Nevada ranks fourth in people of multiple races

Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001 | 9:49 a.m.

Nevada ranks fourth in the nation regarding the number of residents who consider themselves as belonging to two or more races, according to a new U.S. Census report being released today.

In Nevada, 3.8 percent of the state's population -- 75,428 -- identified themselves as being of multiple races.

The report also shows that more Americans of multiple races live in the West than in other regions.

Nationwide, 2.4 percent -- 6.8 million -- of the nation's 281.4 million people said they were of more than one race. In the West, the figure was 4.3 percent, with the region accounting for nine of the 14 states that reported numbers higher than the national average.

Hawaii reported the highest percentage of racially-mixed people -- 21.4 percent.

Census 2000 was the first to give people the option of checking off more than one of the six major racial categories: White, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.

One in three of the people who said they were racially mixed were Hispanic. High percentages of Asians and American Indians and Alaskan Natives also reported being of more than one race.

"It's been a learning experience for us since we didn't have this data in the past," Ramona Douglas, spokeswoman for the the Association of Multiethnic Americans, told the Associated Press.

For instance, the new figures could give school officials a better idea of the more diverse population and the students they serve, she said.

"We have public servants that really don't know how to speak to us, what to ask of us and what to do with us."