CENSUS: U.S. is getting more diverse faster than expected; white population declines for first time

Aided by immigration, the Asian American population grew at the fastest rate.

UPDATED: 1:00 p.m. PDT to include info from Census press releases.

The Republican Party and white supremacists are not going to like the findings released today (Aug. 12) by the U.S. Census: For the first time since the Census has been taken, the white population in the U.S. is showing a decline.

The data confirms what has long been predicted by demographers about the unprecedented and potentially tumultuous racial shift  that people of color will become the majority in this country by 2040, is occurring faster than expected.

The Census Bureau findings, released Thursday shows the first decline in history for the nation's non-Hispanic white population, according to an analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data by the Brookings Institution's William Frey.

RELATED: There are now 24 million Asian Americans

The U.S. is rapidly moving toward a majority-minority population — a trend likely to continue for generations. "This really is moving in a direction that’s going to favor the issues and the political agendas of these younger people," Frey told Axios.

Despite the usual undercount of people of color, experts predict that the 2020 census will show a decline in the white population for the first time in U.S. history. For the first time, the portion of white people could dip below 60% and the under-18 population is likely to be majority non-white, reported The Washington Post, a decade earlier than expected.

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

“The U.S. population is much more multiracial and much more racially and ethnically diverse than what we have measured in the past,” said Census Bureau official Nicholas Jones to the Associated Press.

Despite the historic decline in the white population -- partially due to Whites of the Boomer generation tend to be older and the low birth rate among younger Whites -- the U.S. population is still growing, albeit slowly. 

Making up for the decline of Whites, the source of that growth is coming mainly from Asian, Black and Hispanic communities.

When translated into population totals, Latinos or Hispanics contributed 10 million people—over half of the nation’s 2010 to 2019 growth. Asian Americans, Black residents, and persons of two or more races contributed 4.5 million, 3.2 million, and 1.7 million people, respectively.

Other highlights of today's release of the Census' race and ethnicity data:

• Despite the decline in the White population, it 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 Two or More Races population (also referred to as the Multiracial population) has changed considerably since 2010. The Multiracial population 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 million).
• 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 of Hispanic or Latino origin grew 4.3% since 2010.

The news from the Census  while welcomed by some, can be a two-edged sword for minorities, especially for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. While they might gain in political and economic clout,  AAPI can expect a likely increase in hate incidents continuing the alarming surge the AAPI community has been experiencing for the last 18 months.

"Republicans are going to have to awaken to this," said Frey of the data.

The GOP is already trying to hold onto their grip on power by riling up anti-immigrant sentiment and passing laws that would make it harder to vote for POC.

The nation can expect the White extremists to not take the Census news lightly. White supremacists, already nervous about the demographic shift taking place, will likely  find more reasons to express their frustration and outrage. White supremacist-driven protests such as Charlottesville and the Jan. 6 coup attempt could grow in number and level of violence. AAPI can also expect an increase in attacks as whites grow more resentful of their perceived decline in status and power.

Domestic extremism “poses the most lethal and persistent terrorism-related threat to the homeland today,” Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, told a House committee in an assessment delivered to the Biden White House earlier this year.

“The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and on American democracy is a searing example of this threat,” Mayorkas said.

Results of the U.S. Census that confirms the White population decline only adds fuel to their insecurities and fears.

“You’ve got an aging white electorate that does not seem to be willing to make the investments in a young population that propels people to success — schools, infrastructure,” Manuel Pastor, a sociology professor at the University of Southern California told The Associated Press. 

“There’s a portion of the population — myself included — who’s delighted by Korean taco trucks popping up …But, on the other hand, there are people who feel a great dislocation and loss of personal identity.”

WORD OF CAUTION: This post is news with a smattering of opinion. Readers are urged to seek multiple news sources to form their own opinion.