Demographics of the United States

The United States had an official estimated resident population of 333,287,557 on July 1, 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.^[12] This figure includes the 50 states and the District of Columbia but excludes the population of five unincorporated U.S. territories (Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands) as well as several minor island possessions. The United States is the third most populous country in the world.^[13] The Census Bureau showed a population increase of 0.4% for the twelve-month period ending in July 2022,^[14] below the world average annual rate of 0.9%.^[15] The total fertility rate in the United States estimated for 2021 is 1.664 children per woman,^[16] which is below the replacement fertility rate of approximately 2.1.

The U.S. population almost quadrupled during the 20th century – at a growth rate of about 1.3% a year – from about 76 million in 1900 to 281 million in 2000.^[17] It is estimated to have reached the 200 million mark in 1967, and the 300 million mark on October 17, 2006.^[17][18] Foreign-born immigration caused the U.S. population to continue its rapid increase, with the foreign-born population doubling from almost 20 million in 1990 to over 45 million in 2015,^[19] representing one-third of the population increase.^[20] The U.S. population grew by 1.6 million from 2018 to 2019, with 38% of growth from immigration.^[21] Population growth is fastest among minorities as a whole, and according to the Census Bureau's estimation for 2020, 50% of U.S. children under the age of 18 are members of ethnic minority groups.^[22]

As of 2020, white people numbered 235,411,507 or 71% of the population, including people who identified as white in combination with another race. People who identified as white alone (including Hispanic whites) numbered 204,277,273 or 61.6% of the population and Non-Latino whites made up 57.8% of the country's population.^[23]

Latino Americans accounted for 51.1% of the total national population growth between 2010 and 2020, increasing from 50.5 million in 2010 to 62.1 million in 2020.^[24] The Hispanic or Latino population increased by 23% between 2010 and 2020, an increase of more than 11.6 million.^[24] Immigrants and their U.S.-born descendants are expected to provide most of the U.S. population gains in the decades ahead.^[25]

In 2020, it was reported that 51.0% of births were to non-Hispanic white mothers.^[26] In 2021, the percentage increased to 51.5%.^[26][27]

The 12 month ending general fertility rate increased from 56.6 to 57.0 in 2022 Q1 compared to 2021 Q4.^[28]

Population

On April 1, 2020, the United States had a population of 331,449,281, according to the 2020 United States census.^[29]

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook estimated as of 2018,^[5] unless otherwise indicated.

Note: Population estimate of United States excluding oversea armed forces.^[30][31]

Population pyramid by race of the United States over time from 1900 to 2020

Age and sex distribution

Proportion of Americans under the age of 18 in each county of the fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of the 2020 United States Census

Age distribution by selected age groups.^[32]

• 0 – 14 years: 18.2%
• 15 – 24 years: 13.0%
• 25 – 54 years: 39.0%
• 55 – 64 years: 12.9%
• 65 years and over: 16.8%

The median age of the total population as of 2021 is 38.8 years; the male median age is 37.7 years; the female median age is 39.8 years.^[32]

Birth rate

• 12.023 births/1,000 population (2023)^[16] Country comparison to the world: 151th^[33]

Death rate

• 10.45 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)^[34] Country comparison to the world: 78th^[33]
• 8.81 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est)*^[35] *age-adjusted death rate

Total fertility rate

TFR of the United States overtime from 1820 to 2016

In 1800 the average U.S. woman had 7.04 children;^[36] by the first decade of the 1900s, this number had already decreased to 3.56.^[37] Since the early 1970s the birth rate has been below the replacement rate of 2.1 with 1.72 children per woman in 2018.^[38]

The drop in the U.S. fertility rate from 2.08 per woman in 2007 to 1.76 in 2017 was mostly due to the declining birth rate of Hispanics, teenagers, and young women, although the birth rate for older women rose.^[39]

• 1.664 children born/woman (2021).^[40]

Mother's mean age at first birth

Percentage of women childless by age cohort in the US over time

• 27.1 years (2020 est.)^[40]

Dependency ratio

The dependency ratio is the age-population ratio of people who are normally not in the labor force (the dependent population, which includes those aged 0 to 14 and 65 and older) to those who are (the productive part ages 15 to 64). It is used to gauge the strain on the populace that is productive.

