How the population has changed since 2000:
since 2000

Broward change % change

White non-Hisp. (61,083) -6%
Black 92,378 25%
Hispanic 117,985 43%
Total change 154,620 10%

since 2000

Miami-Dade change % change

White non-Hisp. -28,053 -6%
Black 10,528 2%
Hispanic 148,814 12%
Total change 122,652 5%

DEMOGRAPHICS

The top draw in the U.S. for blacks is BrowardCensus figures show Broward leads the nation in attracting black residents. The growth is driven by Caribbean immigrants.

BY LISA ARTHUR, TRENTON DANIEL AND TIM HENDERSON
larthur@MiamiHerald.com

Population shift

Broward County attracted more new black residents than any other county in the United States between July 2004 and July 2005, according to Census figures released today.

The continued surge in black residents is being driven by immigrants from the Caribbean, some of whom move to Broward after short stops in Miami-Dade, say demographers. After getting established, they look north for better job prospects and quality of life in Broward.

Zandra Levy moved from Miami-Dade in June for a new job as a counselor at the Urban League of Broward County. She left her tiny one-bedroom apartment in North Miami seeking more space, cheaper rent, and a cultural vibe that reminded her of her native Jamaica. Found in central Plantation: a two-bedroom apartment that fit the bill all around.

''There are a lot of Caribbean events like concerts . . . and it has a more homey environment than Dade,'' said Levy, 25.

ATLANTA AREA SECOND

Broward added 16,522 new black residents in the 12 months ending July 31, 2005. Gwinnett County, Ga., in the Atlanta metro area, came in second with 13,854, according to population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Miami-Dade's black population increased by just 1,583 people, or less than 1 percent.

Broward also leads the nation in the number of new black residents added between 2000 and 2005. The five-year total is 92,378. Again, Gwinnett comes in second with 62,732. The five-year figure for Miami-Dade is 10,528.

Overall, in 2005 Miami-Dade's black population was about 500,000, compared to 1.4 million Hispanic and 450,000 white non-Hispanics. In Broward, there were 450,000 black residents, 400,000 Hispanics and 900,000 white non-Hispanics.

As Broward County's Hispanic population continues to swell, growing faster than any other segment, Broward inches closer to becoming a ''minority majority'' county where Hispanic and black residents outnumber white non-Hispanic residents. Miami-Dade passed that milestone in the late 1970s.

Broward's percentage of blacks stood at 15 percent in the 1990 census. It climbed to 20.5 percent in 2000. Today, estimates place the black population at 26 percent.

The Census Bureau arrived at the figures released today using a method that uses past demographic trends and patterns to estimate population. A more detailed look at local demographics is due Aug. 15, when the Census' American Community Survey offers its annual report on population. Those figures will show the ethnic breakdown of black and Hispanic increases.

''The majority of the new blacks in Broward are West Indian -- including Haitians, Jamaicans, Trinidadians and Bahamians,'' said Jerry Kolo, a professor of urban planning at Florida Atlantic University in Fort Lauderdale.

''South Florida is the first port of call for most newly arriving West Indians,'' Kolo said. ``This is where they have their relatives and next of kin, who have come before them. The weather here is similar to the weather they left behind at home. There is also proximity to their home countries, which makes going back to visit less expensive.''

Once immigrants settle in South Florida, Broward is increasingly becoming the county of choice, Kolo said.

''Miami-Dade still tends to be mainly the command post for Hispanics, particularly Cubans,'' Kolo said. ``For West Indians, the quality of life in Broward and the opportunity for upward mobility tend to be higher. They tend to have more prospects for employment in Broward, more cultural opportunities and they are more politically relevant here than in most other parts of the country.''

SKIPPING MIAMI-DADE

Some West Indian immigrants say they are skipping Miami-Dade completely.

Monique Kanzki and her husband left a hillside suburb of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, in late 2002 amid a climate of deepening insecurity. They landed in Broward.

Kanzki knew Miami-Dade because she had visited her daughters there. She found Broward more attractive because of its parks, suburban feel and its multicultural makeup. ''Coming from the Caribbean it was easier for me to integrate myself,'' said Kanzki, 53, a Realtor and interior designer who lives in Plantation.

Josephine Legros, a Haiti native, relocated to Weston from traffic-heavy Kendall in 2003. Three years later, the single mother of two boys is still effusive about the move. QUALITY OF LIFE

''I feel so good in Broward,'' said Legros, 49 and a Realtor. ``I feel I should've moved here after [Hurricane] Andrew. There's so much space in Broward -- the streets are bigger and there are so many parks.''

Marvin Dunn, a professor of community psychology at Florida International University, predicts the growth of Caribbean blacks in Broward will continue into the future.

''Broward has passed a critical point in the immigration of West Indians,'' he said. ``It started as a small Caribbean enclave, and the enclave has become a magnet. There are enough people with enough money and enough ties to the islands that this enclave is going to expand exponentially.''

Kolo agrees the trend will continue but said economic factors might cause it to slow down. Because these particular Census estimates are based on past trends, they sometimes miss emerging shifts based on economics and other factors.

