Please see a corrected story on Thursday, August 17, 2006. Headline reads: New Figures Still Back Shift In City's Ethnicity.

CORRECTION: Figures in a Tuesday story about a new U.S. Census Bureau population survey erred by comparing numbers for the 2005 estimate of the household population with full 2000 census numbers that include non-household residents. This story explains how the city and county populations have grown since the 2000 census. Census figures still suggest that the city's minority population has overtaken its population of non-Hispanic whites.

Most of the people in Winston-Salem's newest large minority group don't have to worry about learning English or running afoul of immigration laws. New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that non-Hispanic whites appear to be a minority in Winston-Salem for the first time in the city's history. The bureau's figures for 2005 show that non-Hispanic whites made up 48.1 percent of the city's population that year.

The change came about as the city's Hispanic population increased by 10,222 people, and the city's non-Hispanic white population dropped by 9,226 since 2000, the estimates show. The black population in Winston-Salem also declined, by 3,210, but the Hispanic increase more than offset that drop, the estimates show.

"The bottom line for us is that urban America is getting more and more diverse," said Paul Norby, the city-county planning director. "I would say that the trend toward the increasing diversity of the population is something that is not unique to Winston-Salem. That same trend is happening in cities across the country."

Overall, the Census Bureau said, Winston-Salem's population dropped 1.2 percent from 2000 to 2005. Of the city's 183,467 residents in 2005, the estimates show, 88,194 were non-Hispanic white, 64,438 were black and 26,265 were Hispanic. The rest were other races or people of more than one race.

When the 2000 Census was taken, non-Hispanic whites made up 52.4 percent of the city's population, and blacks made up 36.4 percent. In the five years since then, the Census Bureau says, the Hispanic population went from 8.6 percent of the total to 14.3 percent. In 2005, the percentage of people who were black decreased to 35.1 percent.

Because the numbers are estimates, it is possible that non-white Hispanics are still barely a majority. And non-Hispanic whites could regain their majority status, at least temporarily, if the city's 2003 annexation plan takes effect. One court challenge is all that is left before the annexation becomes official. If it does, the non- Hispanic white population should increase to almost 51 percent.

The new Census Bureau figures show that many of North Carolina's cities have or are close to having more minorities than non- Hispanic whites. In Charlotte, the percentage of non-Hispanic whites dropped from 55 to 50.3 between 2000 and 2005, the numbers show. Greensboro, almost 54 percent non-Hispanic white in 2000, was down to 49 percent five years later. High Point was 53 percent non- Hispanic white, down from 58 percent in 2000.

The Census Bureau released 2005 data for cities and counties with at least 65,000 people. In Forsyth County, the percentage of Hispanics increased from 6.4 percent in 2000 to 9.7 percent in 2005. Forsyth County was 25.1 percent black and 62.8 percent non-Hispanic white. The county's total population was estimated at 315,856.

Statewide, the Hispanic population increased 40.7 percent to 533,087, the Census Bureau said. Hispanics made up 6.3 percent of the state's population in 2005, up from 4.7 percent in 2000.

The changing ethnic makeup of North Carolina cities has implications for everything from schools to urban sprawl, said Jana Harrison, the senior associate director of the Urban Institute at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Harrison's institute researches urban issues and helps cities deal with them.

Cities appear to be experiencing a departure of middle- and upper- class residents to the suburbs, Harrison said.

"It doesn't have racial boundaries," Harrison said. "By and large people want to live in better neighborhoods and have less crime and better schools. When your more affluent communities move to the suburbs, it is not necessarily a good thing for the urban core."

That's because minority communities are "least able to command the resources necessary to have a good education," Harrison said.

In Winston-Salem, the number of blacks in Winston-Salem declined by 4.7 percent, but the number of black people in the part of Forsyth County outside the city shot up 58 percent - from 9,393 in 2000 to 14,893 in 2005. Non-Hispanic whites declined 2 percent in Forsyth County.

Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines said that the city's apparent majority of minorities comes as no surprise. He said that the city has worked hard to include all ethnic groups. With Hispanics on the increase, Joines said, the city has put a program into place to give certain workers more money for learning to speak Spanish.

Joines said he is not worried about the city's future.

"We are seeing a resurgence of returning to the core areas of our city," Joines said. "Many affluent individuals are coming to the downtown. We are also seeing growth in the Asian population. We are becoming a more culturally diverse city. We need to find ways to learn about each others' cultures and embrace them."

Council Member Vivian Burke said that Hispanics and blacks need to come together to lead the city and make their lives better.

"I think this may motivate different political groups and people who work in the grass roots," Burke said.

At the same time, Hispanics are probably years away from having political clout to match their numbers; according to the Web site for the State Board of Elections, only 0.6 percent of Forsyth County's voters are Hispanic.

Most of the city's Hispanics are too busy finding their places to worry about getting involved in politics or leadership, said Jane Martin, the president of Makin' It Work Pronto!, a company that helps businesses reach the Hispanic market.

"When you first come to a country, you have to find a place to live, transportation, a job and find your way around a community," she said. "Those first few years are hard, hard, hard. You want to see leaders come from the people. Eventually that will happen."

Many Hispanics are not here legally or have not attained citizenship, so their ability to vote sometime in the future depends on how Congress deals with immigrant legislation.

According to the Census Bureau estimates released last night, 70 percent of the Hispanics in Forsyth County older than 18 are not U.S. citizens.

On the other hand, 73 percent of the county's Hispanics younger than 18 are citizens.

The Census bureau figures show that 15 percent of foreign-born Hispanics older than 5 say they speak English "very well," but 77 percent of the Hispanics born in North Carolina say they speak English very well.

Apart from changes in ethnic makeup, the new Census numbers also show that Forsyth County and Winston-Salem are going through changes in the makeup of the population by age.

Some of the change reflects the aging of Baby Boomers. The total county population rose 3.2 percent between 2000 and 2005, but the number of people in the 45-59 age group increased 17 percent.

Winston-Salem's population decreased 1.2 percent, but the number in the 45-59 age group increased 12 percent.

Most of the people in Winston-Salem's newest large minority group don't have to worry about learning English or running afoul of immigration laws. New estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau show that non-Hispanic whites appear to be a minority in Winston-Salem for the first time in the city's history. The bureau's figures for 2005 show that non-Hispanic whites made up 48.1 percent of the city's population that year.

The change came about as the city's Hispanic population increased by 10,222 people, and the city's non-Hispanic white population dropped by 9,226 since 2000, the estimates show. The black population in Winston-Salem also declined, by 3,210, but the Hispanic increase more than offset that drop, the estimates show.

The new Census Bureau figures show that many of North Carolina's cities have or are close to having more minorities than non- Hispanic whites. In Charlotte, the percentage of non-Hispanic whites dropped from 55 to 50.3 between 2000 and 2005, the numbers show. Greensboro, almost 54 percent non-Hispanic white in 2000, was down to 49 percent five years later. High Point was 53 percent non- Hispanic white, down from 58 percent in 2000.