WASHINGTON, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- Texas, the second-largest state in the United States, now has more minorities living in the state than whites, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday.
The Census Bureau said that as of July 1, 2004, the minority population of Texas totaled 11.3 million, about 50.2 percent of the state's 22.5 million population. The bureau refers to the demographic as "majority-minority."
Texas is the fourth state to have more non-whites than whites, joining California -- the biggest state in the country -- Hawaii and New Mexico. The District of Columbia is also categorized as a "majority-minority" area.
Hawaii, with a minority population of 77 percent, has the highest percentage of non-whites in the United States while California has the highest total number of minorities with 12.4 million.
Five other states -- Arizona, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi and New York -- have populations of about 40 percent minorities.
The Census Bureau defines the minority population as all people except non-Hispanic single-race whites.
