Racial Minorities Account for More than 40 Percent of Missouri Population Change 2000-2003
Missouri Population Growth 2000-2003
The U.S. Bureau of the Census produces estimates of the population each year for the states, counties and places in the nation. The population estimates reported for Missouri in 2003 showed that our population increased from 5.597 million in 2000 to 5.704 million in 2003 - an increase of 107,801. That is a growth of 1.9 percent for those three years. If that rate of Missouri population growth continues at the same pace throughout the remainder of the 2000-2010 decade, growth for the decade will be approximately 6.3 percent. While that is a greater rate of growth than the 4.1 percent increase that occurred in Missouri during the 1980s, it is a somewhat less impressive growth rate than the 9.3 percent increase occurring in Missouri during the 1990s.
These annual estimates of population are valuable because they provide an indication of the type, magnitude and location of population change occurring. Not only are estimates of population change produced for all states, counties and places but the data also provide information about the age, sex, race, locality and other important characteristics of the population.
Rate of Racial Minority Population Growth 2000-2003
Table 1 shows the amount of 2000-2003 population change divided among five racial categories. The white population had the greatest numerical growth (63,837) which was 59 percent of total population growth of 107,801 from 2000-2003. However during those three years the African-American, American Indian, Asian and Multi-Racial populations increased by a combined total of 43,964. Thus even though the racial minority populations only accounted for 14 percent of Missouri's 2000 population those minority populations increased by 41 percent from 2000-2003. The Asian population had the greatest growth rate from 2000 to 2003 - an increase from 66,405 in 2000 to 79,423 in 2003 - an increase of 19.6 percent in those three years.
Racial minorities accounted for nearly 15 percent of total state population in 2003.
Table 1
This file last modified Thursday May 07, 2009, 16:03:45
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