How White People’s Share Of The U.S. Population Changed From 2010 To 2020

In 2020, the white population remained the largest racial group in the United States. But compared with a decade ago, people who identified as white for the census made up smaller shares of the country’s total population — except for the group that includes people who identified as Hispanic or Latino and checked off only the “White” box or marked “White” and one or more of the other racial categories.

OVERALL (Including HISPANIC or LATINO)
2010
2020
Change (percentage pts)
"White" alone 72.4% 61.6% -10.8pts ↓
"White" alone plus "White" in combination 74.8% 71.0% -3.8pts ↓

Not Hispanic or Latino
"White" alone 63.7% 57.8% -5.9pts ↓
"White" alone plus "White" in combination 65.4% 61.5% -3.9pts ↓

Only Hispanic or Latino
"White" alone 8.7% 3.8% -4.9pts ↓
"White" alone plus "White" in combination 9.5% 9.5% +0.06pts ↑

Notes: Percentages are rounded to the nearest tenth of a percent. The Census Bureau warns that comparisons between 2010 census and 2020 census race data should be made with caution because of changes to how the race question was asked, as well as how responses were categorized and processed, for the 2020 count.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Credit: Ruth Talbot/NPR