Data collected and analyzed by the U.S. Census Bureau from the decennial survey — that will be used for redistricting across the states — shows the country is becoming more diverse than ever before.
The information released by the Commerce Department agency guides states in outlining congressional and legislative districts.
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The analysis revealed the first-ever decrease in the number of people who identify as White. The population of non-Hispanic Whites dropped 8.6%, from 223.6 million in 2010 to 204.3 million in 2020. The percentage of White people declined from 63.7% in the last census to 57.8% last year. It’s the demographic’s first loss since the Census began in 1790.
The country is “much more multiracial and much more racially and ethnically diverse than what we measured in the past,” said the bureau’s director of race and ethnic research, Nicholas Jones, according to the Washington Post.
More people identify as multiracial than before. In 2010, an estimated 9 million claimed more than one race. In 2020, 33.8 million people did, an increase of more than 250%.
Hispanics are the largest growing demographic at 62.1 million people or 18.7% of the country. The Hispanic population has doubled over the last three decennial census surveys.
States in the West and South saw the most significant population gains. At the same time, more than half of all the counties in the country saw a considerable exodus of residents.
The largest cities in the country are New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Phoenix, which surpassed Philadelphia after growing its population nearly 80%, faster than any other city.
The Department of Commerce delayed the release of Census data because it took longer due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While no data is perfect, we are confident that today’s redistricting results meet our high data quality standards,” acting director Ron Jarmin said Thursday, according to Reuters.
In April, the agency published figures that revealed states such as Texas, Florida, and North Carolina would gain congressional seats next year, while California, New York, Pennsylvania, and others would lose seats.
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