• Total dependency ratio: 54.03 (2021)^[32] Country comparison to the world*: 110th^[41]
• Child dependency ratio: 28.11 (2021) Country comparison to the world*: 138th
• Aged dependency ratio: 25.92 (2021) Country comparison to the world*: 42nd
• Potential support ratio: 3.86 (2021) Country comparison to the world*: 160th

*Ratios are ranked from highest to lowest by country

Life expectancy in the United States since 1880

Life expectancy in the United States since 1960 by gender

Life expectancy

• Total population: 76.1 years for a child born in 2021, decreasing from 77.0 years in 2020.^[42]
• Male: 73.2 years (2021), 74.2 years (2020)
• Female: 79.9 years (2021), 79.9 years (2020)

The average life expectancy in the United States has been on a decline since 2014. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites three main reasons: a 72% increase in overdoses in the last decade (including a 30% increase in opioid overdoses from July 2016 to September 2017, but did not differentiate between accidental overdose with a legal prescription and overdose with opioids obtained illegally and/or combined with illegal drugs i.e., heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, etc.), a ten-year increase in liver disease (the rate for men age 25 to 34 increased by 8% per year; for women, by 11% per year), and a 33% increase in suicide rates since 1999.^[43]

From 2019 to 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to approximately 61% of the decrease in life expectancy in the United States.^[44] While increases in mortality from unintentional injuries, heart disease, homicide, and diabetes contributed to 11.7%, 5.8%, 2.9%, and 2.8% of the decrease in life expectancy from 2019 to 2020, respectively.^[44] Life expectancy has also varied by racial and ethnic group, with Non-Hispanic Asians having the highest life expectancy and Non-Hispanic American Indians having the lowest.^[44] In 2021, life expectancy at birth in the United States fell for the second year in a row, the first two-year drop since 1961-1963.^[45]

Counties in the United States by population per square mile of land area according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates and 2010 United States Census.^[46][47] Counties more densely populated than the United States as a whole are in full blue.

States and territories in the United States by population per square mile, according to the 2020 United States census.

Counties in the United States by population growth since 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2018 Annual Estimate of the Resident Population.^[48] Counties with population growth greater than the United States as a whole are in dark green, counties with population growth slower than the United States in light green, and counties with declining populations in light red.

States in the United States by population growth since 2010 according to the U.S. Census Bureau 2018 Annual Estimate of the Resident Population.^[48] States with population growth greater than the United States as a whole are in dark green, states with population growth slower than the United States in light green, and states with declining populations in light red.

Life expectancy by Hispanic origin and race, and sex: United States, 2019, 2020 & 2021^[42]

Race	Male LEB in 2021	Female LEB in 2021	Total LEB in 2021*	Total LEB in 2020	Total LEB in 2019	2019 - 2021
NH White	73.7	79.2	76.4	77.4	78.8	2.4
NH Black	66.7	74.8	70.8	71.5	74.8	4.0
NH Asian	81.2	85.6	83.5	83.6	85.6	2.1
NH American Indian or Alaska Native	61.5	69.2	65.2	67.1	71.8	6.6
Hispanic	74.4	81.0	77.7	77.9	81.9	4.2
All origins and races	73.2	79.1	76.1	77.0	78.8	2.7

NOTE: Life expectancy at birth data for 2021 are provisional.*

• NH = Non-hispanic.
• LEB = Life expectancy at birth
• Growth arrows (/) indicate an increase or decrease in total life expectancy compared to years before.

Life Tables

Density

The most densely populated state is New Jersey (1,263/mi² or 488/km²).

The population is highly urbanized, with 82.3% of the population residing in cities and suburbs.^[5] Large urban clusters are spread throughout the eastern half of the United States (particularly the Great Lakes area, northeast, east, and southeast) and the western tier states; mountainous areas, principally the Rocky Mountains and Appalachian chain, deserts in the southwest, the dense boreal forests in the extreme north, and the central prairie states are less densely populated; Alaska's population is concentrated along its southern coast – with particular emphasis on the city of Anchorage – and Hawaii's is centered on the island of Oahu.^[5] California and Texas are the most populous states, as the mean center of U.S. population has consistently shifted westward and southward.^[49][50] New York City is the most populous city in the United States^[51] and has been since at least 1790.

