Harris County's population nears 4 million

[musicman]

Harris County's population inched closer to the 4 million milestone, led by the continued growth of Hispanic and other minority communities, according to new U.S. Census data.

The Anglo population, however, declined in Harris, a trend demographers say reflects a sustained exodus to suburban counties, according to 2007 Census Bureau estimates released today.

"It looks like the total population growth in Harris County last year was dominated by the Hispanic population, and that's the really overriding story," said a bureau spokesman, Robert Bernstein. "It more than offset a small decline in the non-Hispanic white population, and there were relatively small increases in the Asian and black populations."

The county's population as of July 2007 was 3.94 million, representing a 1.5 percent bump of 60,000 residents from the July 2006 estimate. A similar rise in the next year could push Harris County past the 4 million mark. Experts attribute the growth to ongoing immigration, high Latino birth rates and a healthy local economy.

The biggest factor in Harris County's growth was a surge of 58,000 new Hispanic residents, bringing their estimated population to 1.5 million. The white population dropped by 5,500 residents to 1.4 million, while the number of African-Americans increased by 2,500 to 764,000.

The county's Asian community added 7,200 residents, bringing its estimated population to 239,000.

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[crunchtastic]

The 'chron comments' neanderthals are out in force for this article, aren't they?

[TheNiche]

The 'chron comments' neanderthals are out in force for this article, aren't they?

Are they ever not?

[crunchtastic]

Are they ever not?

ha. touche'.

[barracuda]

Sometimes I think those comments on chron.com are jokes until I realize there's no punch line. It's like stepping out into a battlefield.