The 2010 Census - Milken Institute

RACE AND ETHNICITY:
SHARE OF
2010 POPULATION
2+ Races: 1.9
Other Race: 0.2
Hawaiian: 0.2
Asian: 4.7
Am. Indian: 0.7
SHARE OF 2000-2010 GROWTH
Hispanic:
55.5
White:
8.3
Black: 63.7
Black:
13.7
Hispanic:
16.3
to fall off dramatically in the last part of the
decade. The spectacular swoons in Las Vegas,
Phoenix and Orlando slowed the loss of population
in Los Angeles and New York, where
high housing costs have been pushing Americans
toward the more-affordable interior.
Growth has not picked up in the boom-andbust
interior cities in the year since the census,
but probably will once the economy gets out
of low gear.
population growth
means minority growth
When we talk about population dynamics in
contemporary America, we are largely talking
about the impact of changes in race and ethnicity.
The nation’s growth lull would have
been far more pronounced had it not been for
the ongoing infusion of new minorities. Be-
50 The Milken Institute Review
White:
63.7
Am. Indian: 0.7
Asian: 15.9
Hawaiian: 0.5
Other Race: 0.5
2+ Races: 5.0
METRO AREAS WITH GREATEST
WHITE LOSSES, 2000-2010
— 186,000
San
Francisco
— 193,000
— 195,000
Chicago Detroit
— 268,000
Miami
— 362,000
Los
Angeles
— 559,000
New
York
tween 2000 and 2010, the population grew by
27.3 million, but whites comprised only 2.3
million of them – a mere 8 percent of the
total. This compares with a white contribution
of 20 percent in the 1990s and much
higher shares in earlier decades. Meanwhile,
Hispanics added 15.1 million and Asians 4.3
million to their numbers, together representing
71 percent of the population gain.
Whites still make up 64 percent of the
country, but the new minorities (including
multiracial Americans) were crucial to the
growth in all regions. They accounted for all
or most of the growth in 33 states – and not
just in “melting pot” states like California and
Texas, but in whiter, slower-growing states
like Ohio, Nebraska and Iowa. The latter two
were especially dependent on Hispanics for
their growth.
Minority growth dominated growth in the
nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas, where
minorities contributed fully 98 percent of the
decade’s net growth and now represent 43