More than 100 markets across America have qualified for "majority-minority" racial status, according to an On Numbers study of U.S. Census Bureau
data.
A majority of the residents of 106 metropolitan and micropolitan
areas are members of minority groups, a term that encompasses blacks,
American Indians, Asians and Hispanics.
The most extreme case is Rio Grande City-Roma, Texas, a micropolitan
area that hugs the Mexican border. Only 1.2 percent of its residents are
white. The other 98.8 percent are minorities. Almost all are Hispanics.
On Numbers analyzed raw data from the Census Bureau's 2010 American
Community Survey, making adjustments to isolate Hispanics as a distinct
race. (The bureau classifies Hispanics as an ethnic group. It assigns
separate racial identities to individual Hispanics -- generally white or
black. On Numbers removed those identities.)
Texas contains nearly a quarter of the nation's "majority-minority"
markets -- 25 of 106. Next are California with 17, New Mexico with 13
and Mississippi with 10.
The following database has racial breakdowns for 942 markets. Use the
tab to winnow out a single state, or simply hit Search to see
everything at once. Areas are ranked by percentages of white residents,
led by St. Marys, Pa., at 98.3 percent.
You can re-sort the list by clicking the appropriate column header. Reverse the sort by clicking a second time.
The "majority-minority" list includes 21 major markets, defined as
metropolitan areas with more than 500,000 residents. Among the leaders
are Honolulu (80.7 percent minorities), Los Angeles (67.6 percent) and
Miami (63.8 percent).