'The lack of affordable housing and rising taxes are going to become what we call `push factors' -- they are pushing people out of here,'' he said. ``It's possible in the future more West Indian immigrants and African Americans will bypass or leave Broward for points north like St. Lucie County and Central Florida.''

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-ccensus04aug04,0,5116774.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines


Minorities become a majority in Broward

Caribbean, Latin American population altering demographics

By Alva James-Johnson & Robin Benedick
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Posted August 4 2006


Blacks, Hispanics and other minorities, whose numbers have been steadily growing in Broward County, are now the majority, a statistical milestone that could significantly affect everything from politics to education in the coming years.

The non-Hispanic white population in Broward, which was 58.3 percent as recently as 2000, is now 49.9 percent, a slip of more than 8 percentage points in just five years, according to a U.S. Census Bureau report released today.

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That's a dramatic change from 1990, when three out of four Broward residents were non-Hispanic whites.

The number of minority residents in the county is expected to reach about 63 percent by 2030, according to independent estimates by state officials. The total county population is about 1.8 million.

Demographers attribute the unprecedented shift to the exploding Caribbean and Latin American populations. Garth Rose, a Lauderhill businessman who tracks Caribbean socioeconomic trends, said residents already are feeling the impact in their daily lives, and the census -- accused of undercounting minority populations in the past -- is finally catching up to the reality.

"At last, the Census Bureau has got it right," he said, pointing out the significant presence the Caribbean population already has in such cities as Miramar, Pembroke Pines, Lauderdale Lakes, Lauderhill and Coral Springs.

The group, made up mostly of immigrants from black Caribbean countries, has fueled the growth of the black population.

Since 2001, more black people have come to Broward each year than to any other county in the United States, according to the census, increasing the county's black population by almost 85,000 people between 2000 and 2005. The increase would overflow Dolphin Stadium.

The number of blacks in Broward rose to 442,355 in 2005 from 357,759 in 2000, while the number of white Hispanics jumped to 364,121 from 259,051.

Palm Beach County also experienced a decline in the percentage of its non-Hispanic white population. Whites made up about 65.5 percent of the county's 1.3 million residents, according to census estimates for 2005. But that was down from 66.4 percent of the population the previous year. In Miami-Dade, the non-Hispanic white population dropped to 18.6 percent from 20.8 in the same five-year period.

As members of the country's fastest-growing minority group, Hispanics expressed little surprise that minorities prevail in Broward. A census study released in May showed one-third of Americans identify themselves as a minority. The country's 42.7 million Hispanics are a large part of that trend.

"This is not a watershed event. We've always known that Broward is one of the most diverse counties in the country. Now, we have the numbers to back that up," said Josie Bacallao, president of the Hollywood-based Hispanic Unity of Florida.

Dick Ogburn, assistant to the director for research and budget at the South Florida Regional Planning Council, said the percentage of Broward's non-Hispanic white population has slipped due to the huge influx of Hispanics and people of Caribbean origin, especially after Hurricane Andrew in 1992.

That's when many people migrated from Miami-Dade County into southwestern Broward in droves, he said.

Census figures show a consistent drop in Broward's non-Hispanic white population over the past five years, plunging to 886,609 in 2005 from 952,196 in 2000. But Ogburn said the new residents had a bigger role in the demographic shift.

"It's not so much because we've seen an outward flow of the non-Hispanic white population," Ogburn said, pointing out that seven out of 10 new residents in Broward were born abroad. "Instead, it's because the minority population has grown."

Young families moving from Latin America are forgoing the fast urban pace of Miami and settling in the gated enclaves of such cities as Margate and Weston, home to many Venezuelans and Colombians, said Fabio Andrade, head of the Weston-based Americas Community Center.

"We have a large established community in Broward County, people who are looking for quiet, residential neighborhoods where they can raise their families," he said. "They are enrolling their kids in schools and adding to the overall stability of Broward County."

Rose said the same is happening among the growing Caribbean population. He said Caribbean-Americans from Miami migrated to Broward after Hurricane Andrew. They paved the way for younger families coming straight from the islands and for Caribbean retirees from the Northeast.

"The people from the Caribbean are coming to seek a new life, and the people from the Northeast are retirees just shifting their ZIP codes," he said. "They're coming with some economic assets."

But Pearl Woolridge, a black resident of Oakland Park, wondered where was the political clout if whites are no longer a majority in the county. She said the latest census numbers should make county leaders "cater to the people they serve."

E. Pat Larkins, a Pompano Beach commissioner, said blacks and Hispanics should work together.

"There's no need having those numbers if we don't make a difference," he said. "It puts an obligation on the black leadership, including myself, to lead and seek more parity as we go through this evolution. The demographics are changing dramatically. We must work with other groups for our interests, for our fair share."

Staff Writers Gregory Lewis, Tal Abbady, Andrew Reid and Editorial Researchers John Maines and Jeremy Milarsky contributed to this report.

Alva James-Johnson can be reached at ajjohnson@sun-sentinel.com or 954-572-2028.

Those Jamaicans sure love Miramar :lol: