But this is Chico, too

Population projections recently released by the Butte County Association of Governments suggest the south part of the county is headed for a growth boom. Why is that?

The state’s changing ethnic makeup may offer a clue. A large percentage of California’s growth in the last 15 years is the result of increasing numbers Latino and Asian residents. In the state as a whole, Latinos now comprise almost 35 percent of the population while Asians make up 12 percent. About a third of San Francisco’s population is Asian. About half of Los Angeles’ population is Latino.

In Butte County, especially Chico and Paradise, the figures are much different. Latinos are 12 percent and Asians are 4 percent of the county population. Unlike much of the rest of the state, we still have a predominately white population. Blacks make up 2 percent of the population in Chico and Butte County, compared with about 7 percent statewide. Our moderate population growth reflects the fact that the white population in the state is either stable or shrinking.

For some reason, the Sierra foothills and parts of the north state remain white strongholds. It may be related to their enduring rural characteristics. California is the nation’s most ethnically diverse state, but you wouldn’t know it in places like Chico, Redding and Nevada City.

It seems likely that faster population growth in Butte County will correlate with increases in the percentage of the Asian and Latino population.

This trend is evident in nearby counties that are growing fast. Sutter County is 24 percent Latino and 12 percent Asian. Yuba County is 20 percent Latino and 8 percent Asian.

In Southern California, fast-growing San Bernardino and Riverside counties are 40 percent Latino, although Asians make up only 5 percent of their respective population. In Los Angeles County, which is the state’s most populous and numerically fastest-growing county, Latinos make up 46 percent and Asians comprise 13 percent of the population.

Among Butte County cities, Biggs, Gridley and Oroville are projected to growth the fastest, more than doubling their populations by 2030. At the time of the 2000 Census, Oroville’s ethnic mix reflected that of the county as a whole. It was 8.3 percent Latino, 6.3 percent Asian, 3.9 black and 3.5 American Indian. Both Biggs and Gridley already have Latino populations that are more in keeping with statewide totals — 27.6 in Biggs and 38.6 in Gridley, but both communities still have small Asian populations.

Paradise, which is expected to see only a 27 percent population increase by 2030, was 91 percent white at the time of the 2000 Census. It was 4.3 percent Latino, 1.3 percent Asian and less than 1 percent black.