U.S. Census Bureau releases report

The Census Bureau issued its long-awaited portrait of how the U.S. has changed over the past decade.

The Census Bureau on Thursday issued its long-awaited portrait of how the U.S. has changed over the past decade, releasing a trove of demographic data that will be used to redraw political maps across an increasingly diverse country. The data will also shape how $1.5 trillion in federal spending is distributed each year.

Here are five takeaways:

White population declined

A U.S. headcount has been carried out every decade since 1790, and this was the first one in which the non-Hispanic white population nationwide got smaller, shrinking from 196 million in 2010 to 191 million in 2020.

The data also showed that the share of the white population fell from 63.7% in 2010 to 57.8% in 2020, the lowest on record, though white people continue to be the most prevalent racial or ethnic group. Some demographers cautioned that the white population was not shrinking as much as shifting to multiracial identities. The number of those who identified as belonging to two or more races more than tripled from 9 million people in 2010 to 33.8 million in 2020. They now account for 10% of the U.S. population.

People who identify as a race other than white, Black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander — either alone or in combination with one of those races — jumped to 49.9 million, surpassing the Black population of 46.9 million people as the nation’s second-largest racial group, according to the Census Bureau. But demographers said that may have to do with Hispanic uncertainty about how to answer the race question on the census form.

More urbanization

Almost all of the growth of the past 10 years happened in metropolitan areas. More people in smaller counties moved to larger counties. Around 80% of metropolitan areas saw population gains, while less than half of the smaller so-called micropolitan areas did. Phoenix was the fastest-growing of the nation’s top 10 largest cities.

Decline in children; adults take larger share

The share of children in the U.S. declined because of falling birth rates, while it grew for adults, driven by aging baby boomers. Adults over age 18 made up more than three-quarters of the population in 2020, or 258.3 million people, an increase of more than 10% from 2010. However, the population of children under age 18 dropped from 74.2 million in 2010 to 73.1 million in 2020, a 1.4% decrease. Nationwide, children under age 18 now make up around 22% of the population, but it varies by region. The

Northeast had the smallest proportion of people under age 18, around 20%, while the South had the largest at 22.5%.

Hispanic, Asian growth

The nation’s 7.4% percent growth rate over the decade, the smallest since the Great Depression, largely was propelled by a Hispanic boom. The Hispanic population grew by almost a quarter over the decade. Hispanics stood at 62.1 million residents in 2020, or 18.7% of the U.S. population, up from 16.3% in 2010. Meanwhile, Asian growth jumped more than a third over the decade, rising to 24 million.

Rapid growth in unexpected places

Among all U.S. metro areas, the fastest-growing one was in The Villages, the Florida retirement community built on former cow pastures. Other fast-growing areas in the U.S. were fueled by the energy boom.

RICK BOWMER — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE Rows of homes are shown in suburban Salt Lake City, in April 2019. The U.S. Census Bureau’s release Thursday, Aug. 12of detailed population and demographic changes in each state will kick off the once-a-decade redistricting process that plays a large role in determining which party controls state legislatures and the U.S. House.