(Tom Ross) |
Ethnic Populations The Asian Population The Hispanic Population The White Population The Black Population The Native American Population |
The most dramatic change in North Carolina’s demographic history has been the rapid change in its ethnic composition. For many decades the state has been characterized by a population that was dominated by whites and a smaller but substantial proportion of African Americans. Included also was a smaller concentration of Native Americans. Recently, however, the state has attracted large numbers of both Hispanics and Asians. Hispanics are a cultural group, not ethnic, and, in fact about 85 percent of North Carolina’s Hispanics are white and most of the rest are black. However, they are distinctive because of their Latino culture, including surnames, language and diet. As Figure 13 and Table 4(a) show, the state’s Hispanic population more than quadrupled between 1990 and 2002 and Asians more than doubled in number. The state's 479 percent growth rate for Hispanics ranked first among all the states and North Carolina's total Hispanic population moved from 28th to 15th largest in the nation between 1900 and 2000. However, by 2002 Latinos made up only 5.3 percent of the state total, well below the national share of 12.5 percent. Clearly, a large share of the state’s strong growth due to in-migration is accounted for by the dramatic growth of these several population groups. As a result of these changes, the state has an increasingly diverse population. However, the non-Hispanic white and African American populations still comprised over 91 percent of the state total in 2002.
Recent US Census estimates show that Latinos of all races in North Carolina increased by 138,654 between the 2000 Census and July 1, 2004, from 378,963 to 517,617, a gain of nearly 37 percent. This is in contrast with the state's overall growth rate of just 6.1 percent. In fact, Latinos accounted for over 28 percent of the state's net growth during this period, which increased their share of the total from 4.7 to 6.1 percent. In similar fashion, the Asian population grew to 171,600 by 2004, a rise of over 25 percent during this period. This brought their share of the state total from 1.7 to 2.0 percent.
A report from the Washington, DC-based Pew Hispanic Center <www.pewhispanic.org> estimates that North Carolina has over 300,000 undocumented immigrants in its population, 3% of the US total.. This ranks the state 8th highest among all US states. Most of these illegal immigrants are thought to be from Mexico. The study is based upon a March, 2004 survey by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census. About half of all immigrants living in the state are thought to be undocumented. North Carolina has become a popular destination for these immigrants who, in the past, tended to be drawn to the nation's larger cities.
Table 4(b) shows that in 2002 there was a pronounced urban tendency in the distribution of Hispanics and, even more so, for Asians. Over half of all Hispanics were in 10 counties that were parts of five metro areas. Even more striking, over 73 percent of the state’s Asians were found in just 10 counties, again, all parts of metro areas.
It should be noted that the 2000 Census was the first to include a category called “Other,” which included anyone reporting that they were of mixed ethnic parentage. Apparently a number of people who in earlier censuses listed themselves as Native American or black reported themselves in this new category in 2000.
A report released by The Brookings Institute in May, 2006 (www.brookings.edu), Diversity Spreads Out, showed that North Carolina's largest metro areas have been highly attractive to some minority groups. The Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord MSA ranked second nationally with a 49.8% growth rate in its Hispanic population between 2000 and 2004, followed in 3rd place by the Raleigh-Cary MSA at 46.7%. The two areas also ranked high during the same period in the increase in their Black populations. Raleigh-Cary ranked 5th nationally with a 15.2% gain while Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord was 10th with a 13.7% gain.
Figure 14 displays the total increase in the Asian population that occurred
between 1990 and 2000. There was a strong urban aspect to this growth, with
nearly 42
percent of the growth going into Mecklenburg and Wake counties. A large share
of the rest went to other Piedmont counties.
The distribution of Asians in 2000 reflects the recent growth trend in many respects (Figure 15). Those counties with three percent or more shares of Asians in their populations are in the Raleigh-Durham area, in Charlotte-Mecklenburg or in the Hickory area. Somewhat lesser proportions were found in other parts of the Piedmont or in other metro counties, including the Fayetteville area, Wilmington, Goldsboro, Greenville, New Bern or Jacksonville. All other areas had proportions that were less than the statewide share of 1.77 percent.
