The melting pot that is the Bay Area is getting decidedly more
The melting pot that is the Bay Area is getting decidedly more Asian, with some Bay Area cities seeing the majority of their population coming from countries that include China and India.
It’s a demographic shift of historic proportion.
“Ten years ago we received far more immigrants from Latin America than from Asia,” said Hans Johnson of the California Public Policy Institute in San Francisco, which studies demographic trends. “Today we’re receiving about three times as many immigrants from Asia as from Latin America (including Mexico).”
Census figures show more than 100,000 Asians are pouring into California each year, and they’re moving beyond their traditional American communities.
Since the Gold Rush, Chinatowns in San Francisco, Oakland and Sacramento were where Chinese immigrants settled.
But now they’re spreading out and the old stereotype of working in dry cleaners or Chinese restaurants has long been shattered.
Most of today’s new immigrants are highly educated.
That is why Silicon Valley has seen the most dramatic Asian population growth.
Santa Clara shot up from an Asian population of 18 percent in 1990 to 38 percent in 2010
Fremont jumped from 18 percent to 50 percent in the same time period.
Milpitas went from 33 percent to 62 percent.
High tech Asian immigrants are even spreading beyond the heart of Silicon Valley to places like Dublin and San Ramon, where the Asian population has jumped from just 9 percent to 35 percent in 20 years.
Still, nothing compares to Cupertino, where a whopping 63 percent of the population — almost two thirds — is Asian.
The home of Apple and Seagate is also home to the biggest demographic shift of any city in California.
The influx of Asian immigrants has changed the face of the community, especially to long time White residents.