Louisiana minority population grew to 40.7% in 2014

As of last year, 40.7% of Louisiana residents were minorities, up from 39.6% four years earlier, according to updated data from the U.S. Census bureau.

As Governing notes in a state-by-state look at the numbers, several demographic shifts underway for years now have led the nation to become increasingly diverse, with the most recent Census projections suggesting the country will become majority-minority by 2044.

California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas are the only states where minorities, or those not identifying themselves as non-Hispanic whites, already make up the majority of the population. The latest estimates suggest the next states in line to surpass this threshold are Nevada (48.5% minority), Maryland (47.4%) and Georgia (45.7%).

Louisiana’s share of minority population is the 14th largest among all states and the District and Columbia. Hawaii has the largest minority population share, at 77%. Since 2010, the minority share of the population has increased in every state with the exception of Hawaii, along with the District of Columbia, which has seen its white population grow faster than blacks.

As previously reported in April, data from the Pew Research Center shows East Baton Rouge Parish and four other Louisiana parishes are among 78 counties in the United States that saw their populations shift to majority-minority between 2000 and 2013.

The figures from Pew, based on Census figures from 2013, show that in East Baton Rouge Parish, 55.2% of the parish’s 412,958 residents were non-hispanic whites in 2000. In 2013, that percentage of the parish’s 445,227 residents fell to 45.9%, a 9.2 percentage point swing over the 13-year span. The other four Louisiana parishes to see their populations shift to minority majorities over that period are Caddo, Claiborne, Morehouse and St. John the Baptist.

Read the full story by Governing, which includes an interactive map of minority populations in each state.