Plenty – As the recently released 2010 decennial Census data reveals.

Most significant from a statewide demographic perspective has been the growth in the minority populations – chiefly Hispanics, African Americans and Asians, and the decline of non-Hispanic whites.  As a result, Maryland, already one of the most diverse states in the nation, is moving closer to “majority minority” status with a minority population share of 45 percent in 2010 up from 38 percent in 2000.

While most already know what happened this past decade – Hispanics (of any race) had the largest population gain in the State, followed by (non-Hispanic) African Americans and Asians – it may be instructive to look at some of the dynamics behind these changes by incorporating other data sets.

Certainly the most significant factor in the strong growth of Hispanics and Asians in Maryland can be tied to the rise in foreign immigration during the decade.  Although no longer reported by the decennial census, information on the number of foreign born – and entry by decade – can be found from the 2009 American Community Survey (ACS).   The ACS reports that there were 265,000 foreign-born entrants into Maryland between 2000 and 2009 (with a plus/minus margin of error of 13,240).  This inflow was up substantially from the 207,300 foreign born entrants during the 1990s and the 147,950 who came during the 1980s (the latter figure is from the 1990 Census).

The ACS data also shows that 40 percent of those that came between 2000 and 2009 were from Latin America, with nearly 30 percent originating from Asia and 21 percent from Africa.

While the shares from Latin America and Asia are probably well known to most, and are a logical explanation for the growth of the Hispanic and Asian populations, the fact that just over one-in-five foreign-born entrants came from Africa may be more surprising.  Nonetheless, this immigration stream was an important component for the growth of the “Black or African American” population in Maryland, along with domestic migration gains (chiefly from Washington, D.C.) and net natural increase (i.e. births exceeding deaths).

Net natural change in Maryland in the recent past by the different race/Hispanic groups are not proportional to their overall population.  This is largely a function of the different age structure of the populations, with minority populations being generally younger than non-Hispanic whites, (although we will not know what the detailed age data is until the Bureau’s demographic release in June).

For example, the net natural increase for African Americans for the years 2005 to 2009 was 68,300, by far the largest of any group, and accounting for 42 percent of the statewide net natural increase of 164,150.  This share was disproportionately larger than the 29 percent share that (non-Hispanic) African Americans made up of the State’s 2010 population.   Likewise, the net natural increase for Hispanics (46,600) made up 28 percent of the statewide net natural change despite comprising only 8 percent of the State’s population in 2010, while Asians comprised 13 percent of overall net natural increase compared to the 5 percent of statewide total.

On the other hand, non-Hispanic whites, which are a majority of the State’s population at nearly 55 percent, but generally have an older profile than minority groups, comprised only 16 percent of the State’s total net natural change.

The relatively higher numbers of net natural change among minority groups has resulted in the minority share of the population less than 18 to already become the majority.  In 2010, 53.5 percent of the population is a minority, compared to 42.8 percent of the population ages 18 and over.  This higher share carries through to all of the non-Hispanic race groups except for Asians.  The graph below compares the shares for 18 and under and over a18 age groups for Hispanics and non-Hispanics by race.

Go to the Maryland State Data Center’s Census web site for more information of the 2010 Census