NEW YORK ( CNNMoney.com ) -- The nation is becoming even more diverse : More than one third of its population belongs to a minority group , and Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment . Nearly one in six residents , or 46.9 million people , are Hispanic , according to the U.S. Census Bureau . The U.S. Census Bureau reported Thursday that the minority population reached an estimated 104.6 million -- or 34 percent of the nation 's total population -- on July 1 , 2008 , compared to 31 percent when the Census was taken in 2000 . Nearly one in six residents , or 46.9 million people , are Hispanic , the agency reported . Even more telling for the future : 44 percent of children younger than 18 and 47 percent of children younger than the age of five are now from minority families . The quickly expanding Latino population is having a healthy impact on the economy , according to Ken Gronbach , author of `` The Age Curve : How to Profit from the Growing Demographic Trend . '' `` Latinos have saved our country , '' he said . `` They represent 14 percent of the population but 25 percent of the live births . The United States is the only western industrialized nation with a fertility rate above the 2.2 percent replacement rate . '' Growth of other minority groups is also outpacing that of the majority population . Asians , the second-fastest growing group , increased 2.7 percent year-over-year to 15.5 million . The African-American population rose 1.3 percent to 41.1 million . Minority births , combined with high immigration levels , kept the nation 's population growing dynamically , spurring the economy by adding to consumer demand . They will also help to prop up the real-estate market once the economy begins to recover , according to Rakesh Kochhar , associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center . During the housing boom , minorities closed much of the homeownership gap , although the bust has worked to widen that again . As it ages , the Baby Boom generation , the largest age cohort in U.S. history , will start to sell their castles as they look to downsize their empty nests . But the group that would be expected to buy those houses , Generation X , has about 9 million fewer members . `` There would be about 10 homes for every eight buyers , '' said Gronbach . `` Xers simply do not have the critical mass to make up for the boomers ' footprint . '' Minorities will help take up that slack . They are relatively youthful and looking to house their families . The Hispanic population , for example , posted a median age of 27.7 years in 2008 . That compared to 36.8 years for the total U.S. population -- which is a year-and-a-half older than the median age in 2000 . The number of 65-year-olds and older is nearing 39 million , or 12.8 percent of the population , up from 12.4 percent in 2000 . The state with the oldest average residents is , not surprisingly , Florida : 17 percent of the retirement Mecca 's population was 65 or older . Latinos and other minority workers contribute to keeping the Social Security system solvent , according to Monique Morrissey , an economist for the Economic Policy Institute . The undocumented workers among them often pay more into the Social Security pool than they will take out in benefits . Morrissey said estimates of deficits in the pool 's finances were reduced last year when a Social Security advisory board 's technical panel revised some unrealistically low assumptions it had made about Latino immigration . `` They took into account people without papers [ paying into Social Security ] but not accessing funds from there , '' she said . `` That 's bad for workers but very good for Social Security . '' The most Latino county in the nation was Los Angeles , with 4.7 million people . Latinos accounted for nearly half the population there and increased 67,000 during the 12 months ended July 1 , the most of any county . The Rio Grande border county of Starr , Texas , has the highest proportion of Latino residents : 98 percent . California leads all states in the number of Latinos , with a population of 13.5 million , an increase of 313,000 in just one year . New Mexico , appropriately , has the highest percentage of Latinos : 45 percent . New York State has the greatest number of African-Americans -- 3.5 million -- while the District of Columbia and Mississippi have the highest percentages , at 56 percent and 38 percent respectively . In terms of counties , Cook County , Ill. ( Chicago ) leads all others with 1.4 million African Americans , while Claiborne County , Miss. , had the highest percentage at 84 percent . More than 5 million Asians live in California , more than in any other state ; Hawaii has the highest percentage of Asians at 54 percent . It 's the only majority-Asian state in the nation . Los Angeles County is home to 12.4 million Asians , the most of any county . Honolulu , with 58 percent , had the highest proportion . More Pacific Islanders ( 283,000 ) and native Americans ( 739,000 ) lived in California than any other state .
The Census Bureau estimates the minority population has hit an estimated 104.6 million . Nearly one in six residents , or 46.9 million people , are Hispanic . The most populous county in the state was Los Angeles , with 4.7 million people .