America Has Become Less Impoverished, More Multiracial, Census Bureau Finds

Topline

Americans became more racially diverse and earned more money in almost every state, from 2016 to 2020 according to the Census Bureau’s newly released American Community Survey (ACS), which aims to offer a more detailed picture of racial and ethnic demographics with newly refined survey questions.

Convention attendees wave flags at the FleetCenter in Boston.

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Key Facts

During the period of the survey, the median U.S. household income was $64,994, up from about $58,844 (corrected for inflation) in 2011-2015, with median household income increasing in all states except Alaska, where it fell, and Wyoming, where it remained steady.

The U.S. poverty rate decreased from 15.5% in 2011-2015 to 12.8% in 2016-2020, with poverty decreasing in all states except Alaska, where it did not change significantly, according to the survey.

From 2011-2015 to 2016-2020, poverty rates decreased in 1,294 counties and municipios (administrative divisions in Puerto Rico), increased in 85 counties and municipios and remained roughly steady in 1,840 counties and municipios, the Census Bureau said.

About 5.17% of respondents identified as belonging to two or more races during 2016-2020, up from 3.32% 2011-2015, the Census Bureau said, reinforcing findings from the 2020 Census.

Additionally, 7.24% of people identified as belonging solely or in part to “some other race” than the ones captured by the survey, up from 5.5% in 2011-2015, as “some other race” became the race group showing the largest increase.

The share of the population that’s Hispanic or Latino of any race grew from 17.13% in 2011-2015 to 18.2% in 2016-2020; the share that’s white grew from 73.6% to 75.05% (while the share that’s non-Hispanic white alone fell from 62.32% to 60.09%); the share that’s Black or African American grew from 12.61% to 14.17% (while the share that’s non-Hispanic Black or African American alone remained static at 12.25%); and the share that’s Asian rose from 5.13% to 6.8%.

Key Background

The Census Bureau’s annual American Community Survey is a source of large- and small-scale demographic and socioeconomic data that aids policymakers in apportioning over $675 billion in federal and state funds each year. In 2020, bureau data collection was disrupted by a months-long suspension of fieldwork due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, the bureau adapted its methodology to minimize nonresponse bias, and determined that 2016-2020 ACS data was fit to release in its standard form. ACS 5-year estimates are not intended to gauge rapid change, like the economic upheavals caused by Covid, and figures in the 2016-2020 ACS reflect only part of the pandemic’s impact on social and economic metrics, the bureau said. Racial distribution figures for 2016-2020 were altered not just by actual demographic changes, but also by changes to survey questions, including two questions on race and Hispanic origin, which the bureau said would allow a “more thorough and accurate depiction of how people self-identify.” The Census has changed its categorizations for race many times—throughout much of the 19th century, the Census employed now-discarded byzantine racial terminology to distinguish “true” Black people from racially mixed people like “octoroons,” then defined as people with one-eighth or less “black blood.” In 1960, the Census Bureau began allowing respondents to determine their own race, rather than having their race determined for them by Census takers. In 2020, the bureau introduced a write-in area for Black or white respondents, allowing them to further specify their origins with labels like German, Irish or Jamaican.

Tangent

The ACS’ “some other race” category is used to capture respondents whose race falls outside the categories of white, Black/African American, Asian, American Indian/Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander.

Big Number

333 million. That’s about how many people currently live in the U.S.—bolstered by one birth every 9 seconds and one net international migrant arrival every 130 seconds for a net gain of one person every 45 seconds, according to the Census Bureau.

Surprising Fact

There are more people living in the U.S. than in Albania, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Russia, Sweden and the U.K. combined, according to Census Bureau figures. Even so, the U.S. population is dwarfed by China’s 1.41 billion inhabitants and India’s 1.38 billion inhabitants.

What To Watch For

March 31, the Census Bureau plans to release Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files from the 2016-2020 ACS. PUMS files allow members of the public to formulate custom estimates using Census data. Individuals and housing units included in PUMS files are protected so they cannot be identified, the bureau said. The bureau did not release PUMS files for the 1-year 2020 ACS due to Covid impacts.