Demographics

Visualizing the U.S. Population by Race

Published

4 years 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.