refugees from the Dust Bowl endured, spawning new generations. Their legacy can be found in towns scattered throughout the San Joaquin Valley". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 21, 2023.
  22. ^ "S.F. Could Be Much Whiter in 25 Years, While the Rest of Region Gets More Diverse". 2.kqed.org. October 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  23. ^ "White Ranking - Mapping L.A. - Los Angeles Times". maps.latimes.com.
  24. ^ White Population of Los Angeles
  25. ^ California White Population Percentage by County - IndexMundi
  26. ^ "Race and Voting in California - PPIC". Ppic.org. Retrieved August 26, 2017.
  27. ^ Badger, Emily (February 1, 2017). "Immigrant Shock: Can California Predict the Nation's Future?" – via NYTimes.com.

Bibliography

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  • Maharidge, Dale, The Coming White Minority: California's Eruptions and America's Future, 1996, Times Books, ISBN 9780812922899
  • Sherburne Friend Cook, The Conflict Between the California Indian and White Civilization, 1943, University of California Press, ISBN 9780520031425
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