Demographics

Visualizing the U.S. Population by Race

Published

1 year ago

December 28, 2020

Iman Ghosh

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Visualizing US Population by Race in Every State

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Visualizing the U.S. Population by Race

The American population is a unique mosaic of cultures—and almost 40% of people identify as racial or ethnic minorities today.

In this treemap, we use data for 2019 from the Kaiser Family Foundation, which bases its analysis on the latest American Community Survey (ACS) data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Then we break down the same data on a state-by-state basis.

Growing Diversity in America

As of 2019, here is the current distribution of the U.S. population by race and ethnicity:

White: 60.1% (Non-Hispanic)
Hispanic: 18.5%
Black: 12.2%
Asian: 5.6%
Multiple Races: 2.8%
American Indian/Alaska Native: 0.7%
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander: 0.2%

Note that the U.S. totals do not include Puerto Rico.

However, these race and ethnicity projections are expected to change over the coming years. By the year 2060, it’s expected that the distribution of Non-Hispanic Whites as a percentage of total population will fall from 60.1% to 44.3% of Americans.

Year	White*	Black	Hispanic	Asian	Multiple Races	Other**
2020	59.7%	12.5%	18.7%	5.8%	2.3%	0.9%
2025	57.7%	12.7%	19.9%	6.3%	2.6%	0.9%
2030	55.8%	12.8%	21.1%	6.7%	2.8%	0.9%
2035	53.8%	12.9%	22.3%	7.1%	3.1%	0.9%
2040	51.7%	13.0%	23.5%	7.5%	3.4%	0.9%
2045	49.7%	13.1%	24.6%	7.9%	3.8%	0.9%
2050	47.8%	13.3%	25.7%	8.2%	4.1%	0.9%
2055	46.0%	13.4%	26.6%	8.5%	4.5%	0.9%
2060	44.3%	13.6%	27.5%	8.9%	4.9%	0.9%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau. *Excludes Hispanics **Other includes American Indian/Alaska Native (0.7%) and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (0.2%). Both proportions remain unchanged in these projections.

Interestingly, the proportion of those from multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds will more than double, from 2.3% to 4.9% alongside rising patterns of interracial marriage.

Over time, the U.S. Census has been vastly expanded to reflect the true diversity that the country holds. In fact, it was only from 1960 onwards that people could select their own race—and only from 2020 can those who chose White or Black provide further information on their roots.

A State-by-State Breakdown

Of course, racial diversity in the United States differs widely from region to region.

In the Northeast—particularly the states Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire—the Non-Hispanic White population accounts for 90% or more of the total. In contrast, Black populations are highest in the District of Columbia (45%) and several Southern states.

Location	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	Multiple Races	American Indian /Alaska Native	Native Hawaiian /Other Pacific Islander
Alabama	65%	27%	4%	1%	2%	0%	-
Alaska	60%	2%	7%	6%	8%	15%	2%
Arizona	54%	4%	32%	3%	2%	4%	0%
Arkansas	72%	15%	8%	2%	2%	1%	0%
California	36%	5%	40%	15%	3%	0%	0%
Colorado	68%	4%	22%	3%	3%	1%	0%
Connecticut	66%	10%	17%	5%	3%	0%	-
Delaware	61%	22%	10%	4%	3%	0%	-
District of Columbia	37%	45%	11%	4%	3%	0%	-
Florida	53%	15%	27%	3%	2%	0%	0%
Georgia	52%	31%	10%	4%	3%	0%	0%
Hawaii	20%	1%	10%	39%	18%	0%	10%
Idaho	82%	1%	13%	1%	3%	1%	-
Illinois	61%	14%	18%	6%	2%	0%	<.01
Indiana	79%	9%	7%	2%	2%	0%	-
Iowa	85%	4%	6%	2%	2%	0%	<.01
Kansas	76%	6%	12%	3%	3%	1%	-
Kentucky	85%	8%	4%	2%	2%	0%	-
Louisiana	59%	32%	5%	2%	2%	1%	-
Maine	93%	1%	2%	1%	2%	1%	-
Maryland	50%	30%	11%	6%	3%	0%	-
Massachusetts	71%	7%	12%	7%	3%	0%	<.01
Michigan	75%	13%	5%	3%	3%	1%	-
Minnesota	79%	6%	6%	5%	3%	1%	-
Mississippi	57%	38%	3%	1%	1%	0%	-
Missouri	79%	11%	4%	2%	3%	0%	0%
Montana	86%	1%	4%	1%	3%	6%	-
Nebraska	79%	5%	11%	2%	2%	1%	-
Nevada	48%	9%	29%	9%	4%	1%	1%
New Hampshire	90%	1%	4%	3%	2%	-	-
New Jersey	55%	12%	21%	10%	2%	0%	-
New Mexico	37%	2%	50%	2%	2%	9%	-
New York	55%	14%	19%	9%	3%	0%	-
North Carolina	63%	21%	10%	3%	3%	1%	<.01
North Dakota	84%	2%	4%	1%	3%	5%	-
Ohio	79%	12%	4%	2%	3%	0%	-
Oklahoma	65%	7%	11%	2%	7%	8%	0%
Oregon	75%	2%	13%	5%	4%	1%	0%
Pennsylvania	76%	10%	8%	4%	2%	0%	<.01
Puerto Rico	1%	0%	98%	-	0%	-	-
Rhode Island	71%	6%	17%	3%	3%	0%	-
South Carolina	64%	26%	6%	2%	2%	0%	-
South Dakota	82%	2%	4%	1%	2%	8%	-
Tennessee	74%	16%	6%	2%	2%	0%	-
Texas	41%	12%	40%	5%	2%	0%	0%
Utah	78%	1%	14%	2%	3%	1%	1%
Vermont	93%	1%	2%	2%	2%	1%	-
Virginia	61%	19%	10%	7%	3%	0%	<.01
Washington	68%	4%	13%	9%	5%	1%	1%
West Virginia	93%	3%	1%	1%	2%	0%	-
Wisconsin	81%	6%	7%	3%	2%	1%	-
Wyoming	84%	1%	10%	1%	2%	2%	-
U.S.	60.1%	12.2%	18.5%	5.6%	2.8%	0.7%	0.2%

