Census shows higher-than-expected Hispanic growth, now 1 in 6 Americans

Census shows higher-than-expected Hispanic growth reaching 50 million, now 1 in 6 Americans

Hope Yen
Associated Press
March 24, 2011

WASHINGTON - Hispanics accounted for more than half of the U.S. population increase over the last decade, exceeding estimates in most states as they crossed a new census milestone: 50 million, or 1 in 6 Americans.

Meanwhile, more than 9 million Americans checked two or more race categories on their 2010 census forms, up 32 percent from 2000, a sign of burgeoning multiracial growth in an increasingly minority nation.

The Census Bureau on Thursday released 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 the housing boom and bust were the predominant story lines.

Analysts said the results confirmed a demographic transformation under way that is upending traditional notions of racial minorities, political swing districts, even city and suburb.

"These are big demographic changes," said Mark Mather, an associate vice president at the nonprofit Population Reference Bureau. "There is going to be some culture shock, especially in communities that haven't had high numbers of immigrants or minorities in the past."

"By 2050, we may have an entirely new system of defining ourselves," he said.

According to data released Thursday, Americans continued their decades-long migration to fast-growing parts of the Sun Belt. Their move to big states such as California and Texas as well as fast-growing Mountain West states pushed the nation's mean center of population roughly 30 miles southwest to a spot near the village of Plato, Mo.

African-Americans in search of wider spaces increasingly left big cities such as Detroit, Chicago and New York for the suburbs, typically in the South. Both Michigan and Illinois had their first declines in the black population since statehood as many of their residents opted for warmer climes in the suburbs of places such as Atlanta, Dallas and Houston.

The smaller numbers were a surprise to some city officials, including New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who questioned the census count of 8.2 million for his city and suggested immigrants may have been missed.

Census director Robert Groves said the agency had not yet received any formal complaints about the census count and that overall indicators showed high accuracy in 2010 compared to 2000.

After initial fears of low participation, the 2010 count of the Hispanic population came in 900,000 higher than expected, matching or surpassing census estimates in 37 states, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan think tank.

Many of the biggest jumps were in the South, including Alabama, Louisiana, North Carolina and Louisiana, where a small but fast-growing Hispanic population was fueled by an influx of immigrants during the housing boom.

Multiracial Americans now make up 2.9 percent of the U.S. population, a steadily growing group — even if it did not include President Barack Obama, who identified himself only as African-American on his census form. Obama's mother Ann Dunham, a white woman from Kansas, married his father, the Kenyan native Barack Obama Sr.

The vast majority of multiracial Americans lived in California, Texas, New York and Hawaii. The most numerous race combinations were white-American Indian or Alaskan Native, white-black and white-"some other race." In some cases, white Hispanics may be opting to list themselves as multiracial in the "some other race" category, which would put the actual number of multiracial Americans lower than the official tally of 9 million.

In all, racial and ethnic minorities made up about 90 percent of the total U.S. growth since 2000, part of a historic trend in which minorities are expected to become the majority by midcentury.

"Hispanics and immigrant minorities are providing a much needed tonic for an older, largely white population which is moving into middle age and retirement," said William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution who analyzed many of the census figures. "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."

Among census findings:

_The number of non-Hispanic whites, whose median age is now 41, edged up slightly to 196.8 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.

_In about 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.

_Asians grew by 43 percent over the last decade. They were tied with Hispanics as the fastest growing demographic group. For the first time Asians also had a larger numeric gain than African-Americans, who remained the second largest minority group at 37.7 million.

The race figures come as states in the coming months engage in the contentious process of redrawing political districts based on population and racial makeup. The new political maps — which will also change each state's electoral votes_ will take effect by the 2012 elections.

Many of the states in the South and West that are picking up House seats are Republican leaning, such as Texas and Florida. But most of their growth is now being driven largely by Hispanics, who tend to vote Democratic, which could put those regions in play.

