POPULATION
The population of Santa Ana was estimated by the Census Bureau to be 340,024 residents as of July 1, 2006. That was an decrease of 0.25 percent from a year earlier and an increase of .60 percent from the 2000 Census.
According to the 2000 Census, Santa Ana's population of was 337,977 residents, a 15.1 percent increase from the 293,742 residents in 1990. During the previous decade, the population increased by 44 percent from 204,023 residents.
FOREIGN-BORN POPULATION
The 2000 census recorded 179,933 foreign-born residents in Santa Ana. That was a 53.2 percent share of the overall population, which was much higher than for the state (26.2%). The 2000 data showed an increase of 20.4 percent in the immigrant population since 1990, which compared with an increase of 9.5 percent in the native-born population (which includes children born to immigrants) over the same period. That meant that the increase in the immigrant population directly accounted for 68.9 percent of the overall increase for the city.
In 2000, the Census recorded that more than two-fifths (42.1%) of the city's foreign-born population had entered since 1990. This was higher than the rate for the state overall (36.9%). More than one-fifth (23.5%) of the foreign-born residents had become naturalized U.S. citizens. This was a much lower share than for the state overall (39.2%).
Another indicator of the impact of the foreign-born population may be seen in data on residents who speak a language other than English at home. In Santa Ana in 2000, the share of other-than-English speakers at home (age 5 and older) was 79.6 percent. More than half (64.9%) of those persons admitted to speaking English less than very well.
The city's foreign-born population in 1990 was 149,445. That number of immigrants was the ninth largest among the nation's cities. This constituted a foreign-born population share of 50.9 percent. By comparison, the foreign-born population share of the state in 1990 was 21.7 percent.
POPULATION PROJECTION 2025
The current rate of population change between 1990-00, if continued, would result in a population in 2025 of 479,000. That is 41.7 percent larger than the 2000 population.
FOREIGN STUDENTS
The 2002/03 annual report of the Institute of International Education (IIE) shows the following foreign student post-secondary enrolment in schools in Santa Ana: Rancho Santiago C.C. - 627.
