U.S. Census: Texas is Nation’s Newest ‘Majority-Minority’ State
WASHINGTON
Texas has now joined Hawaii, New Mexico and California as a majority-minority state, along with the District of Columbia, the U.S. Census Bureau reported this week. Five states — Maryland, Mississippi, Georgia, New York and Arizona — are next in line with minority populations of about40 percent. (The minority population includes all people except non-Hispanic single-race Whites.)
According to July 1, 2004, population estimates, Texas had a minority population of 11.3 million, comprising 50.2 percent of its total population of 22.5 million. In comparison, 77 percent of Hawaii’s population was minority. In New Mexico and California, the proportions were 57 percent and 56 percent, respectively, while the District of Columbia was 70 percent minority.
The following race data are for people reporting their specified race, whether or not they reported any other races, and for Hispanics (who may be of any race). Among the highlights:
- Hispanics: California had the largest Hispanic population in July 2004 (12.4 million) and the largest numerical increase (351,000) since July 2003; New Mexico was the state where Hispanics comprised the highest proportion of the total population (43 percent).
The federal government treats Hispanic origin and race as distinct concepts. Therefore, separate questions are asked about them. For further details, see http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/compraceho.html
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