Note: A dash (-) indicates estimates with relative standard errors greater than 30%, which were not included in the data

Of all the 50 states, Hawaii is home to the largest share of Asian populations at 39%. It also has one of the most diverse racial breakdowns in the nation overall, including the highest proportion of mixed race individuals.

Looking to another island, an overwhelming majority (98%) of Puerto Ricans are of Hispanic origins. While it’s not a state, its inhabitants are all considered U.S. citizens.

Charting the U.S. population by race is crucial for a number of reasons. This information can be used to better understand existing income and wealth gaps, track public health outcomes, and to aid in policy decision-making at higher levels.

We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams.

—Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the U.S.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to better reflect U.S. Census Bureau categories.

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Mapped: Top Trending Searches of 2021 in Every U.S. State

From presidential elections, to cryptocurrencies and billionaires, here are the trending searches in every U.S. state in 2021.

Published

3 weeks ago

December 31, 2021

Anshool Deshmukh

Map of trending searches in every U.S. state in 2021

The Trending Searches in 2021

Google’s data editor Simon Rogers once said, “You’re never as honest as you are with your search engine. You get a sense of what people genuinely care about and genuinely want to know.”

This look at trending searches for every U.S. state is a window into the topics people were truly curious about in 2021. From political tensions to meme stocks, and from Elon Musk to a devastating tornado, we saw a wide range of trending searches throughout the year.

In the above animated video, Reddit user u/V1Analytics pulls together the top trending search terms from Google’s 2021 Year in Search summary (for the period before mid-November 2021) and Google’s Daily Search Trends page (from mid-November to December 20th) to illustrate the daily trends for each state.

It’s fascinating to see what Americans were looking up this year.

Topic	Trending Months	Category
Biden	January	Political Figure
Capitol	January	Monuments
Mega Millions	January	Culture
GME	January	Gaming
Dogecoin	January, April, May	Cryptocurrency
The Weeknd	February	Entertainment
Valheim	February	Gaming
Power Outage	June, July, August	Society
Stimulus Check	March	Society
Lil Nas X	March	Entertainment
DMX	April	Entertainment
Prince Philip	April	Famous Personalities
Jake Paul	April, August	Content Creator
AMC Stock	May, June, August	Entertainment
Jeff Bezos	July	Businessman
Simone Biles	July	Athlete
Afghanistan	August, September	Country
Hurricane Ida	August	Climate Change
Gabby Petito	September	Crime
Squid Game	October	TV Shows
Alec Baldwin	October	Actor
Travis Scott	November	Entertainment
Kyle Rittenhouse	November	Crime
Adele	November	Entertainment
Tornado	December	Climate Change
Elon Musk	December	Businessman

Notable Trending Searches in 2021

Here’s a look at a few of the notable searches that trended across the U.S. in 2021:

President Biden and Capitol

Unsurprisingly, the year started with news of the presidential election and the U.S. Capitol riot, as President Biden was set to take office.

