CHEYENNE - New U.S. Census figures show that Wyoming is becoming more ethnically diverse.

The state's minority population surged almost 24 percent between 2000 and 2007, compared with a 6 percent increase in the overall state population, according to figures released Thursday.

During that time, minorities contributed more than 40 percent of the state's population growth.

Wyoming's minority growth even outpaced the national rate, a factor largely attributable to the strong economy and abundant jobs, state economist Wenlin Liu said.

�That means many of them are coming to work in the construction and mining industries,� Liu said.

Hispanics, Wyoming's largest minority group, increased 21 percent in the six-year period starting in 2000, and now number more than 38,000.

The number of American Indians increased nearly 15 percent to more than 11,800.

Hispanics and American Indians comprise more than three-quarters of the state minority population.

The Asian population grew 31 percent to 3,580, while the black population saw the largest growth - 55 percent between 2000 and 2007, to nearly 5,500.

Liu speculated that a couple of factors could be contributing to the sharp increase in the African-American population, including a natural matriculation from urban centers to rural areas and forced relocation as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

The state's total minority population in 2007 was nearly 66,300, or about 12.6 percent of the nearly 523,000 state residents.

Meanwhile, the number of non-Hispanic whites increased by less than 4 percent between 2000 and 2007.

Ed Mu�oz, director of the Chicano Studies Program at the University of Wyoming, said the increase in Wyoming Hispanics mirrors a national trend and is a phenomenon of globalization.

He said while some may see the influx as fodder for the immigration debate, here in Wyoming it may be wiser to consider the impact young Hispanics are having on the state economy, which suffers from a worker shortage.

�They're helping keep our economy in pretty good shape,� said Mu�oz, adding that no reliable estimates show how many of the recent immigrants may be in the country illegally.

One result of the surging minority population is a slowdown in the state's aging trend.

That's because the median age - half of the population is younger, half is older - for minorities in Wyoming is more than 10 years younger than that of whites, whose median age is about 39.

Between 2000 and 2007, Wyoming's median age increased from 36.2 to 37, a much slower rate than the nation as a whole.

The state's median age actually dropped by 0.2 years between 2006 and 2007, the largest decline of any state in the nation.

�I would say probably that is the first drop ever since our previous boom in the late 1970s and early '80s,� said Liu, adding that abundant jobs in the minerals industry are also contributing to the age drop by keeping young people in the state and attracting young families.

Despite the influx of thousands of minorities, the proportion of minorities in Wyoming remains the ninth lowest in the nation, according to the Census Bureau.

Reach capital bureau reporter Jared Miller at (307) 632-1244 or at {M3jared.miller@trib.com.