The Census Bureau has confirmed that white births are no longer a majority in the United States, the New York Times is reporting. Non-Hispanic whites made up 49.6 percent of all births, in the 12-month period ending last July. Minorities, including Hispanics, blacks, Asians and those of mixed races, reached 50.4 percent, representing a majority for the first time in American history.

This turn in majority has been long expected. However, there wasn’t an anticipated moment when it would actually occur. The increase in minority births comes after the large increase in immigration over the past three decades. The largest immigration group is the Hispanics, who tend to have more children than non-Hispanic whites.

While whites will remain in the majority for some time, as they still represent the single largest share of all births. The group has a majority in the population as a whole, at 63.4 percent.

Whites are no longer the majority in four states and the District of Columbia, and have slipped below half in such metro areas as New York, Las Vegas and Memphis. A more diverse younger population puts a generational divide with the country’s elderly, which is largely white.

Written by: Karen Benardello