In the U.S. territories, population centers include the San Juan metro area in Puerto Rico,^[52] Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands,^[53] and the island of Tutuila in American Samoa.^[54]

Growth rate

• Population growth rate: 0.12%.^[32] Country comparison to the world: 130th

Births and fertility by race

A total of 3,659,289 babies were born in 2021, a 1% increase from 2020. Additionally, researchers also looked at births by race and found that White and Hispanic women each saw the number of births increase by about 2% from 2020 to 2021. Meanwhile, Black and Asian women saw the number of births decline by 2.4% and 2.5%, respectively, over the same period, while American Indian/Alaskan Native women saw their numbers fall by 3.2%.^[55] It also marks the first rise in births since 2014. Prior to this report, the total number of births had been decreasing by an average of 2% per year.^[55] However, the total fertility rate (the number of births a hypothetical group of 1,000 people would have over their lifetimes) was 1,663.5 births per 1,000 women. This is still below the replacement level, the level a population needs to replace itself, which is 2,100 births per 1,000 women.^[55]

U.S.-born people

Note: Hispanics are counted both by their ethnicity and by their race, giving a higher overall number. Also note that growth arrows indicate an increase or decrease in the number of births, not in the fertility rate.^{[60][61][62][63]}

Race of mother	Number of births in 2016	% of all born	TFR (2016)	Number of births in 2017	% of all born	TFR (2017)	Number of births in 2018	% of all born	TFR (2018)	Number of births in 2019	% of all born	TFR (2019)	Number of births in 2020	% of all born	TFR (2020)	2020-2016
White	2,900,933	73.5%	1.77	2,812,267	72.9%	1.76	2,788,439	73.5%	1.75
> NH White	2,056,332	52.1%	1.719	1,992,461	51.7%	1.666	1,956,413	51.6%	1.640	1,915,912	51.1%	1.611	1,843,432	51.0%	1.552	10.35%
Black	623,886	15.8%	1.90	626,027	16.2%	1.92	600,933	15.8%	1.87
> NH Black	558,622	14.2%	1.832	560,715	14.5%	1.824	552,029	14.6%	1.792	548,075	14.6%	1.776	529,811	14.7%	1.714	5.16%
NH Asian	254,471	6.5%	1.690	249,250	6.5%	1.597	240,798	6.4%	1.525	238,769	6.4%	1.511	219,068	6.1%	1.385	13.9%
NH American Indian or Alaska native	31,452	0.8%	1.794	29,957	0.8%	1.702	29,092	0.8%	1.651	28,450	0.76%	1.612	26,813	0.74%	1.517	14.75%
NH Hawaiian (incl. other Pacific Islander)	9,342	0.2%	2.076	9,426	0.2%	2.085	9,476	0.3%	2.106	9,770	0.26%	2.178	9,626	0.26%	2.142	3.04%
Total	3,945,875	100%	1.820	3,855,500	100%	1.765	3,791,712	100%	1.729	3,747,540	100%	1.706	3,613,647	100%	1.641	9.84%

NOTE:

• NH = Non-hispanic.
• TFR = Total fertility rate (number of children born per woman).
• Growth arrows (/) indicate an increase or decrease in the number of births, not in the fertility rate, comparing to the previous year.

Ethnicity of mother	Number of births in 2016	% of all born	TFR (2016)	Number of births in 2017	% of all born	TFR (2017)	Number of births in 2018	% of all born	TFR (2018)	Number of births in 2019	% of all born	TFR (2019)	Number of births in 2020	% of all born	TFR (2020)	2020-2016
Non-Hispanic (of any race)	3,027,428			2,956,736			2,905,502			2,861,073			2,746,933
Hispanic (of any race)	918,447	23.3%	2.093	898,764	23.3%	2.007	886,210	23.4%	1.959	886,467	23.7%	1.940	866,714	24.0%	1.876	5.63%

Percent of births to White Non-Hispanic women that were their 8th+ child, by US state, in 2021

New York: 2.21%, New Jersey: 1.7%, Wisconsin: 1.04%, Arkansas: 1.02%, Montana: 0.86%, Ohio: 0.85%, Iowa: 0.84%, Pennsylvania: 0.82%, Kansas: 0.76%, Kentucky: 0.76%, Utah: 0.75%, Minnesota: 0.75%, Indiana: 0.72%, Wyoming: 0.72%, Mississippi: 0.7%, Michigan: 0.7%, Idaho 0.65%, West Virginia: 0.64%, Arizona: 0.62%, North Dakota 0.59%, South Dakota 0.54%, Arkansas 0.51%, New Mexico: 0.50%, Maryland: 0.49%, Oregon: 0.46%, Michigan: 0.44%, Oklahoma: 0.44%, Florida: 0.43%, Tennessee: 0.42%, Virginia: 0.41%, Illinois: 0.40%, Nevada: 0.40%, West Virginia: 0.39%, Delaware: 0.38%, Georgia: 0.36%, Nebraska: 0.36%, Texas: 0.33%, Alabama: 0.33%, Missouri: 0.32%, Vermont: 0.31%, South Carolina: 0.30%, California: 0.29%, Colorado: 0.29%, North Carolina: 0.25%, Alaska: 0.25%, Connecticut: 0.20%, New Hampshire: 0.19%, Massachusetts: 0.17%.

