Population gain mostly Hispanics; group makes up 42% in Stanislaus

Modesto Bee
March 8, 2011
by John Holland and Amy Taxin

The population grew 19 percent in the Northern San Joaquin Valley from 2000 to 2010 despite a sour economy in the latter part of the decade, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The gains came mostly from Hispanics, who increased from 32 percent to 42 percent of Stanislaus County's population and gained in Merced and San Joaquin counties.

Non-Hispanic whites made up 47 percent of Stanislaus' population of 514,453 in 2010, the bureau reported. It was the first time this group slipped below majority status in the once-a-decade tally.

The figures are from a home-by-home count of the population as of April 1, 2010. They provide far less detail than the bureau's more frequent surveys of social and economic conditions, but they are important nonetheless. The results will be used to distribute certain federal funds and to redraw legislative districts.

The increased number of people brings challenges for schools and other public bodies, said Dejeuné Shelton, interim executive director of the Great Valley Center in Modesto.

"It pulls on the services we have available at a time when all of our services are being reduced because of budget cuts," she said.

But the numbers also show that the region attracts people despite its poor rankings on variousnational lists, Shelton said.

"If you look at the population, you can see that they are coming for a reason," she said.

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