WASHINGTON (AP) — New Census figures show that Hispanics now outnumber blacks for the first time in most U.S. metropolitan areas.
Hispanics became the largest minority group in 191 of 366 metro areas last year. Their population was lifted as blacks left many economically hard-hit cities in the North for the South and new Latino immigrants spread to different parts of the country. That number is up from 159 metro areas in 2000, when Hispanics were most commonly found in Southwest border states.
The new areas for Hispanics include Chicago, Grand Rapids, Mich., and Atlantic City, N.J., whose states will lose House seats in 2013.
The numbers from the 2010 count are having a big effect in many states, where political maps are being redrawn based on population size and racial makeup.
