Latinos may have been traditionally labeled as a minority ethnic group in the United States. But the Latino population is growing so fast since the beginning of the new century that in some states the community has outnumbered whites. That’s what has happened in California.

California is the latest state where whites are not a majority. According to census data, in 2014 there were more Latinos than whites living in the state. As of July 2014, around 14.99 million Latinos lived in California and 14.92 million whites.

By counties, Los Angeles has the largest Latino population: around 4.9 million; which makes it the county in the United States with the highest number of Latinos. At the same time, California had the largest Latino population of any state in 2014.

The evolution of Latino population in California

Latinos in the state, as in the country, have experienced exponential growth. According to the L.A Times, in 1970 there were only 2.4 million Latinos in California (12 percent of the population). In 1990 this ethnic group represented about 25 percent of the state’s population (around 7.7 million people). After less than three decades there are 14.99 million Latinos living in California.

The census data also highlights the fact that in 2060 Latinos will account for 49 percent of California’s demography. One of the reasons is that Latinos are a much younger population than whites. The median age of Latinos in California is 29, while the media age of whites is 45.

California is the third state of the country where whites do not constitute the largest demographic group. The others are Hawaii (the largest population of the island are natives Hawaiian), and New Mexico (the state has the highest percentage of Latinos: 47.7 percent).

In the country, there are around 55.4 million Latinos.