The white population in the United States would have decreased in 2017 without immigration.
Asians were the fastest-growing racial or ethnic group in the United States last year, thanks to immigration and higher birth rates than death rates in the Hispanic, Black, tribal, and Hawaiian communities.
U.S. population projections were made public on Thursday. According to the Census Bureau, shifts in various racial, ethnic, and age categories occurred in the previous year and when the COVID-19 virus began spreading in the United States in April 2020.
According to projections for 2022, the nation’s population reached 333.2 million by the middle of the previous year, a growth of 0.4% from the year before.
Immigration sparked the growth among white Americans. Without it, the number of white people—including those who identify as more than one race—would have decreased by more than 85,000 last year rather than expanding by a measly 388,000 individuals, or 0.1%.
When the focus is restricted to white people who aren’t Hispanic and who only identify as one race, there was a decline of more than 668,000 people in the white population because the number of immigrants couldn’t make up for the sharp decline in natural decline that resulted from deaths outnumbering births last year.
Immigration and natural increase, which occurs when births outnumber deaths, are the two factors that drive population growth.
The information made public on Thursday illustrates the complexity of the country’s constantly changing population patterns and supports a complexity not often reflected in the political discussion about immigration.
The white population has increased by 391,000 persons since the pandemic began in April 2020, all of whom are new immigrants.
260.5 million persons in the United States last year, including those with more than one race, identified as white.
Phoenix’s county, Maricopa, saw the most increase in the number of white people of any county last year, adding more than 35,000 new white residents. With an increase of about 57,000 additional people due to domestic migration in 2022, Arizona’s largest county experienced the highest growth in total population in the United States.
Immigration was a significant factor in the 577,000-person increase in Asian identity last year, particularly among persons who identify as more than one race, accounting for two-thirds of the rise.
There were 24.6 million Asians in the U.S., making that 2.4% increase the greatest of any race or ethnic group.
Seattle’s home county of King County, Washington, saw the most increase in Asian population in any American county last year—nearly 21,500.
The United States Hispanic population increased by more than 1 million last year, the most significant increase in absolute numbers of any race or ethnicity.
Natural growth, or the birth rate exceeding the death rate, was responsible for two-thirds of that expansion.
Last year, more than 63.3 million people identified as Hispanic last year, a 1.7% rise from the previous year.
Houston’s home county of Harris County, Texas, saw the most significant Hispanic population increase in absolute numbers, with an increase of about 35,000 last year.
Nearly two-thirds of the 436,000-person increase in the Black population last year—a 0.9% increase from the previous year— also resulted from natural growth.
Fifty million people of African descent lived in the United States in 2022.
With nearly 23,000 new Black citizens, Harris County, Texas, experienced the highest numerical increase of any county in the United States.
The population of American Indians and Alaska Natives increased by more than 93,000 individuals, or 1.3%, to 7.2 million last year.
With more than 3,100 additional residents, Maricopa County, Arizona, experienced the most significant numerical increase.
Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders made up about 1.7 million people in the United States last year, a rise of 1.2% from the year before.
The most significant growth was seen in Clark County, Nevada, the location of Las Vegas.
As baby boomers and millennials age, the median age in the U.S. increased by 0.2 years to 38.9 years between 2021 and 2022.
With a median age of 68.1, Sumter County, Florida—home to a sizable retirement community—had the highest median age in the nation.
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