Census Bureau: Whites will be a minority in US in 34 years

Racial and ethnic minorities, who now comprise about one-third of the U.S. population, will become the majority in 2042, according to a new Census Bureau projection released today.

With an African American candidate vying for the presidency and ongoing debate in Washington about immigration, it seems the nation is changing more rapidly than many experts anticipated.

The change is happening with young people first. In just 15 years (in 2023), current so-called minorities will make up more than half of all children. That would mean minority children would no longer be minorities in their age bracket.

Then by 2039, the working-age population is projected to become more than 50 percent "minority."

Finally, in 2042, whites will become a minority, and by the year 2050, a full 54 percent of the nation's population will be made up of what were once referred to as minorities, according to the data. At that point, the minority population -- everyone except for non-Hispanic, single-race whites -- is projected to be 235.7 million out of a total U.S. population of 439 million. The nation is projected to reach the 400 million population milestone in 2039, the Census Bureau reported.

The new trend is based in part on increasing numbers of immigrants, Hispanics and current racial and ethnic minorities, but also on the declining growth of the white population. Whites now account for two-thirds (199.8 million) of the nation's 300 million people, but by 2050 that number is only expected to budge a little, as whites are projected to number 203.3 million.

Meanwhile, the Hispanic population will nearly triple, from 46.7 million to 132.8 million during the 2008-2050 period, according to the projections. Nearly one in three U.S. residents will be Hispanic in 2050.

The black population will also increase slightly, from 41.1 million, or 14 percent of the population in 2008, to 65.7 million, or 15 percent in 2050.

The Asian population will rise more dramatically, from 15.5 million to 40.6 million, but blacks will still outnumber Asians in 2050, according to the projections, and Asians will make up 9.2 percent of the U.S. population.