August 09, 2007
One In 10 U.S. Counties Have Minority-Majority Population
Ethnic groups traditionally tagged as minorities have outgrown the white populations in nearly one in 10 U.S. counties, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this morning. In 303 out of 3,141 counties nationwide last year, minorities comprised more than 50 percent of the population.
According to the release, the government defines "the minority population... as anyone who indicated that they were either Hispanic or a race other than white alone."
Los Angeles County in California continues to lead the country with the largest minority population (71 percent of its total). But the Census Bureau analysis also indicates where minority populations are growing at the fastest rate, with Harris County, Texas, leading the way.
The latest data comes on the heels of a May report that revealed minority groups surpassed the 100-million mark in 2006, making up about one-third of the U.S. population. Hispanics led the pack, followed by blacks, Asians, American Indians and Alaska Natives, and Hawaiian Natives and other Pacific Islanders.
Reacting to today's census figures, the New York Times reports that "the shift reflects the growing dispersal of immigrants and the suburbanization of blacks and Hispanics pursuing jobs generated by whites moving to the fringes of metropolitan areas."
The population shift has caused tension in some of the counties mentioned in the report, including those in the greater Washington, D.C., area, where illegal immigration is seen as the driver of the boom in Hispanic residents. However, stronger birth rates among minority groups are also a major factor in the population shift.
Local newspapers reported this morning on the changing face of county populations in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, New Jersey, Texas and Washington.
AP has further analysis of the new figures, and the Census Bureau Web site has an explanation of the methodology it used to derive these figures and the way it defines race and Hispanic origin. A 2006 Congressional Research Service report on "The Changing Demographic Profile of the United States" can be found here [PDF].
