Beneath the surface of America's melting pot lie profound stories of identity, opportunity, and disparity, vividly captured by the latest demographic data that reveals a nation where the Non-Hispanic White population now stands at 57.8%, while rapidly growing groups like Hispanics and Asians are reshaping our social fabric and stark inequities in health, education, and wealth persist along racial lines.
Key Takeaways
- As of the 2020 US Census, Non-Hispanic Whites comprised 57.8% of the US population, totaling 191,697,647 individuals
- In 2020, Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 18.7% of the US population, equaling 62,080,044 people
- The Black or African American population (alone or in combination) reached 41.1 million in 2020, representing 12.4% of the US total
- In 2021, White Americans had a life expectancy of 76.4 years
- Black Americans' life expectancy was 70.8 years in 2021
- Hispanic Americans' life expectancy reached 77.6 years in 2021
- High school completion rate for Asian/Pacific Islander adults was 95% in 2022
- White adults high school completion 94% in 2022
- Black adults high school completion 89% in 2022
- 2020 murder offenders: Black 55.9% of known race (13,375 of 23,886)
- White murder offenders 41.1% in 2020 (9,941)
- Black murder victims 54.7% in 2020 (9,941 of 18,196)
- Median weekly earnings for White full-time workers $1,050 in Q4 2022
- Black full-time workers median $992 weekly Q4 2022
- Hispanic median weekly earnings $907 in Q4 2022
The US is becoming more ethnically diverse, but significant disparities persist in health, education, and wealth.
Crime
- 2020 murder offenders: Black 55.9% of known race (13,375 of 23,886)
- White murder offenders 41.1% in 2020 (9,941)
- Black murder victims 54.7% in 2020 (9,941 of 18,196)
- White murder victims 42.3% in 2020 (7,704)
- Robbery offenders Black 51.3% in 2020
- White robbery offenders 45.7% in 2020
- Aggravated assault Black offenders 33.2% in 2020
- White aggravated assault 61.8% in 2020
- Black incarceration rate 1,186 per 100,000 in 2021
- White incarceration 214 per 100,000 in 2021
- Hispanic incarceration 680 per 100,000 in 2021
- Drug offense arrests Black 24.5% in 2020
- White drug arrests 72.3% in 2020
- Rape offenders Black 27.4% in 2020
- White rape offenders 69.8% in 2020
- Burglary Black offenders 29.8% in 2020
- Larceny-theft Black 29.5% offenders 2020
- Motor vehicle theft Black 28.9% offenders 2020
- Black homicide victimization rate 20.9 per 100,000 in 2020
- White homicide rate 3.3 per 100,000 in 2020
- Hispanic homicide victimization 6.9 per 100,000 in 2020
- Gang membership estimates Black 35% of US gangs in 2021
- Hispanic/Latino 40% of gang members 2021
- White 25% gang members 2021
- Black youth arrest rate for violent crime 4x White rate in 2019
Crime Interpretation
These statistics paint a grimly consistent picture: a demographic tragically overrepresented as both victims and perpetrators of lethal violence is also subjected to a criminal justice system whose outcomes—from arrest to incarceration—diverge so starkly from their share of the population that it demands we scrutinize both societal conditions and systemic practices with equal, urgent seriousness.
