Planning for California’s Future: The State’s Population Is Growing, Aging and Becoming More Diverse [California Budget Project]
A new report from the California Budget Project highlights state demographic trends that are likely to shape and influence public policy over the next 12-15 years. The three major trends that the report discusses:
- Between 2000 and 2020, California will have added 10 million people, “roughly equivalent to the population of Michigan.”
- By 2020, the percentage of whites/Anglos in the state will have decreased to 37.5%, and African-Americans will have decreased to 5.4%. Latinos will have increased to 41.4%, and Asians will have increased to 12.5%.
- By 2020, the number of Californians over the age of 65 will have increased by 75%.
The report recommends more investment in infrastructure, education, and care and services for older Californians. The executive director of the California Budget Project, Jean Ross, is quoted in a San Francisco Chronicle article today as saying, “We need to decide what is going to be the role of state policies. If not, we’re not going to have an economy that can compete globally.”
