Historical racial and ethnic demographics of the United States

Historical trends

The Black (African American) population was non-existent in 1610, but increased rapidly after 1620 with the implementation of the slave trade in colonial areas which later became parts of the United States. African Americans (Blacks) made up almost one-fifth of the United States population in 1790, but their percentage of the total U.S. population declined in almost every U.S. census until 1930. From at least 1790 until the start of World War I, the overwhelming majority (around ninety percent) of African Americans lived in the southern United States. In addition, before 1865, the overwhelming majority of African Americans were slaves. The Great Migration throughout the twentieth century (starting from World War I) resulted in more than six million African Americans leaving the Southern U.S. (especially rural areas) and moving to other parts of the United States (especially to urban areas) due to the greater economic/job opportunities, less anti-black violence/lynchings, and a smaller amount of segregation/discrimination there. Due to the Great Migration, many large cities outside of the former Confederacy (such as New York City, Chicago, Detroit, and Cleveland) experienced huge increases in the African American percentage of their total population.

Whites (including Non-Hispanic Whites) have historically made up the overwhelming majority (usually between eighty and ninety percent) of the total United States population. The United States historically had few Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans, especially before the late twentieth century. Most Asian Americans historically lived in the western United States. The Hispanic and Asian population of the United States has rapidly increased in the late twentieth and twenty-first centuries, and the African American percentage of the U.S. population is slowly increasing as well since reaching a low point of less than ten percent in 1930.

Historical data for all races and for Hispanic origin (1610–2010)

The United States Census enumerated Whites and Blacks since 1790, Asians and Native Americans since 1860 (though all Native Americans in the U.S. were not enumerated until 1890), "some other race" since 1950, and "two or more races" since 2000. Hispanics (as well as the Non-Hispanic White population) were enumerated since 1940 (with the exception of 1950 and 1960), but some estimates for the Hispanic (and Non-Hispanic White) population were made for certain years before 1940 (as well as for 1950 and 1960).

a^ These population estimates include a small number of Native Americans/Indians as part of the Black/Negro population throughout this time period (1610–1780).
b^ While all Native Americans in the United States were only counted as part of the (total) U.S. population since 1890, the U.S. Census Bureau previously either enumerated or made estimates of the non-taxed Native American population (which was not counted as a part of the U.S. population before 1890) for the 1860–1880 time period. The combined taxed and non-taxed Native American population in the United States was 339,421 in 1860, 313,712 in 1870, and 306,543 in 1880.
c^ Data on race from the 2000 and 2010 U.S. Censuses are not directly comparable with those from the 1990 census and previous censuses due, in large part, to giving respondents the option to report more than one race.

Population by race and age (census 2010)

Population by race (estimates)

Black population (2000 and 2010)

Hispanic or Latino (Estimates)

Hispanic population (2000 and 2010)

Hispanic or Latino Population by Type of Origin and Race: 2010

Hispanic or Latino 2010-2015 (Estimates)

Asian 2000-2015 (Estimates)

Asian population (2000 and 2010)

Asian population pyramids (Census 2010)

American Indian and Alaska Native 2010-2015 (Estimates)

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 2010-2015 (Estimates)

Immigration to the United States

Immigration to the United States by region and country:

Cyprus was calculated in Europe. South Sudan was calculated in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Top 10 sending countries:

M.- Mexico, Ch.- China, I.- India, P.- Philippines, D.R.- Dominican Republic, Cu.- Cuba, V.- Vietnam, K.- Korea (South & North), Col.- Colombia, H. - Haiti, E.S. - El Salvador, J. - Jamaica, U- Ukraine, G. - Guatemala, R.- Russian Federation, N. - Nicaragua, B.-H. - Bosnia-Herzegovina, Can. - Canada, Ir - Iraq

East and Southeast Asia:

South Asia:

North Africa and West/Central Asia:

Sub-Saharan Africa:

Americas:

Europe:

Australia and Oceania:

Black population as a percentage of the total population by U.S. region and state (1790–2010)

Many Southern U.S. states historically had African Americans compose 35% or more of their total population(s), with three of them (Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina) even having an African American majority at certain periods in their history. In contrast, the African American percentage of the total population in other parts of the U.S. (outside of the South) was historically almost always in the single digits (0.0% to 9.9%). Even after the Great Migration, no or almost no U.S. state outside of the Southern U.S. has ever had an African American percentage of its total population be greater than 16%.

Mexican (1910–1930) and Hispanic/Latino (1940–2010) population as a percentage of the total population by U.S. region and state

Historically, the U.S. states with the largest Mexican/Hispanic/Latino populations were primarily located in the Southwestern states, Texas and Florida. However, the percentage of the Hispanic/Latino population has dramatically increased in many U.S. states both inside and outside the Southwest in recent decades.

a^ There are other estimates on this page which are a little different. These estimates here come from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Projections for 2020 through 2060

The U.S. Census Bureau has projected that the U.S. white non-Hispanic population will become a minority (that is, less than half of the total U.S. population) during the 2040s, resulting in a plurality. In December 2012, the U.S. Census Bureau projected that 2043 would be the year in which the U.S. would become a majority minority nation, with no single ethnic classification constituting a majority of the population. By 2060, Hispanic Americans are projected to account for about one-third of the total U.S. population. The tables present Census Bureau "middle series" projections published in May 2013.

Vital statistics of racial and ethnic groups (since 1935)

Source: National Center for Health Statistics, Census Bureau Intercensal Estimates

White (non-Hispanic)

The natural increase is slightly smaller than shown for non-Hispanic whites and slightly different for non-Hispanic blacks because the birth figures shown refer to mothers of that race, not the children. Most non-white babies of non-Hispanic white mothers are either Hispanic or black, and non-Hispanic black mothers occasionally have Hispanic children. On the other hand, all children born to Hispanic mothers, even if the mothers are white Hispanic, are counted as Hispanic.

Hispanics (of all racial groups)

New Hampshire did not start reporting Hispanic origin until 1993, and Oklahoma until 1991, so data from those states are excluded before then.

^p Preliminary data.