Demographics
- As of the 2020 US Census, Non-Hispanic Whites comprised 57.8% of the US population, totaling 191,697,647 individuals
- In 2020, Hispanics or Latinos of any race made up 18.7% of the US population, equaling 62,080,044 people
- The Black or African American population (alone or in combination) reached 41.1 million in 2020, representing 12.4% of the US total
- Asians accounted for 6.1% of the US population in 2020, numbering 20,297,797 individuals
- American Indians and Alaska Natives comprised 1.3% of the US population in 2020, totaling 4,292,490 people alone or in combination
- Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders were 0.3% of the US population in 2020, equaling 880,506 individuals alone or in combination
- Two or more races increased to 10.2% of the US population in 2020 from 2.9% in 2010
- In 2022, the US Hispanic population growth rate was 1.9% annually, higher than the national average of 0.4%
- Foreign-born Hispanics represented 35% of the US Hispanic population in 2022, totaling about 11 million
- Mexican-origin Hispanics made up 58% of the US Hispanic population in 2022
- Puerto Rican Hispanics comprised 9% of the US Hispanic population in 2022
- Salvadoran Hispanics accounted for 7% of the US Hispanic population in 2022
- Cuban Hispanics were 4% of the US Hispanic population in 2022
- Dominican Hispanics represented 4% of the US Hispanic population in 2022
- The Asian population in the US grew by 35% from 2010 to 2020, faster than any other major group
- Indian Americans were the largest Asian subgroup in 2019, numbering 4.5 million
- Chinese Americans totaled 4.1 million in 2019
- Filipino Americans numbered 3.9 million in 2019
- Vietnamese Americans reached 2.3 million in 2019
- Korean Americans were 1.9 million in 2019
- Black immigrants from Africa grew to 2.1 million in the US by 2019
- Nigerian immigrants numbered 392,000 in the US in 2019
- Ethiopian immigrants were 256,000 in 2019
- Ghanaian immigrants totaled 240,000 in 2019
- The Native American population alone was 3.7 million in 2020
- Cherokee Nation had 284,247 enrolled members in 2020
- Navajo Nation population was 399,567 in 2020
- In England and Wales 2021 Census, White ethnic group was 81.7% of population
- Asian ethnic group in England and Wales was 9.3% in 2021
- Black ethnic group comprised 4.0% in England and Wales 2021
- Non-Hispanic White median age was 43.7 years in 2020 US Census
- Hispanic median age was 30.6 years in 2020
- Black median age was 35.8 years in 2020
Demographics Interpretation
While the U.S. population mosaic is still dominated by a single, aging tile, the vibrant, younger, and faster-growing pieces surrounding it are rapidly and permanently reshaping the American portrait.
Economics
- Median weekly earnings for White full-time workers $1,050 in Q4 2022
- Black full-time workers median $992 weekly Q4 2022
- Hispanic median weekly earnings $907 in Q4 2022
- Asian median weekly earnings $1,346 Q4 2022
- Poverty rate Non-Hispanic White 8.6% in 2022
- Black poverty rate 17.1% in 2022
- Hispanic poverty 16.9% in 2022
- Asian poverty 9.5% in 2022
- AI/AN poverty 20.5% in 2022
- White household median income $77,999 in 2022
- Black household $52,860 median 2022
- Hispanic household $62,800 median 2022
- Asian household $100,572 median 2022
- Homeownership rate White 75.3% Q4 2022
- Black homeownership 44.1% Q4 2022
- Hispanic homeownership 49.1% Q4 2022
- Asian homeownership 63.0% Q4 2022
- Unemployment rate White 3.2% Jan 2023
- Black unemployment 5.4% Jan 2023
- Hispanic unemployment 4.9% Jan 2023
- Asian unemployment 3.1% Jan 2023
- Labor force participation White 62.3% Jan 2023
- Black LFPR 62.7% Jan 2023
- Hispanic LFPR 66.2% Jan 2023
- Wealth gap: White families median wealth $188,200 in 2019
- Black families median wealth $24,100 in 2019
- Hispanic median wealth $36,100 in 2019
- Asian median wealth $536,000 in 2019
Economics Interpretation
The statistics reveal a stubborn, color-coded financial ladder in America, where your starting block significantly predetermines your pace in the race for earnings, wealth, and security.
