Census: Number of white people in US declining

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• For the first time in U.S. history, the white population in the United States has been declining, the 2020 census reveals.
• According to the latest census, minorities now make up almost all of the nation’s population growth.
• Hispanic and Asian populations are believed to be behind much of the nation’s population growth.

For the first time in history, the number of white people in the United States has declined, according to the 2020 Census data.

The Washington Post reported Wednesday that the latest Census data show that all population growth over the last five years has been from people of color. This means, that the percentage of white people in the country has dropped below 60 percent.

Also, the population of those under age 18 is also estimated to now be majority non-white.

The population of white people is expected to have declined in 26 states. The report added that whites will only account for more than 50 percent of the growth in just five states and DC.

Hispanic and Asian populations are the reason behind much of the nation’s population growth. The Hispanic population could be behind about 50 percent of the growth in states such as Texas, Florida, Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada.

The population of black people is expected to remain steady at 12.5 percent when the new census data is released Thursday.

The estimations are based on yearly updates from the US Census Bureau based on the 2010 data. The exact figures for the 2020 Census are not yet known.

The decline in the white population — if confirmed by the data, which is widely expected — has come roughly eight years earlier than predicted, according to Brookings Institution demographer William Frey.

“Twenty years ago if you told people this was going to be the case, they wouldn’t have believed you,” he told the outlet. “The country is changing dramatically.”

Frey said the opioid epidemic and the lower number of millennials having children could have accelerated the decline.

By 2045, the white population could drop below 50 percent, added Frey.

Source: New York Post