Every 10 years, the Census helps Americans answer the question: Who are we?
The first detailed results from the 2020 Census were released yesterday, revealing a country that’s “much more multiracial, and more racially and ethnically diverse than what we measured in the past,” said Nicholas Jones, the director and senior advisor of race and ethnic research and outreach in the US Census Bureau’s population division.
Here are some of the highlights:
- People of color represented 43% of the total US population in 2020, up from 34% in 2010.
- The non-Hispanic White population fell to 57% in 2020, decreasing by six percent since 2010. This is the largest decrease of any race or ethnicity.
- The share of those who identified as Hispanic or Latino or as multiracial grew the most.
- The U.S. aged overall, as the adult population in the U.S. has grown from 237 million to 261 million during the last 10 years.
- While the under-18 population decreased, those younger than 18 years old became more diverse. Non-White U.S. residents younger than 18 now make up 53% of the population – up from 47% in 2010.
Beyond providing residents with an understanding of the ever-changing U.S. cultural and ethnic populations, here are three additional reasons why this data matters:
- Data on where people live will be used by politicians to redraw boundaries for voting districts.
- These numbers will be used by businesses to inform market research, expansion efforts and local labor conditions.
- Data determines where governments will allocate spending.
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