NC in Focus: Minority Population Share, 2014

“Even more diverse than millennials are the youngest Americans: those younger than 5 years old. In 2014, this group became majority-minority for the first time, with 50.2 percent being part of a minority race or ethnic group.

Reflecting these younger age groups, the population as a whole has become more racially and ethnically diverse in just the last decade, with the percentage minority climbing from 32.9 percent in 2004 to 37.9 percent in 2014.”

– U.S. Census Bureau

Like the nation, North Carolina is rapidly diversifying. In 2014, nearly 36% of the state’s overall population belonged to a minority race or ethnic group. The youngest population was the most diverse, but even the under 5 population had not yet reached majority-minority status. 49.1% of individuals under 5 were a member of a minority race or ethnic group compared to 50.2% of under 5 individuals nationwide.

Similarly, the States of Change project from the Center for American Progress and the American Enterprise Institute predicts that the United States, as a whole, will become majority minority by 2044. North Carolina will follow close behind, but its population is not predicted to be majority minority until 2050.