Broward County's Minority Population Is Now the Majority

Between 2000 and 2013, Broward County's minority population outnumbered its white population, making the area one of the largest minority-majority counties in the country during that time span, according to Pew research.

The study, released earlier this month, found that 78 counties (with a minimum population of 10,000 people) in 19 states joined the minority-majority category. Of these counties, Broward is the third-largest, behind only Riverside County in California and Clark County in Nevada.

Between 2000 and 2013, Broward's population grew by about 12.5 percent, going from 1,630,600 residents to 1,838,844. During that growth period, the non-Hispanic white population decreased by about 17.5 percent. In 2000, whites made up 58.3 population. In 2013, it was down to 40.8.

Several minority groups increased during the 13-year period, according to U.S. Census numbers. The black population increased 8 percent, making up 20 percent of Broward in 2000 to 28 percent in 2013. Latinos increased by 10 percent, going from 16 percent in 2000 to 26 percent in 2013. And the Asian population ticked up a bit, going from 2.3 to 3.6 percent.

The increased black population coincides with a nationwide increase of black immigrants coming to the U.S., many of whom come from Haiti and Jamaica, both of which are well-represented in Broward, making up the county's two largest foreign-born nationalities. And according to another recent Pew study, the country's black immigrant population quadrupled since 1980, largely due to Jamaicans and Haitians, who made up 32 percent of foreign-born black immigrants.


The Pew study didn't specify where all these immigrants were living, but it did point out that in the Miami metro area, one-third of the black population is foreign-born.