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发帖数: 2053 | 1 http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42246452/ns/us_news-life/?GT1=43001
In forthcoming Census Bureau release, racial and ethnic minorities are
expected to make up 90 percent of total US growth since 2000
WASHINGTON — In a surprising show of growth, Hispanics accounted for more
than half of the U.S. population increase over the last decade, exceeding
estimates in most states. Also, pulled by migration to the Sun Belt, America
's population center edged westward on a historic path to leave the Midwest.
The Census Bureau on Thursday will release its first set of national-level
findings from the 2010 count on race and migration, detailing a decade in
which rapid minority growth, aging whites and increased suburbanization were
the predominant story lines.
Racial and ethnic minorities are expected to make up an unprecedented 90
percent of the total U.S. growth since 2000, due to immigration and higher
birth rates for Latinos. Currently the fastest growing group, Hispanics are
on track to exceed 50 million, or roughly 1 in 6 Americans; among U.S.
children, Hispanics are now roughly 1 in 4.
Story: Population growth slowest since 1940, census shows
Census takers do not differentiate between respondents based on immigration
status, spokesman Tom Edwards told msnbc.com.
"It's a population count, so we don't ask about citizenship," he said. "They
're just counted. We don't ask whether they're legal or illegal."
Based on a Pew Hispanic Center analysis, the 2010 count of Hispanics was on
track to be 900,000 higher than expected as their ranks surpassed census
estimates in roughly 40 states. Many of their biggest jumps were in the
South, including Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina and Louisiana, where
immigrants made large inroads over the last decade.
Geographers estimate that the nation's population center will move southwest
about 30 miles and be placed in or near the village of Plato in Texas
County, Mo.
"There is excitement," said Brad Gentry, 48, of Houston, Mo., who publishes
the weekly paper in Texas County, noting that the U.S. population center
typically carries symbolic meaning as the nation's heartland. "It is putting
a spotlight on a corner of the world that doesn't get much attention. Most
residents are proud of our region and like the idea that others will learn
our story through this recognition."
'Transformational decade'
Asians for the first time had a larger numeric gain than African-Americans,
who remained the second largest minority group at roughly 37 million. Based
on the 2010 census results released by state so far, multiracial Americans
were on track to increase by more than 25 percent, to about roughly 8.7
million.
Story: Census: Detroit's population plummets 25 percent
The number of non-Hispanic whites, whose median age is now 41, edged up
slightly to 197 million. Declining birth rates meant their share of the
total U.S. population dropped over the last decade from 69 percent to
roughly 64 percent.
"This really is a transformational decade for the nation," said William H.
Frey, a demographer at Brookings Institution who has analyzed most of the
2010 data. "The 2010 census shows vividly how these new minorities are both
leading growth in the nation's most dynamic regions and stemming decline in
others."
"They will form the bulk of our labor-force growth in the next decade as
they continue to disperse into larger parts of the country," he said.
The final figures come as states in the coming months engage in the
contentious process of redrawing political districts based on population and
racial makeup, with changes that analysts believe will result in more
Hispanic-majority districts.
The population changes will result in a shift of 12 House seats and
electoral votes affecting 18 states beginning in the 2012 elections. Most of
the states picking up seats, which include Texas and Florida, are
Republican-leaning, even as most of their growth is now being driven largely
by Democrat-leaning Hispanics.
Story: South gains electoral clout in Census tally
Among other findings:
In at least 10 states, the share of children who are minorities has
already passed 50 percent, up from five states in 2000. They include
Mississippi, Georgia, Maryland, Florida, Arizona, Nevada, Texas, California,
New Mexico and Hawaii.
Over the last decade, Latino population growth was most rapid in the
South, where many states have seen their Latino populations double since
2000. For the first time, Hispanic population growth outpaced that of blacks
and whites in the region, changing the South's traditional "black-white"
image.
More than half of the cities with the largest African-American
concentrations showed black population declines in the last decade,
including Chicago and Detroit. In contrast, the suburbs of growing southern
metro areas like Atlanta, Dallas and Houston saw some of their highest gains.
Story: Black and white and married in the deep South: A shifting image
The Census Bureau calculates the mean U.S. population center every 10 years
based on its national head count. The center represents the middle point of
the nation's population distribution — the geographic point at which the
country would balance if each of its 308.7 million residents weighed the
same.
Plato, with a population of 109, is roughly 30 miles southwest of the
present mean center in Phelps County, Mo. Based on current U.S. growth,
which is occurring mostly in the South and West, the center of population is
expected to cross into Arkansas or Oklahoma by midcentury.
The last time the U.S. center fell outside the Midwest was 1850, in the
eastern territory now known as West Virginia. Its later move to the Midwest
bolstered the region as the nation's cultural heartland in the 20th century,
central to U.S. farming and Rust Belt manufacturing sites.
The Associated Press contributed to this report. | M*******c
发帖数: 4371 | 2 Anyone has statistics about the tax turned in by Latino? |
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