New Census Data Show Both Racial and Geographic Distribution Changes in U.S.

According to a recent article in The Economist, data from last year's decennial census show changes in America's racial distribution over the last decade. According to the data, minorities accounted for 92% of the population growth over the last decade. Currently, minority races and ethnicities actually form the majority in California, Texas, Hawaii, New Mexico and Washington D.C. The data also indicate a change in the American population's geographic distribution. While populations in the South and the West both grew by 14%, the north-east and the Midwest grew by only 3 and 4% respectively. While some argue that this population growth in traditionally Republican states and their resulting increase in seats in the House of Representatives may lead to greater Republican power, others argue that the growth of minority populations and other traditionally Democratic voters may counteract this. The chart from the article (left) shows the percent change in population for each racial/ethnic group both for all ages and for those under 18 years old. As the chart indicates, the Asian and Hispanic populations saw the biggest increases while both the black and white populations saw smaller increases for all ages and decreases for those under 18 years old.

Posted by Brittany