Changing racial composition of metropolitan areas

In the past decade, the number of Hispanics and Asians or Pacific Islanders residing in the largest metropolitan areas increased by a remarkable 60 percent and 127 percent, respectively. In April 1990, there were 4.9 million persons of Asian or Pacific Islander origin and 14.1 million of Hispanic background living in the 25 most populous urban centers; they constituted roughly two-thirds of the nation's total population of these ethnic groups. For the most part, the destinations of these newcomers were primarily the big metropolitan areas of the West and Southwest regions of the country, although the urban centers of the Northeast and North Central attracted large numbers. By contrast, in this period the number of blacks--the largest minority group--rose by only one-seventh.