Six U.S. counties become majority minority

WASHINGTON, May 14 (UPI) -- Six U.S. counties became majority-minority from 2007 to 2008, meaning half their populations were other than single race, the U.S. Census Bureau said.

The counties are Orange County, Fla.; Stanislaus County, Calif.; Finney County, Kan.; Warren County, Miss.; Edwards County, Texas; and Schleicher County, Texas. The Census Bureau said nearly 10 percent of the nation's 3,142 counties were majority-minority as of July 1.

"These estimates paint a detailed portrait of our nation at the national, state and county levels ahead of next year's 2010 Census," Thomas Mesenbourg, acting director of the Census Bureau, said.

Federal officials noted that Starr County, Texas, had the highest percentage minority population, at 98 percent, followed by two other Texas counties -- Maverick County at 97 percent and Webb County at 95 percent.

In 2008, four states were majority-minority -- Hawaii, at 75 percent; New Mexico, at 58 percent; California, at 58 percent; and Texas, at 53 percent. The District of Columbia was 67 percent minority.

The nation's oldest county was La Paz County, Ariz., where 34 percent of residents were 65 or older in 2008.