Most of the babies in Georgia are now black, Hispanic or another minority, according to 2010 Census data.

That’s a big shift from a decade ago, when more than half of those babies were white. Back in 2000, 53 percent of babies in Georgia less than a year old were white; that dropped to 44 percent in 2010.

University of Georgia demographer Doug Bachtel pointed to two main causes: a younger minority population and higher birth rates for minority women.

"There are significant differences in the ages [of the minority and white populations]. You have this older white population, and of course, births are totally dependent on age,” Bachtel said.

Plus, he said, “minority women, statistically, tend to have lower educational attainment levels and lower income. And that spells a higher birth rate.”

Georgia is one of several large states where there are now more minority babies than white ones. It’s nearly 50-50 for the nation as a whole.

According to the 2010 data, a third of infants in Georgia are black and about 16 percent are Hispanic.

Bachtel said the shift is no surprise.

“Given the differences in our ages, this was just a fait accompli it was going to happen.”

Tags: Doug Bachtel, census, U.S. Census, minorities, U.S. 2010 Census, infants