In six states, however, the top trending search was still related to the Mega Millions jackpot, even as individuals stormed the Capitol Building.

Valheim

One of the most sought-after games of the year, Valheim, came on the market in February, 2021. By August, it had garnered over 8 million users. The developing company’s new Hearth and Home patch has skyrocketed the game’s appeal even more.

Stimulus Check

In March, the U.S. government unveiled their plan to distribute the third stimulus check to Americans.

People started looking for more information about when they would be getting their checks and if there had been any changes in the amount they would receive.

Dogecoin

Created in 2013 as a parody of Bitcoin, Dogecoin saw record trading levels in May 2021. This was in part due to Elon Musk supporting the cryptocurrency.

The Dogecoin market capitalization surged to a peak of $88 billion, worth more than three-quarters of the companies in the S&P 500.

AMC Stock

After suffering significant losses due to the pandemic-related shuttering of theaters across the country, AMC Entertainment became a fan favorite of Reddit-based retail traders who drove the share price up beyond what most analysts considered reasonable.

AMC’s stock price rose by 95% in a couple of days, reaching a record high of $63 per share. This was the latest phase of the meme stock frenzy.

Afghanistan

President Biden decided to completely withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11th, 2021, ending the longest war the country has ever fought.

As an immediate consequence of the withdrawal, the Taliban militia took over the country and the government. The event, which was broadcast in near real-time, caused widespread panic among the citizens as some attempted to flee the country.

What’s in Store for 2022

It’s going to be everyone’s best guess as to what the trending searches for 2022 will be. Based on the events that dominated the news throughout the year, a few predictions could be made.

Experts predict that we will be moving to an endemic stage of the pandemic, which is bound to profoundly impact how we live in 2022.

New trends, movies, TV shows, and even newer gadgets will surely catch everyone’s attention next year. It will be fascinating to see what’s on the minds of people in the coming 12 months.

China

Animated Chart: China’s Aging Population (1950-2100)

See why China is facing a demographic crisis in this animated chart.

Creator Program

Published

4 weeks ago

December 27, 2021

Govind Bhutada

China’s Aging Population Problem

The one-child policy defined China’s demographic transition for over three decades.

But to combat an aging population and declining birthrates, the government scrapped the policy for a new two-child policy in 2016. Despite this massive change, China still faces a growing demographic crisis.

The above animated population pyramid from James Eagle looks at the distribution of China’s population by age group since 1950, with projections up to the year 2100.

How the One-Child Policy Created a Gender Imbalance

Until 2016, the Chinese government strictly enforced the one-child policy since 1979 with hefty fines for any breach of rules. According to the government, the policy reduced 400 million births over the years.

However, it also led to sex-selective abortions due to a deep-rooted cultural preference for boys. As a result, China’s gender balance tilted, with a sex ratio of 111 males to 100 females in the population aging from 0 to 4 years old in 2020.

Often termed “the missing women of China”, this shortage of women is expected to worsen over time. According to the U.N.’s World Population Prospects, China is projected to have around 244 million fewer women than men in 2050.

Additionally, the country faces another impending consequence of the one-child policy—a rapidly aging population.

Why China’s Population is Aging

In 2020, China’s fertility rate—the number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime—stood at 1.3.

Generally, fertility rates drop as economies develop. However, China’s fertility rate is now lower than that of the U.S. (1.64 in 2020) and on par with countries like Japan and Italy, both of which are facing aging populations. Consequently, fewer newborns are entering the population, while many in the workforce approach retirement.

Most Chinese workers retire by age 60. Here’s how China’s retirement-age population is expected to shape up by the year 2100:

Year	60+ Population	% of Total Population
1980	74,899,385	7.5%
2000	129,460,648	10.0%
2021	258,371,810	17.9%
2050	485,489,066	34.6%
2070	454,270,458	36.1%
2100	402,780,972	37.8%

In 2021, people aged 60 and over made up nearly one-fifth of the Chinese population. As the country’s population begins declining around 2030, over 30% of all Chinese people are expected to be in this age group.

China’s aging population threatens long-term economic growth as its workforce shrinks and low fertility rates result in fewer newborns that would later enter the working-age population. Fewer working people means lower overall consumption, a higher burden on elderly care, and slowing economic growth.

So, how will China respond to the oncoming crisis?

The Three-child Policy

According to the 2020 national census, Chinese mothers gave birth to 12 million children in 2020—the lowest number of births since 1949.

In response to these results, the government passed a new law allowing each couple to have up to three children. Despite the change, the high cost of raising a child may deter couples from having a third child.

It remains to be seen how the three-child policy helps combat China’s demographic crisis and which other policies the government chooses to deploy.