Census 2010 paints a different picture of San Diego

This afternoon the U.S. Census Bureau released neighborhood-level data for California, to be used in the redistricting process. San Diego county's population grew by 10 percent, with some distinct changes in demographic composition.



Within San Diego, the Hispanic and Asian populations each grew by more than 30 percent, while the non-Hispanic White, Black, and Native American populations actually were smaller in 2010 than in 2000. San Diego joins many California counties that are now "majority minority" (meaning the non-Hispanic White population accounts for less than half of the total).

Fascinating tool for visualizing demographic change over time

I had to share this fascinating visualization tool from NPR on the changing demographics of the United States (and each state) over the past 100 years.

Just keep in mind that the means of collecting race/ethnic data, and even the definitions of race have changed dramatically over the decades. For example, Census questions about Hispanic origin have not been asked consistently over time. Today's Census forms are self-reported, but prior census counts relied on a person's surname to determine Hispanic origin (so if your last name "sounded Hispanic" to a Census worker, you would be classified as such, whether your ancestors were Latino or not).

To link to the tool on NPR's website:
http://www.npr.org/2011/02/15/133692251/americas-shifting-populations

Happy graphing!