SAN ANTONIO – By 2020, Hispanics are estimated to be the majority population in Texas, according to the latest U.S. census report estimate.
The most recent census report released in July 2018 shows 39.6% of Texans are Hispanic, and 41.5% are non-Hispanic white.
The latest U.S. census report shows that the Hispanic population climbed to nearly 11.4 million people, an increase of 1.9 million people since 2010.
Texas demographer Lloyd Potter said this is nothing new for Bexar County. He said Hispanics in Bexar County have held the majority most likely since before 1940, when the U.S. census started reporting on Hispanics.
Currently, 60.5% of people in Bexar County are Hispanic.
Potter said migration from other states and internationally has played a role in the increase, but he says a bigger reason for the growth is because Hispanics already living in Texas are having a lot of babies.
“When we look at the Latino population, it's relatively young,” Potter said.
He said another reason why Hispanics are outgrowing the white population is because the white population has more deaths than the Hispanic population.
“They have a lot of older people, and the baby boomers are aging,” Potter said.
What does this mean for Texas?
Potter said the state needs to continue to put a big emphasis on making education attainable for Hispanics.
“Latinos historically in Texas, and probably nationally, tend to have lower levels of educational attainment. That limits their opportunities for gainful and high-paying employment,” Potter said.
Potter said affirmative action policies would not be impacted if Hispanics become the majority population in Texas because the policies are not so much based so much on the numbers, but instead address the historic inequality and discrimination that Hispanic populations have experienced.