In another report from the Pew Hispanic Center, The New Latino South, identifies six Southern states, including North Carolina, as "New Settlement Areas" for the Hispanic population and, as previously noted, North Carolina led the nation in the rate of growth of its Latino population between 1990 and 2002. These immigrants were attracted mainly by this region's robust economy. Since most arrived recently, they tended to have been born abroad, to be male, unmarried, and young. Also, most have relatively little education and do not speak English very well..
The public policy implications of this growth in the Latino population are just beginning to be felt. For example, it is anticipated that as these young male Latinos mature they will bring in wives or get married and have children, typically at a higher rate than the non-Latino population. Consequently, the school age population will also expand rapidly, placing additional pressures on school systems. Similarly, as this population ages and older relatives join the original immigrants, the demands on health care systems will also increase.
Among the many findings in the Pew Center study is that employment gains by Latinos did not take jobs away from non-Hispanic. The study selected 36 counties in the six states for more detailed analysis and 19 of them are in North Carolina. In every one, employment of Hispanics and non-Hispanics increased during 1990-2000. In North Carolina generally, the total employment gain for non-Hispanics was 3.3 times greater than the increase in the employment of Hispanics.
The Latino population of North Carolina increased by over 368,000 between 1990 and 2002. Again, the largest numerical increases were in Mecklenburg and Wake counties, which collectively accounted for over 22 percent of the statewide gain (Figure 16). Other sizeable gains were recorded in the Triad as well, along with some other Piedmont counties. In addition, several counties in the central Coastal Plain also recorded significant gains. Northeastern counties and most in the mountains attracted relatively few Hispanics.
The actual distribution of Hispanics in 2000 is significantly different from the 1990-2000 growth patterns (Figure 17). The largest concentrations are found in several agricultural counties on the central Coastal Plain, in parts of the Research Triangle area and in Montgomery County. The proportions in the recent growth leaders, Mecklenburg and Wake, were higher than the state average but no more than some others on the central Coastal Plain or on the northern Piedmont. Again, the smallest shares were found in the northeast and in the mountains.
A significant aspect of the growth of the Hispanic population is the amount of money that Latinos send back home. A report released by the Inter-American Development Bank projects that North Carolina's Latinos will send $833 million to their families in Latin America during 2004. This ranks the state eighth highest among all US states and the amount of individual transactions, $240, is the second highest. Some 84% of North Carolina's Latinos will send money back home this year.
A study released by the Kenan Institute at UNC Chapel Hill in January, 2006, The Economic Impact of the Hispanic Population on the State of North Carolina, (www.kenaninstitute.unc.edu), reported that the statewide Latino population totaled 600,913 in 2004. This amounted to 7 percent of the state total in that year. Even more striking is the estimate that Latinos accounted for 27.5 percent of the state's net growth between 1990 and 2004. The study further reports that nearly half (45%) of these Hispanic residents lacked "authorized documentation."
Hispanic residents contributed more than $9 billion to the state's economy but they cost the state budget more than that in various public services, a net cost of about $102 per Latino resident
The majority population in North Carolina is widely distributed throughout
the state (Figure 18). Only a handful of counties reported being less than
45 percent white.
Most of the mountain counties were 90 percent or more white, along with several
coastal areas. On the Piedmont the proportion tended to be more in the 75
to 90 percent range. Those counties that reported lower proportions of whites
formed
a diagonal swath across the Inner Coastal Plain.
The distribution of African Americans is pretty much a reciprocal of the
white pattern. Six counties in northeastern North Carolina have African
American
majorities
while most other Coastal Plain counties had shares between 25 and 50 percent
(Figure 19). Some of the more populous Piedmont metro counties, including
Mecklenburg, Forsyth and Guilford, had similar shares. To the west the
proportion declines
and most
of the mountain counties had shares of less than five percent.
Native Americans are concentrated largely in two areas in North Carolina (Figure 20). The largest cluster is in and around Robeson County, home of the Lumbee Indians. That county alone accounts for 38 percent of the state’s Native American population. Swain and Jackson counties contain a smaller concentration of mostly Cherokees while few other counties have as many as one percent Native Americans in their populations. The origins of the Lumbees is somewhat uncertain while the western Cherokees are descendents of escapes from the mid-19th century forced removal of Native Americans referred to as “The Trail of Tears.”
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