Education
- High school completion rate for Asian/Pacific Islander adults was 95% in 2022
- White adults high school completion 94% in 2022
- Black adults high school completion 89% in 2022
- Hispanic adults high school completion 74% in 2022
- American Indian/Alaska Native high school completion 76% in 2022
- Bachelor's degree attainment for Asians 61% aged 25+ in 2022
- White bachelor's 40% in 2022
- Black bachelor's 26% in 2022
- Hispanic bachelor's 20% in 2022
- AI/AN bachelor's 17% in 2022
- 4th grade NAEP reading proficiency: White 44% proficient/advanced 2022
- Black 4th graders 18% proficient/advanced 2022
- Hispanic 4th graders 22% proficient/advanced 2022
- Asian 4th graders 64% proficient/advanced 2022
- 8th grade math NAEP: White 34% proficient/advanced 2022
- Black 8th graders 15% proficient/advanced 2022
- Hispanic 8th graders 20% proficient/advanced 2022
- College enrollment rate for recent Asian high school grads 82% in 2021
- White recent grads 69% enrollment 2021
- Black recent grads 61% enrollment 2021
- Hispanic recent grads 64% enrollment 2021
- AI/AN recent grads 56% enrollment 2021
- Advanced degree attainment Asians 37% in 2022
- White advanced degrees 15% in 2022
- Black advanced 12% in 2022
- Hispanic advanced 9% in 2022
- Student-teacher ratio in schools with majority Black students averaged 18:1 in 2020
- Suspension rates: Black students 15% suspended at least once in 2017-18
- White students 5% suspension rate 2017-18
- Hispanic students 8% suspension 2017-18
Education Interpretation
The data paints a disturbingly consistent portrait of American education, where the so-called "achievement gap" looks less like a gap and more like a canyon, systematically carved along racial lines from elementary reading scores to advanced degrees.
Health
- In 2021, White Americans had a life expectancy of 76.4 years
- Black Americans' life expectancy was 70.8 years in 2021
- Hispanic Americans' life expectancy reached 77.6 years in 2021
- Asian Americans had the highest life expectancy at 83.5 years in 2021
- American Indian/Alaska Native life expectancy was 65.2 years in 2021
- Age-adjusted death rate for heart disease among Non-Hispanic Black males was 252.0 per 100,000 in 2021
- Non-Hispanic White females had cancer death rate of 130.6 per 100,000 in 2021
- Hispanic males stroke death rate was 33.5 per 100,000 in 2021
- Asian/Pacific Islander diabetes death rate was 17.1 per 100,000 in 2021
- American Indian/Alaska Native COVID-19 death rate was 298 per 100,000 in 2021
- Obesity prevalence among Non-Hispanic Black adults was 49.9% in 2017-2020
- Hispanic adult obesity rate was 45.6% in 2017-2020
- Non-Hispanic White adult obesity was 41.4% in 2017-2020
- Non-Hispanic Asian adult obesity was 16.1% in 2017-2020
- Hypertension prevalence in Black adults was 56.2% aged 18+ in 2017-2020
- Cancer incidence rate for Black males was 529.5 per 100,000 in 2018
- Breast cancer mortality rate for Black females was 27.1 per 100,000 in 2018
- Prostate cancer incidence for Black males was 173.6 per 100,000 in 2018
- Colorectal cancer death rate for AI/AN was 19.1 per 100,000 in 2018
- Lung cancer incidence for White males was 75.9 per 100,000 in 2018
- Infant mortality rate for Black infants was 10.62 per 1,000 live births in 2021
- White infant mortality was 4.39 per 1,000 in 2021
- Hispanic infant mortality 4.94 per 1,000 in 2021
- AI/AN infant mortality 8.83 per 1,000 in 2021
- Asthma prevalence in Black children was 13.4% in 2021
- Hispanic children asthma 9.5% in 2021
- Non-Hispanic White children asthma 6.9% in 2021
- HIV diagnosis rate for Black males was 50.4 per 100,000 in 2021
- Hispanic females HIV rate 3.5 per 100,000 in 2021
Health Interpretation
The statistics paint a stark and morally outrageous portrait where, in America, your health and lifespan are effectively assigned at birth based on race, with a gruesome calculus determining who gets to live into their eighties and who is statistically condemned to die a decade sooner.
Sources & References
- Reference 1CENSUScensus.govVisit source
- Reference 2PEWRESEARCHpewresearch.orgVisit source
- Reference 3ONSons.gov.ukVisit source
- Reference 4CDCcdc.govVisit source
- Reference 5SEERseer.cancer.govVisit source
- Reference 6NCESnces.ed.govVisit source
- Reference 7UCRucr.fbi.govVisit source
- Reference 8CDEcde.ucr.cjis.govVisit source
- Reference 9BOPbop.govVisit source
- Reference 10NATIONALGANGCENTERnationalgangcenter.govVisit source
- Reference 11OJJDPojjdp.ojp.govVisit source
- Reference 12BLSbls.govVisit source
- Reference 13FEDERALRESERVEfederalreserve.govVisit source