The 2010 census data released yesterday show Berkeley’s population increased by 10% in the last decade , to 131,119 to 112,580. [Update: the original version of this post had data from the Berkeley census district, which includes more than the city. The new figures are for the city only.] While the city’s population increased, the African-American population dropped 19%, from 14,682 to 11,886 20%, from 14,007 to 11,241. Growth in both the Asian and Latino population, as well as whites, produced the overall increase.
Berkeley’s tally parallels California’s overall population growth of 10%, the lowest in the state’s history. The growth outpaced Alameda County, which only grew by 4.6% in the decade. The African-American population of Alameda County dropped nearly 12%, while the Asian population grew by more than 33% and the Latino population grew by 24%.
The 2010 data is used for redistricting and allocation of government funding. More detailed breakdowns are not yet available from the 2010 census. All of the data is available for browsing and download at the Census Bureau’s Factfinder site.
While the white population of Berkeley grew at about the average rate for the city as a whole, there were large increases in both Asian and Latino numbers. Berkeley’s Asian population grew by 31% to 27,480, 21% of the city’s total 29% to 21,690, 19.3% of the city’s total.
The Latino population grew by 25% to 14,100 22% to 12,209, 10.8% of the city. In contrast, the drop in African-American population took it to just 10% of the city’s total. About 6% of Berkeleyans were surveyed as two or more races; about half of those are white and Asian.
The number of residences in Berkeley went up to 49,454. About 7% of Berkeley’s residences — 3,425 — were surveyed as vacant.
