Perlich said public officials will have to begin discovering ways to build communities that bring diverse and "typical" Utahns together through educational, medical and economic means. The youth may already be adapting to more ethnically diverse environments as some school districts, such as Salt Lake City, have become majority-minority. In comparison, estimates predict that fewer than 10 percent of seniors are minorities.

As a result of a 1990s immigration boom that lasted until the early 2000s, a significant portion of Utah's minority population is in the prime-working ages between 25 and 39, according to estimates of age and race from the Census Bureau. Perlich said that most of the ethnic-minority growth in Utah has come from these workers having children.

"Nationally the growth of the Hispanic population is being driven by natural increase rather than immigration, and in Utah, it is beginning to trend that way as well," Perlich said.

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E-mail: cnorlen@desnews.com