2020 Census Revealed a More MultiRacial United States



The United States Census Bureau released information from the 2020 census results on August 12, 2021. Nearly all racial groups saw population gains this decade, and the increase in the “Two or More Races” population (referred to as the Multiracial population) was especially large (up 276%). The White alone population declined by 8.6% since 2000.

The 2020 Census shows:

The White population remained the largest race or ethnicity group in the United States, with 204.3 million people identifying as White alone. Overall, 235.4 million people reported White alone or in combination with another group. However, the White alone population decreased by 8.6% since 2010.

The Multiracial population has changed considerably since 2010. It was measured at 9 million people in 2010 and is now 33.8 million people in 2020, a 276% increase.

The “in combination” multiracial populations for all race groups accounted for most of the overall changes in each racial category.

All of the race alone or in combination groups experienced increases. The Some Other Race alone or in combination group (49.9 million) increased 129% surpassing the Black or African American population (46.9 million) as the second-largest race alone or in combination group.

The next largest racial populations were the Asian alone or in combination group (24 million), the American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination group (9.7 million), and the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination group (1.6 millions)

The Hispanic or Latino population, which includes people of any race, was 62.1 million in 2020. The Hispanic or Latino population grew 23% while the population that was not Hispanic or Latino origin grew 4.3% since 2010.

Accordingly, data from the 2020 Census show different but reasonable and expected distributions from the 2010 Census for the White alone population, the Some Other Race alone or in combination population and the Multiracial population, especially for people who self-identify as both White and Some Other Race.

LAist reported that DNA ancestry tests had an effect on the census – but it is not clear how big of an effect. The cost of at-home kits fell in recent years, and have helped shape an increasing share of the country’s ever-changing ideas about the social construct that is race.

Related Articles on FamilyTree.com:

U.S. 2020 Census Apportionment Results

1910 Census Info About Your Ancestor

Importance of the U.S. Census

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