In Texas, which picks up four House seats, the chair of the state Senate's redistricting panel has acknowledged that at least one House seat in north Texas could be a "minority or Hispanic influence district." Republicans are also rejecting the notion they can't appeal to Hispanics, who accounted for two-thirds of the state's population gains from 2000 to 2010.

"Our legislators represent all their constituents," said Texas Republican Party spokesman Chris Elam. He and others noted that the party picked up — narrowly — two heavily Hispanic congressional seats from Democrats in South Texas.

In New Jersey, Republicans are forming an unusual alliance with some Hispanics, who just surpassed African- Americans as that state's largest minority group. Both groups are looking for a political map — in this case, involving legislative districts — that offers a more competitive edge.

New Jersey must have its map completed by April 3, with legal challenges all but certain to follow.

"For us, it's not about parties, it's about whether Latinos are going to have Latinos in the Statehouse," said Martin Perez, president of the Latino Leadership Alliance of New Jersey, who said he has met with Republicans.

In large metropolitan regions, U.S. suburbs are becoming more politically competitive because of their fast growth and changing demographics, said Robert Lang, a demographer at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas. He noted that minorities are increasingly moving from cities to nearby suburbs, while more conservative whites living in far-flung suburbs known as exurbs were moving closer to cities due to a spike in gas prices and the housing bust.

"That's the new contested space," Lang said, noting that Democrat Obama was able to win many suburban areas in 2008 before Republicans reclaimed much of the turf in the 2010 elections. "They grew the fastest in the last decade without resolving which way they will vote."

According to census, the 10 fastest-growing cities over the last decade were actually suburbs of major metropolitan areas. They included Lincoln, Calif.; Surprise, Ariz.; and Frisco, Texas, all of whose population more than tripled since 2000.

In all, U.S. metropolitan areas grew more than 10 percent over the last decade. It was also home to a record share of 83.7 percent of the U.S. population, with much of the growth in suburban areas.

"We expect this to continue," Groves said.

It's really no wonder why many Americans are sick of this shit. There's a lot of illegal immigration and also many people here who are "anchor babies" that have added to this.

I don't run into many people (of all ideologies) who make excuses for this. Many want this stopped. This nation is literally turning into another culture right before our very eyes.

Racist? I don't think so.

No... it's not racist. It's a simple matter of enforcing our laws. If you examine the laws of Mexico, Central and South America, their immigration laws make our pale by comparison... and their enforcement measures make ours look positively useless. We are welcoming illegal immigrants with open arms and it is about time that we do something about it!

Sadly, Democrats (who are now in control) see illegal immigrants as nothing more than mindless future Democrat voters - so they have no motivation to halt the tsunami of illegal immigration.

I remember back in the 80's while living in Texas and talking to my dad on the phone in Minnesota. I was telling him how signs are going up in English and Spanish. He literally said, "You're kidding me." Now it's like that here in Minnesota. We now have signs in English, Arabic (for Somalians), Russian and Vietnamese. Yep, this is the face of Minneapolis/St. Paul now. A real melting pot that won't melt together.

TexasBlue wrote:I remember back in the 80's while living in Texas and talking to my dad on the phone in Minnesota. I was telling him how signs are going up in English and Spanish. He literally said, "You're kidding me." Now it's like that here in Minnesota. We now have signs in English, Arabic (for Somalians), Russian and Vietnamese. Yep, this is the face of Minneapolis/St. Paul now. A real melting pot that won't melt together.

Precisely. And you should have seen the voter information booklets sent out in Los Angeles... they were written in almost a dozen different languages. For crying out loud! If you can't read English, you shouldn't be voting!!!

dblboggie wrote:If you can't read English, you shouldn't be voting!!!

No kidding.... and I'm not making light of that statement.

TexasBlue wrote:

dblboggie wrote:If you can't read English, you shouldn't be voting!!!

No kidding.... and I'm not making light of that statement.

