Six counties in the southern United States became majority-minority in 2012, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

That brings the total number of counties with populations comprised of mostly non-whites to 353, or 11 percent of the communities in the country, a number that is expected to continue to grow.

Four states -- California, Hawaii, New Mexico and Texas -- as well as the District of Columbia are already majority-minority.

The nation's Hispanic population increased by 1.1 million, or 2.2 percent, making Latinos the second-fastest growing ethnic group, trailing Asians by less than one percent. However, since there are far more Hispanics in the country than Asian Americans, the total Hispanic population grew by twice as much.

Contrary to conservative fear-mongering, most of that growth was due to births, not immigration, undocumented or otherwise.

That growth was not uniform throughout the country. California has the largest number of Hispanics of any state, but New Mexico is 47 percent Latino, the highest percentage in the country.

All six counties that became majority-minority last year are in the South. One is in North Carolina, two are in Oklahoma and three are in Texas.

The demographic shift will likely cause problems for traditional Republicans. Aside from Texas, each majority-minority state already votes consistently Democrat, and even Texas is no longer as solidly red as it used to be.

The rate of increase for the minority population in the United States is set to rise, as well. The nation as a whole is now 37 percent minority, but just under 50 percent of children under the age of 5 are minorities.

The political shift may be less pronounced, though, as Republicans begin to move to the left on issues like immigration. Long-held positions are already changing in the Senate, as moderates try to increase the party's appeal with minority voters and progressively-minded whites.