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Whites now a minority in Texas
By ALEX MENESES MIYASHITA
Hispanic Link News Service
October 12, 2005
- In four out of the 50 U.S. states, white residents are in the minority.
Hawaii, New Mexico and California have been for years, and now Texas is also, according to new Census Bureau data.
The new figures show that the 11.3 million persons of color residing in Texas represent 50.2 percent of the state's total population, estimated at 22.5 million.
Of these, 35 percent are Hispanic. Blacks make up 11 percent.
The state's Hispanic population has increased by three percentage points since 2000, while the black population has remained the same, according to the figures.
The rapid Latino increase in Texas is driven not just by immigration but by high birthrates, says Steve Murdock, a University of Texas at San Antonio demographer.
"The future of Texas is very much tied to the future of its minority populations," Murdock says. "Closing the gaps in education, and subsequently in income, is important for the private sector and for the public sector as well. That's what I think is the major challenge presented by these statistics."
He points out that Hispanic and black household incomes are about two-thirds less than those of whites. In addition, compared to 30 percent of whites, only 15 percent of blacks and less than 9 percent of Hispanics in Texas have a college degree.
Murdock predicts that half of the state's population will be Hispanic sometime between 2025 and 2035.
Nationally, Latinos represent the fastest-growing group of color, having had an increase three times as high as the rest of the population between 2003 and 2004.
By ALEX MENESES MIYASHITA
Hispanic Link News Service
October 12, 2005
- In four out of the 50 U.S. states, white residents are in the minority.
Hawaii, New Mexico and California have been for years, and now Texas is also, according to new Census Bureau data.
The new figures show that the 11.3 million persons of color residing in Texas represent 50.2 percent of the state's total population, estimated at 22.5 million.
Of these, 35 percent are Hispanic. Blacks make up 11 percent.
The state's Hispanic population has increased by three percentage points since 2000, while the black population has remained the same, according to the figures.
The rapid Latino increase in Texas is driven not just by immigration but by high birthrates, says Steve Murdock, a University of Texas at San Antonio demographer.
"The future of Texas is very much tied to the future of its minority populations," Murdock says. "Closing the gaps in education, and subsequently in income, is important for the private sector and for the public sector as well. That's what I think is the major challenge presented by these statistics."
He points out that Hispanic and black household incomes are about two-thirds less than those of whites. In addition, compared to 30 percent of whites, only 15 percent of blacks and less than 9 percent of Hispanics in Texas have a college degree.
Murdock predicts that half of the state's population will be Hispanic sometime between 2025 and 2035.
Nationally, Latinos represent the fastest-growing group of color, having had an increase three times as high as the rest of the population between 2003 and 2004.
