On kidsdata.org, demographic information includes the following:

Child Population (available for all counties)

by Age and Gender
by Race/Ethnicity (data are not comparable before and after 2000, due to racial classification changes)
by City (250,000 Residents or More), as single-year estimates
by City, School District, and County (20,000 Residents or More), as 3-year estimates
by City, School District, and County (10,000 Residents or More), as 5-year estimates
by Legislative District (10,000 Residents or More), as 5-year estimates
by Rural and Urban Areas (State Only)

Birth Rate
Births, by Race/Ethnicity
Total Population

Child population trends help project potential needs for education, child care, health care, and other services for children (1). Though the rate of California’s child population growth has slowed since the 1990’s, estimates project a population of approximately 10.3 million kids by 2015, a 3% increase from 2008 (2). Nationwide, the child population is projected to grow from its current 75 million to about 78 million in 2015 (1). Trends also show that by 2050, Latinos/Hispanics will have replaced White, non-Hispanics as the largest racial/ethnic group of children in the U.S. (1). This is already true in California where, as of 2009, Latino/Hispanic children accounted for 49.3% of children under 18 (3). Understanding the demographic composition of the child population provides important insight into the needs of children today and can guide investments that will best support American youth in the future.

For more information about demographics, see kidsdata.org’s Research & Links section.

Sources for this narrative:

1. Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. (2011). America’s children: Key national indicators of well-being, 2011. Retrieved from: http://www.childstats.gov/americaschildren/demo.asp
2. Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). (2011). California population: Planning for a better future. Retrieved from: http://www.ppic.org/main/publication.asp?i=900.
3. Kidsdata.org. (2012). Demographics: Child population, by race/ethnicity: 2009. Retrieved from: http://www.kidsdata.org/data/topic/table/child-population-race.aspx

In California and most counties, the overall population -- as well as the estimated child population and total number of K-12 children enrolled in public school -- increased between 1995 and 2009. Children ages 0-17 comprise 26% of the state's population. More than one-fourth (28%) of California's 9.9 million children live in Los Angeles County. San Diego and Orange counties are the next most populous counties. Most children (92%) live in urban areas of the state, and 8% live in rural areas, according to 2005-2009 data.

Statewide, no racial/ethnic group constitutes a majority of the child population. In 2009, 49.3% of the state's children were Latino/Hispanic (up from 43.8% in 2000), and 30.6% were Caucasian/White, a decrease from 35.5% in 2000. One in ten (10.2%) California children were Asian or Pacific Islander in 2009; 5.8% were African American/Black; 3.7% were multiracial; and 0.5% were Native American/American Indian.

• ChildStats.gov, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
• Demographics, Child Trends Databank
• Migration Policy Institute Data Hub
• National Adolescent and Young Adult Health Information Center
• Office of Minority Health and Health Disparities, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Public Policy Institute of California
• Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Knowledge Path, Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University
• Spanish-Language Health Resources Knowledge Path, Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University
• U.S. Census Bureau: Population and Household Topics

• A Portrait of California, 2011, American Human Development Project of the Social Science Research Council, Burd-Sharps & Lewis
• America’s Future: Latino Child Well-Being in Numbers and Trends, 2010, National Council of La Raza & Population Reference Bureau
• American Indian and Alaskan Native Health Assessment in California, 08/2010, California Program on Access to Care at UC Berkeley School of Public Health & the California Endowment, Korenbrot, Crouch & Garrow (California Rural Indian Health Board)
• America's Health Starts with Healthy Children: How Do States Compare?, 10/2008, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Commission to Build a Healthier America
• California Speaks: Language Diversity and English Proficiency by Legislative District, 05/2009, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)
• Demographic and Socioeconomic Profiles of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders, 2011, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum
• Ethnic Health Assessment for African Americans in California, 08/2010, California Program on Access to Care at UC Berkeley School of Public Health & California Endowment, Snowden & Freeman
• Ethnic Health Assessment for Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in California, 2011, Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum, University of California Asian American and Pacific Islander Policy Multicampus Research Program, Tseng et al.
• Ethnic Health Assessment for Latinos in California, 08/2010, California Program on Access to Care at UC Berkeley School of Public Health & California Endowment, Rodriguez & Hernández-Santana
• Immigrant Children, 04/2011, The Future of Children
• Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Health and Health Care of Children, 04/2010, Pediatrics, Flores
• The Changing Child Population of the United States: Analysis of Data from the 2010 Census, 2011, The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Population Reference Bureau, O'Hare, W.
• The Health and Well-Being of Children in Rural Areas: A Portrait of the Nation 2007, 09/2011, U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau
• Who Are America’s Poor Children? Examining Health Disparities by Race and Ethnicity, 07/2011, National Center for Children in Poverty

• 2011 Community Assessment: Health and Quality of Life in San Mateo County, 2011, The Healthy Community Collaborative of San Mateo County
• A Portrait of Preteens in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties, 2006, Lucile Packard Foundation for Children's Health, Public/Private Ventures
• L.A. Speaks: Language Diversity and English Proficiency by Los Angeles County Service Planning Area, 2008, Asian Pacific American Legal Center
• Our Families: Attributes of Bay Area Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Parents and Their Children, 2007, LGBT Family Collaborative, Wilson
• San Francisco Bay Area Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Youth Health Status Report, 12/2007, Asian and Pacific Islander Bay Area Health Council, Asian and Pacific Islander Health Forum
• The 17th Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, 2011, Orange County Children's Partnership (OCCP), Center for Community Collaboration, California State University, Fullerton, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Children and Families Commission of Orange County
• The Diverse Face of Asians and Pacific Islanders in Los Angeles County, 2004, Asian Pacific American Legal Center
• The Diverse Face of Asians and Pacific Islanders in San Diego County, 2005, Asian Pacific American Legal Center

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