Exactly. One can only vote if they are a citizen. It is a requirement of citizenship that one be fluent in English. So why on fucking earth should we be printing voting information pamphlets in any other language than English?!?!?!

There is no reasonable explanation for this. If you cannot read and understand the language of the country you claim to be a citizen of, then there is no fucking way you should be allowed to vote!

I'm sorry to be so emphatic, but this is something that pisses me off to no end! We speak English in America! Learn it!

Nothing against those who are immigrants. But what you said......

Now we know how the natives felt.

kronos wrote:Now we know how the natives felt.

Which ones?

dblboggie wrote:

kronos wrote:Now we know how the natives felt.

Which ones?

The American ones.

More accurately: the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas, who like us, only more so, saw their numbers replaced and their lands overrun with foreigners.

I'm sorry if I sound snarky here, but I see irony in the mainstream American view that we're being overrun by foreign invaders, when that is exactly what we were, originally.

I don't have a problem at all with legal immigrants. In act, I enjoy speaking with people from other places. I like to ask them questions about their homeland and other stuff. I've always found it interesting.

What I don't like is unfettered immigration (letting everyone in regardless) and I despise illegal immigration with a passion like one hasn't seen.

I also don't like the "multiculturalism" mindset... that we have to accommodate everyone in regards to their origins and cultures. No other country has to put up with that. Mexico sure doesn't. Middle eastern countries don't. Heck, even Japan is very particular on who immigrates there.... which is almost null. They're protecting their culture and ways. I can't blame them.

About the language issue:

I'm of two minds. I find the Spanish instructions everywhere a bit annoying. I do think anyone who comes here should learn the lingo. I've even seen an otherwise English-language commercial with Spanish words thrown in randomly (the family in the ad looks vaguely Hispanic). It all seems so namby-pamby, and frankly a bit condescending.

On the other hand: look at India. Over 1,000 languages! That, to me, is wealth. That just makes India fucking cool as shit (notwithstanding whatever problems it might cause them), and makes the US seem pretty vanilla by comparison.

I don't have a problem with other countries and their ways. It's their business. I find it hard to accommodate people who immigrate here with certain things. Language is one. I don't mind seeing people dressing in their traditional clothing though. Somalians are a big group in the Twin Cities. You'd see lots of traditional dress. Doesn't faze me.

kronos wrote:About the language issue:

I'm of two minds. I find the Spanish instructions everywhere a bit annoying. I do think anyone who comes here should learn the lingo. I've even seen an otherwise English-language commercial with Spanish words thrown in randomly (the family in the ad looks vaguely Hispanic). It all seems so namby-pamby, and frankly a bit condescending.

On the other hand: look at India. Over 1,000 languages! That, to me, is wealth. That just makes India fucking cool as shit (notwithstanding whatever problems it might cause them), and makes the US seem pretty vanilla by comparison.

I should clarify my statements above. I have no problem with legal immigrants whatsoever. I've worked with people from all over the world - both working visitors and legal residents.

I just find it annoying that we have to pander to and bow down at the alter of political correctness on the matter of language - particularly when it comes to something as important as voting.

As for India, I should think that having 1,000 different languages would be a massive roadblock to progress for that country. Sort of a modern Tower of Babel. How do they conduct business like that? Is there one agreed upon language in which business is conducted?

dblboggie wrote:I should clarify my statements above. I have no problem with legal immigrants whatsoever.

I didn't think for a minute you did.

dblboggie wrote:As for India, I should think that having 1,000 different languages would be a massive roadblock to progress for that country. Sort of a modern Tower of Babel. How do they conduct business like that? Is there one agreed upon language in which business is conducted?

I don't know what the exact number is; I don't think anyone does. I was going to just type "over 800" because I recall reading that once, then I checked wikipedia and there are many different numbers cited by many sources from many points in time, but they're all big (triple- or quadruple-digit numbers); India is linguistically diverse.

This of course includes little endangered languages with very few speakers; they're not all equally well-represented. I think the majority of the languages are spoken by a minority of speakers. But there are still a metric fuckton of other major languages.

The official language is Hindi; English is also huge. There are 29 languages with over 1 million speakers.

I imagine it is a bit of a roadblock, but there's probably a lot of multilingualism (and mutual intelligibility between closely-related languages), and of course, the language barrier in Europe hasn't really prevented the diffusion of ideas. And while Hindi dominates on the national level, I think there are other languages that dominate certain regions within India.

But there are probably many, many situations in which if you're going to business, you'll need a translator, or a chain of translators.

The overwhelming majority of Indians speak English as a second language, it is often the one thing common to the melting pot that is the cultural make up of India.

I don't think it's anywhere near the overwhelming majority. Maybe among the wealthy, educated class.

English is the official second language of India and is spoken in most areas by most people. India was part of the British Empire and is still part of the Commonwealth. For a variety of reasons, it is advantageous for most people to have at least a basic level of English.

Wikipedia lists 226,449 native speakers of Indian English (let's call it .25 million), and 90 million Indians who speak English as an L2 or L3.

In a country of over 1 billion, this is not a vast majority.

Hmmm, I'm surprised it is so low. I know quite a few people who have been to India and have found it commonly spoken, and some have travelled off the beaten track. But we can't argue with the figures.

kronos wrote:

dblboggie wrote:I should clarify my statements above. I have no problem with legal immigrants whatsoever.

I didn't think for a minute you did.

dblboggie wrote:As for India, I should think that having 1,000 different languages would be a massive roadblock to progress for that country. Sort of a modern Tower of Babel. How do they conduct business like that? Is there one agreed upon language in which business is conducted?

I don't know what the exact number is; I don't think anyone does. I was going to just type "over 800" because I recall reading that once, then I checked wikipedia and there are many different numbers cited by many sources from many points in time, but they're all big (triple- or quadruple-digit numbers); India is linguistically diverse.

This of course includes little endangered languages with very few speakers; they're not all equally well-represented. I think the majority of the languages are spoken by a minority of speakers. But there are still a metric fuckton of other major languages.

The official language is Hindi; English is also huge. There are 29 languages with over 1 million speakers.

I imagine it is a bit of a roadblock, but there's probably a lot of multilingualism (and mutual intelligibility between closely-related languages), and of course, the language barrier in Europe hasn't really prevented the diffusion of ideas. And while Hindi dominates on the national level, I think there are other languages that dominate certain regions within India.

But there are probably many, many situations in which if you're going to business, you'll need a translator, or a chain of translators.

My new favorite unit of measure "metric fuckton"

That's even funnier than an "RCH."

Gotcha on the rest of the post, but metric fuckton was the highlight...

The_Amber_Spyglass wrote:Hmmm, I'm surprised it is so low. I know quite a few people who have been to India and have found it commonly spoken, and some have travelled off the beaten track. But we can't argue with the figures.

90 mil is still around 7-9% of the population, depending on what figure for the population you use. That's not insignificant. It's not surprising that your friends would meet several English speakers.

dblboggie wrote: My new favorite unit of measure "metric fuckton"

That's even funnier than an "RCH."

Gotcha on the rest of the post, but metric fuckton was the highlight...

Glad you like it! I find it very handy; I measure everything in metric fucktons these days.

(What's an RCH?)

kronos wrote:

dblboggie wrote: My new favorite unit of measure "metric fuckton"

That's even funnier than an "RCH."

Gotcha on the rest of the post, but metric fuckton was the highlight...

Glad you like it! I find it very handy; I measure everything in metric fucktons these days.

(What's an RCH?)

It's a cool unit of measure.

An RCH is something we used in construction to mean just a tiny bit - the meaning of the letters is something that should not be defined in mixed company... just assume that a "red" hair is finer than other colors of hair... and imagine that red hair is located in a private region...

You should be able to assemble it from there... if not, there's always PM...