Second-generation Californians at 85-year high By MATT KAPKO Bay City News Service May 20, 2005 California is a crock pot of diversity whose residents represent the most ethnically diverse population of any state, and that medley of cultures is growing, according to the Public Policy Institute of California. The state has not this many second-generation Californians since 1920, according to a new study released by the research group. Surging waves of immigration began in the 1880s and started wearing down in the 1920s after tightened government restrictions. The number of residents with at least one foreign-born parent grew from three million in 1970 to more than seven million today, according to the study. Second-generation Californians now account for 21 percent of the state's residents and youth of at least one foreign-born parent account for 41 percent of California's children. At least 19 percent of the Bay Area's residents are second-generation immigrants, the study reports. On average, most second-generation Californians fare better than their parents who immigrated here, according to the study, Second-Generation Immigrants in California. Despite that, there are still serious disparities among second-generation groups, with some trailing far behind in education and income, the study reports. College graduation rates among different ethnic groups is a mixed bag. Second-generation Latinos graduate from college at a rate of 10 percent, compared to 52 percent of Asians and 35 percent of whites. Latinos account for 67 percent of second-generation children who will reach adulthood in the coming decades, the study reported. Home