Minority Magnet Metros in the '90s

While America is becoming a "melting pot," from a national perspective, population shifts during the 1990s show continued geographic concentration of minority groups into specific regions and a handful of metro areas. This is especially the case for the new immigrant minorities -- Hispanics and Asians -- who are still most prone to enter major gateway cities, and remain in those regions. While there is some sprinkling out of these new ethnic minorities, the pace is relatively slow. The fact is, the largest blocks of Hispanic and Asian consumer groups, voters, and multi-lingual Americans are highly clustered in only a few metro areas. Most metro areas beyond these "multiple melting pots" are largely white, or white and black. In the 1990s especially, blacks have become increasingly drawn to "New South" metropolitan magnets -- representing a reversal, and potential reconsolidation of African Americans in this region.

This report presents an analysis of 1990-96 race-ethnic growth for US metro areas and nonmetro counties. It also identifies "multiple melting pot metros" and counties which became "majority minority" in the 1990s.

Dataset(s): 1990-96 US Census Bureau Postcensal Estimates by Race-Ethnicity.