US Minority Population Tops 100 Million

The nation's minority population has reached 100.7 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Among a total population of just over 300 million, one out of three U.S. residents is a minority.

"To put this into perspective, there are more minorities in this country today than there were people in the United States in 1910," said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon in a press release. "In fact, the minority population in the U.S. is larger than the total population of all but 11 countries."

The minority population of California led all states at 20.7 million, or about 21 percent of the nation's total minority population. Texas had a minority population of 12.2 million, or 12 percent of the U.S. total.

Related highlights:

• The nation's black population passed the 40 million mark, while Hispanics, representing the fastest-growing minority group, also remained the largest group, with 44.3 million.

• California had the largest Hispanic population of any state (13.1 million), followed by Texas (8.4 million) and Florida (3.6 million).

• New York had the largest black population in 2006 (3.5 million), followed by Florida (3 million) and Texas (2.9 million).

This and other U.S. population estimates can be viewed or downloaded from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Census Bureau is a branch of the U.S. Department of Commerce, a Cabinet-level, regulatory agency.