Census Bureau changes date when minorities become U.S. majority
The Census Bureau has changed its prediction about when minorities will become the majority population in the United States. It doesn’t have a new date yet. But it knows that 2042 is no longer when it will happen.
(Here’s a link to a Census Bureau breakdown of St. Louis County’s population by race, ethnicity, age and gender.)
Hope Yen of the Associated Press reports on data released today:
The Census Bureau projected last August that white children will become the minority in 2023 and the overall white population will follow in 2042. It now says it will recalculate those figures, typically updated every three to four years, because they do not fully take into account the economic crisis as well as anti-immigration policies instituted after the September 2001 terrorist attacks.
The new projections, expected to be released later this year, could delay the tipping point for minorities by 10 years, given the current low rates of immigration, David Waddington, the Census Bureau’s chief of projections, said in a telephone interview.
Other highlights from the report, according to Yen:
- The nation’s overall minority population continues to rise steadily, increasing 2.3 percent in 2008 to 104.6 million, or 34 percent of the total population.
- Thirty-six states had lower Hispanic growth in 2008 compared with the year before. The declines were in places where the housing bubble burst, such as Nevada and Arizona, which lost construction jobs that tend to attract immigrants.
- Asian population growth also slowed, from 3.7 percent in 2001 to about 2.5 percent.
- Hispanics and Asians still are the two fastest-growing minority groups, making up about 15 percent and 4.4 percent of the U.S. population, respectively.
- Blacks, who make up about 12.2 percent of the population, have increased at a rate of about 1 percent each year.
- Whites, with a median age of 41, have increased very little in recent years because of low birth rates and an aging boomer population.
- Minority populations became the majority in six U.S. counties, including Orange County, Fla., the nation’s 35th most-populous county and home to Orlando.
- 309 of the nation’s 3,142 counties — or one in 10 — have minority populations greater than 50 percent.
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Steve Parker is the deputy managing editor for news, and oversees the Post-Dispatch's front page. STLtoday's online news editors are on his newsroom team. Parker has been at the paper since September 1980. 
ooh, so when white people are the minority, do we get prefferential treatment in hiring?
Interesting population information Steve, but this isn’t really a story that is going to inspire a racial discussion, is it? Some racial comments probably, but not a “Conservation on Race” as this blog was intented to do…
Tim,
Fair criticism. I suppose it’s not material that will generate a rich conversation. But I did find it interesting, and the numbers certainly pertain to race. Honestly, I was just looking to post some interesting reading for visitors to the site. An inactive blog is no incentive to visit.
Mr. Parker - Toastedravs previously suggested a topic that would have been interesting: http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D984SLN80&show_article=1
i agree with tim that this is not may be the best topic to promote a racial discussion. however, i am interested in larry’s comment. i am having a hard time understanding the logic of people like larry. it is pretty obvious that white people have had prefferential treatment in hiring, and everything else, throughout the run of this country. i dont get why people play the “poor me it is so hard to be white” card. we teach nothing about black history at school, decide to cram into a month (the shortest month mind you) and i hear several people say “what about white history month?” people flat out refused to hire black people, regardless of education or qualifications, which led to affirmative action, and we get comments like larry’s. i love to see other peoples point of view, and on this blog i have seen many enlightening ones. so i would love to hear from larry and people like him to help me understand why white people take the victim role at times in discussions of race. do you feel guilt? is it because the race issue is uncomfortable to discuss honestly and openly? or do you really feel victimized? if it is the last, please fill me in on your reasoning as to why you feel victimized. maybe this would lead to better understanding on white people’s perception of race in this country. i welcome any and all comments.
Thank you Steve. I find this article very interesting and have thought many times about what this country would be like if whites were the minority.
This country is a democracy where majority rules so the implications for whites becoming a minority are huge. Some whites think they will then get preferential status because they are minority. Wrong! Most likely whites as a whole will still poses much of the wealth and power. This will in return put incredible political pressure on politicians for racial equality. This means quota systems and other forms of state based discrimination against whites. Much, much worse than today.
In actuality this process is already beginning today…
Anyone been following the white fire fighters(and one Hispanic) supreme court case? http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,517448,00.html . Whites are being denied promotions because the firefighters exam was thrown out because not enough minorities scored well on it. A federal appeals court in New York upheld a lower court ruling dismissing the lawsuit by the white firefighters! Now they are appealing to the supreme court who has not rendered a decisions. Keep a watch on this with Obama now as a President he will appoint more justices that will favor racial equality(state based discrimination against whites). He said he his looking for a person who has “empathy for struggling people”. Although not directly naming them, he is speaking of blacks and Hispanics.
The constitution means nothing when you stack the supreme court with activist judges. Hopefully, the whites will have a racial awakening one day or they face a downward existence in the country their ancestors discovered, founded and for the most part built.
To Clyde; you said, “i don’t get why people play the “poor me it is so hard to be white” card.” Couldn’t the same said for minorities? I wish we could identify our race, i know weird, on this blog so we can get real opinions on things. Like, what makes it so bad to be a minority these days? You have the red carpet rolled out to you in the form of legal precedence. And for black history month, what about other history months for other “races”? Do other people wish they had a history month? Is it b/c blacks are the majority minority?, if that makes sense. These stats are interesting, but is there any available for all other immigrants?
american resolve
wow. you have given us a lot to think about. i want to know how do you equate racial equality with state discrimination against white people? I did not know is was so hard to be white these days. i did not realize the state was discriminating against me. I guess i will have to pick cotton at the plantation. no wait, white people arent, and never have been, enslaved. too bad i cant vote to stop this discrimination. oh, no one ever took white people’s right to vote. i guess on my way to vote, i will grab a bite to eat. i wish i could go to the black only lunch counter. wait a second, im white. i can, and always could, eat wherever the heck i wanted. to bad i will grow up and not get a diploma so i can hold down a job. no wait, the state has never denied me an education. i could go on and on. “activist” judges have done their best to hold down minorities for centuries. white people did not discover this country, it was already here. the country was not founded by white people, it was taken by force from native americans. I dont have a problem with that, to the victor goes the spoils. and lets face it, this country was built by the strong backs of minorities and immigrants. you said that majority rules. for years white people have used that majority to supress, opress, and depress minorities in general, and blacks in particular. by your logic, it will be okay, when whites become the minority, for them to receive the same treatment. you go as far to say that it has already begun. i personally find it insane and insulting to compare this firefighter case with any past racist laws that this country was “founded” on. these guys may be denied a promotion, but not life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that minorities have been denied. if, when whites become the minorities, we are denied this (really denied it, not like you insinuate now)i guess white people will have to sit back and take it. dont blame blacky for all of your problems. majority rules. deal with it. stop that whining and dont you dare play the race card.
The percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose to 12.5 percent from 12.1 percent — as the poverty rate among children jumped to its highest level in 10 years, the Census Bureau said in an annual report. The rate for adults 18-to-64 and 65-and-older remained steady. This is one of the indicators in economy.The U.S. economy is shaky for pretty much everybody. Not only is it bad for Americans, but lousy U.S. economy hits the whole world hard. The U.S. bailout measures are good for everyone worldwide, if the cash advances being made work like they’re intended to. However, some are insisting that the bailout is going to wreck the budget and make the deficit explode. Obama and others insist there will be cuts made that will make up for it. Regardless, let us hope that the short term loans we’re making will help to bring back the U.S. economy. To read more click http://personalmoneystore.com/moneyblog/2009/04/09/america-high-doubleedged-cash-advances/
End Affirmative Action now. White Americans elected a black man as President. Equality has been reached.