Brookings: Minorities drove population growth in metro areas

Non-whites and Hispanics accounted for almost all the population growth in the country's 100 largest metro areas between 2000 and 2010, a new Brookings report says, and 22 of those regions--including 10 in California--now have "majority minority" populations.

Hispanic populations more than doubled in 29 of the 100 large metro areas, according to the report, while growth in the black population occurred primarily in the South.

"The 'cultural generation gaps' between a more-diverse youth population and a less-diverse older population will become most prevalent within large metro areas, especially within the suburbs, where the divides will be most apparent," said William Frey, senior fellow with the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program and author of the report. "These groups will continue to compete over policies on immigration, education, and the divvying up of scarce public funds."

Connecticut's three metro areas--Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford and New Haven-Milford--all lost white residents while minority populations grew. As with many metro areas in the North, black and Hispanic residents are more highly segregated than the national average.