From 1995 to 2000, 27 states are expected to grow 5 percent or more in population, according to a Census Bureau report released yesterday. From 1995 to 2000, the U.S. population will rise 4.5 percent to 274.6 million -- then soar 27.5 percent to 335 million by 2025. Eight million immigrants will help lift the population of California alone by 56 percent between 1995 and 2025.

Some highlights of the report:

• California, the nation's most populous state with 31.6 million people, will have 17.7 million more by 2025 -- an increase in numbers almost equal to the present total population of New York state.

• Texas will add 1.4 million people to its 1995 total of 18.72 million by 2000 -- the biggest net gain of any state -- and 8.5 million by 2025.

• The nation's non-Hispanic white population, now the largest, is expected to grow the slowest in the next 30 years, while the Hispanic population will represent 44 percent of the 72 million additional people in the U.S.

Experts say that the boom in population -- particularly in the West and South -- indicates that states now grappling with over-crowding will face monstrous problems in the future.

Source: Haya El Nasser, "Immigration to Lead Population Boom in West," USA Today, October 23, 1996.