Utah's minority population boom of the 1990s is accelerating, especially among Hispanics, according to a new census report.

Minorities now comprise about 15.7 percent of the state's population and accounted for nearly 40 percent of Utah's population growth from April 1, 2000, to July 1, 2003, according to a population estimate released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The largest minority populations remained concentrated in the state's largest counties: Salt Lake had 191,429 minority residents, Utah had 46,195 and Weber had 37, 876.

However, the fastest minority growth was reported in smaller counties, such as Wasatch, where the total minority population swelled by 44.2 percent to 1,465, or about 8 percent of the total population.

The minority growth rate is especially significant when taken as a portion of the state's total population growth, said Pam Perlich, senior research economist at the University of Utah's Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

Hispanics alone accounted for 26.9 percent of the state's population growth from 2000 to 2003, up from 22.9 percent during the 1990s, Perlich said. The white, non-Hispanic population, meanwhile, accounted for 60.4 percent of the growth, which is down from the last decade.

Perlich said the growth is due, in large part, to high birth rates and international immigration. She pointed to a 2002 study which showed a lifetime birthrate of 2.5 for white women and 3.5 for Hispanic.

"Given the fact (Utah) has the highest fertility rate in the nation to begin with, and this (Hispanic) group's is even greater, that means their share of the population will continue to increase," Perlich said. "That's a national trend."

There are currently four states where minorities are in the majority: Hawaii, California, New Mexico and the District of Columbia, according to the census. The report showed Texas neared that mark with a 49.5 percent minority population.

In Utah, the statewide population growth of every minority group outpaced the white, non-Hispanic rate of 3.7 percent, a continuing trend from the last decade. Pacific Islanders grew by 10 percent, Asian population grew by 15.5 percent, American Indian by 7.2 percent and black by 16.6 percent. Perlich noted that Hispanics, which grew by 15.8 percent, continue to comprise the state's largest minority, with an estimated population of 201,559.

Tony Yapias, director of the state Office of Hispanic Affairs, said he's heard estimates there's more than 250,000 for the state's Hispanic population.

"The census, regardless of the undercount we have, still gives us a pretty good indication," he said.