Commerce Secretary Gary Locke announces the release of Census 2010 data in December.

Census 2010 data released for California shows that Asian Americans were the fastest growing ethnic or racial group, rising 31.5 percent since 2000 to makeup 12.8 percent of the state's population. The Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders group rose 23.4 percent.

The Latino population rose by 27.8 percent, making it second to Asian Americans. The white population grew by 6.4 percent and African Americans by 1.6 percent. The white population remains the largest, with 40.1 percent of the state's residents. Latinos were second at 37.6 percent.

The Census numbers affirm what you might have noticed just walking around your community if you live in California.

Census data are also used to redraw Congressional and state legislative districts. The changing demographics could have an impact on representation for Asian Americans and other groups in California that have historically been underrepresented in comparison with their populations.

Here's some coverage of the Census data from the Southern California point of view, San Francisco and New York.

As data for other states roll out, Hyphen will provide continuing coverage of what the numbers mean for Asian Pacific Americans.