New Jersey Diversity

One of the reasons I love living in New Jersey is the diversity. The tremendous diversity. I saw an article today from a couple of days ago on North Jersey that has released census data on the Garden State. That data endes at July 1, 2007. It also groups all of Asian people which I find ridiculous. Chinese, Korean, Indian, Pakistani are all fully represented in New Jersey, but under the rubric of Asian. That is an awfully big continent. The same can be said for Hispanic I guess which by the way Latino is much more inclusive. Here is the data:

* Hispanics remained the largest minority group in both New Jersey and the nation. At 1.4 million, they made up 15.9 percent of the state population. Nationwide, Hispanics numbered 45.5 million, making up 15.1 percent of the population. Since 2000, the Hispanic population in New Jersey grew by 22.6 percent, and nationwide by 28.9.

* Blacks were the second-largest minority group in New Jersey and the nation. In New Jersey, they numbered 1.3 million, comprising 14.5 percent of the population. That marked an increase of 3.7 percent since 2000. Across the United States, they totaled 38.8 million, making up 12.8 percent of the population. Their numbers grew 8.5 percent since 2000.

* About 650,000 New Jersey residents listed their race as Asian, making them 7.5 percent of the state population, which constitutes a 30.6 percent increase since 2000. At the national level, they were 13.4 million, or 4.4 percent of the population, reflecting a growth of 25 percent since 2000.

* Young children, ages 10 and below, and adults between 30 and 60 years of age were the major forces behind the growth in New Jersey's Hispanic population since 2000. The adults fueled 51 percent of the increase, and young children fueled 17 percent.

* For Asians, the biggest drivers of change – accounting for 60 percent — were adults ages 30 to 60. Children 10 and under were less of a factor for Asians than for Hispanics, accounting for 10 percent of the growth.

Note: Census analysis did not include people who reported more than one race.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau