Demographics of Texas



The of Texas is located in, in the town of.

As of 2005, the state has an estimated population of 22.8 million&mdash;an increase of 388,419 (1.7%) from the prior year and an increase of 2 million (9.6%) since the year 2000. In all three subcategories&mdash;natural (births less deaths), net immigration, and net migration&mdash;Texas has seen an increase in population. The natural increase since the last census was 1,155,182 people (1,948,398 births minus 793,216 deaths), immigration from outside the United States resulted in a net increase of 663,161 people, and migration within the country produced a net increase of 218,722 people. The state passed in the 1990s to become the second-largest U.S. state in population (after ).

As of 2004, the state has 3.5 million foreign-born residents (15.6% of the state population), of which an estimated 1.2 million are s (illegal immigrants account for more than one-third of the foreign-born population in Texas and 5.4% of the total state population).

Census data reports 7.8% of Texas's population as under 5 years old, 28.2% under 18, and 9.9% over 64 years. Females made up 50.4% of the population.

According to the, 68.76% of the population aged 5 and over speak only at home, while 27.00% speak. Other languages spoken include by 0.63%,  (including, , and ) by 0.48%,  (including ) by 0.42%, and  (including ) by 0.32%.

Race and ethnic origins
The largest reported ancestry groups in Texas include: (25.3%),  (10.9%),  (10.5%),   (7.2%), and  (7.2%). Descendants from some of these ancestry groups is underreported.

Much of east, central, and north Texas is inhabited by Texans of  heritage, primarily descended from ancestors from the. Much of central and southeast-central Texas is inhabited by Texans of descent. African Americans, who historically made up one-third of the state population, are concentrated in those parts of East Texas where the cotton plantation culture was most prominent prior to the, as well as in the Dallas-Fort Worth and Houston metropolitan areas.

Other population groups in Texas also exhibit great diversity. Frontier Texas saw settlements of, particularly in and. After the, German, Polish, Swedish, Norwegian, Czech and French immigration grew, and continued until. The influence of the diverse immigrants from Europe survives in the names of towns, styles of architecture, genres of music, and varieties of cuisine. is predominantly Czech.

More than one-third of Texas residents are of origin and are predominantly, , or , although other racial groups may be included. Some are recent arrivals from Mexico,, or , while others, known as in English, have ancestors who have lived in Texas since before Texan independence, or at least for several generations. Tejanos are the largest ancestral group in southern and among the largest in and around. The Hispanic population in Texas is increasing as more from certain   countries&mdash;primarily from Mexico&mdash;look for work in Texas. The state has the second-largest Hispanic population in the United States&mdash;California has the largest Hispanic population. Numerically, Hispanics dominate, south-central, and and are a significant part of the residents in the cities of  and. This influx of immigrants is partially responsible for Texas having a population younger than the union average.

In recent years, the population in Texas has grown, especially in Houston and in Dallas. People with ancestry from, , , , , and make up the largest Asian American groups in Texas.