Minority Population in Md. Grows, White Population Shrinks

As Maryland’s white population shrinks, the number of minorities, and particularly Latinos, continues to increase, according to U.S. Census Bureau Figures released Thursday.

The figures indicate non-Hispanic whites in Maryland decreased by 21,428 between 2006 and 2007, while the Latino population of all races increased by 17,779.

Latinos now make up slightly more than 6 percent of the state’s 5.6 million people, whose overall numbers inched up marginally in last year.

Whites represent 63.6 percent of Maryland’s population, African-Americans 29.5 percent and Asians 5 percent.

{snip}

The growth of the Hispanic population in absolute terms in Maryland has exceeded the growth of the non-Hispanic population for the past three years.

{snip}

Much of the growth in the Latino population can be attributed to immigration, Goldstein said. And, the number of minority births in Maryland has been creeping up since the beginning of the decade. During the past two years, minority births exceeded those of non-minorities.

Most children younger than 5 in Maryland are minorities, and public schools are majority-minority, meaning that minorities make up more than 50 percent of that population.

{snip}