For the first time, the majority of people under 16 in America are nonwhite and Hispanic
By Connie Lin
Fast Company
June 25, 2020
The numbers are in.
The Census Bureau has released its latest population estimates, which include data from 2019. And on the whole, it shows an aging white America and an increasingly diverse United States.
Here are some general insights:
Our nation is getting bigger: The total population hovered around 329 million in 2019, up from around 308 million in 2010.
Baby boomers are no longer babies: The 65-and-older population swelled by nearly 35% between 2010 and 2019, driven by the aging of baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964. In part due to this, the median age of Americans rose from 37.2 years to 38.4 years. (The median age for non-Hispanic whites, in 2019, was 43.7 years, compared to 29.8 for Hispanics, 35 for Asians, and 32.3 for Black Americans.)
The U.S. is becoming more racially diverse: The U.S. population was about 60% non-Hispanic white in 2019, a record low for the country, and experts predict non-Hispanic whites will be a minority in 25 years. Meanwhile, Hispanic and Asian populations grew by 20% and 30%, respectively, from 2010 to 2019, and the Black population grew by 12%. While the white population grew by 4.3% compared to 2010, the number of non-Hispanic whites fell by more than half a million people from 2016 to 2019.
The face of America is changing fast: In 2019, for the first time ever, nonwhites and Hispanics were the majority for people under the age of 16, signaling a demographic shift that experts expect will continue over the coming decades. See the full report on the Census Bureau’s website.
fastcompany.com |
