 Since the 2000 U.S. Census, California has been known as the second state in US history (after Hawaii since its statehood in 1959) to have a non-white majority, and since 2014, the first state to have a Latino plurality surpass other racial/ethnic groups.The media discussed the possibility of Latinos becoming a majority in the 21st century, for the first time since statehood (1850) when massive immigration of Anglo-Americans during the California Gold Rush of 1848-49 reduced Spanish speakers to 20 percent of the population.California has the largest population of European Americans of any state.