National Headlines Misleading About Racial Population Increases and Declines

The mainstream media headlines read this way:

His Story

Reporting From The Washington Post: Census data shows widening diversity; number of White people falls for first time: The first race and ethnicity breakdowns from the 2020 Census, released Thursday, show a more diverse population than ever in the nation’s history. The report marks the first time the absolute number of people who identify as White alone has shrunk since a census started being taken in 1790. The number of people identifying as non-Hispanic White and no other race dropped by 5.1 million people, to 191.7 million, a decrease of 2.6 percent.

Her Story

Reporting From The Hill: White population declines for first time in US history, new census expected to say: Early results are starting to come in: The reality may be even more stark, considering that the Trump administration stopped the count earlier than expected despite the coronavirus pandemic disrupting field operations. Early indications suggest there may have been an undercount of Latinos in the most recent census, experts say, who are often discouraged from completing the census due to their immigration status — although the Supreme Court ruled the question could not be asked. Indigenous populations have historically been undercounted as well and many racial and ethnic groups are not listed as options on the form, falling under “other.”

The Truth

The 2020 Census shows:

• The White population 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 Multiracial population has changed considerably since 2010. It 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.

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