Immigration

Foreign born population percentage in the US over time from 1850 to 2020

In 2017, out of the U.S. foreign-born population, some 45% (20.7 million) were naturalized citizens, 27% (12.3 million) were lawful permanent residents (including many eligible to become citizens), 6% (2.2 million) were temporary lawful residents, and 23% (10.5 million) were unauthorized immigrants.^[65] Among current living immigrants to the U.S., the top five countries of birth are Mexico (25% of immigrants), China (6%), India (6%), the Philippines (5%) and El Salvador (3%). Some 13% of current living immigrants come from Europe and Canada, and 10% from the Caribbean.^[65] Among new arrivals, Asian immigrants have been more numerous than Hispanic immigrants since 2010; in 2017, 37.4% of immigrant arrivals were Asian, and 26.6% were Hispanic.^[65] Until 2017 and 2018, the United States led the world in refugee resettlement for decades, admitting more refugees than the rest of the world combined.^[66] From fiscal year 1980 until 2017, 55% of refugees came from Asia, 27% from Europe, 13% from Africa, and 4% from Latin America, fleeing war and persecution.^[66]

• Net migration rate (2022): 3.02 migrants/1,000 population.^[33] Country comparison to the world: 35th^[33]
• Net migration rate* (2020-2021): 0.73 migrants/1,000 population.^[67]

*(mid-year estimates)

As of 2017, 13.6% (44.4 million) of the population was foreign born – an increase from 4.7% in 1970 but less than the 1890 record of 14.8%. 45% of the foreign born population were naturalized US citizens. 23% (10.3 million) of the foreign born community is undocumented, accounting for 3.2% of the total population.^[65] According to the 2010 census, Latin America and the Caribbean is the largest region-of-birth group, accounting for 53% of the foreign born population. As of 2018 this region is still the largest source of immigrants to the United States^[68][69][70] In 2018, there were almost 90 million immigrants and U.S. born children of immigrants (second-generation Americans) in the United States, accounting for 28% of the overall U.S. population.^[71] In 2018, 1,096,611 immigrants were granted either permanent or temporary legal residence in the United States^[72]

Vital statistics

U.S. demographic table, 1935–2021

Current vital statistics

^[92]

Period	Live births	Deaths	Natural increase
January — September 2021	2 733 000	2 556 000	+177 000
January — September 2022	2 733 000	2 441 000	+292 000
Difference	+0 (+0%)	-115 000 (-4.50%)	+115 000

U.S. projected population table, 2017–2060

The United States Census Bureau's 2017 projections were produced using the cohort-component method. In the cohort-component method, the components of population change (fertility, mortality, and net migration) are projected separately for each birth cohort (persons born in a given year). The base population is advanced each year by using projected survival rates and net international migration. Each year, a new birth cohort is added to the population by applying the projected fertility rates to the female population.

Since 1790

In 1900, when the U.S. population was 76 million, there were 66.8 million white Americans in the United States, representing 88% of the total population,^[98] 8.8 million Black Americans, with about 90% of them still living in Southern states,^[99] and slightly more than 500,000 Hispanics.^[100]

Under the law, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965,^[101] the number of first-generation immigrants living in the United States has increased,^[102] from 9.6 million in 1970 to about 38 million in 2007.^[103] Around a million people legally immigrated to the United States per year in the 1990s, up from 250,000 per year in the 1950s.^[104]

In 1900, non-Hispanic whites comprised almost 97% of the population of the 10 largest U.S. cities.^[105] The Census Bureau reported that minorities (including Hispanic whites) made up 50.4% of the children born in the U.S. between July 2010 and July 2011,^[106] compared to 37% in 1990.^[107]

In 2014, the state with the lowest fertility rate was Rhode Island, with a rate of 1.56, while Utah had the greatest rate with a rate of 2.33.^[60] This correlates with the ages of the states' populations: Rhode Island has the ninth-oldest median age in the US – 39.2 – while Utah has the youngest – 29.0.^[108]

In 2017, the U.S. birth rate remains well below the replacement level needed – at least 2.1 children per woman so as not to experience population decreases – as white American births fell in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Among non-Hispanic white women, no states had a fertility rate above the replacement level. Among non-Hispanic Black women, 12 states reached above the replacement level needed. Among Hispanic women, 29 states did.^[109] For non-Hispanic white women, the highest total fertility rate was in Utah, at 2.099, and the lowest in the District of Columbia, at 1.012. Among non-Hispanic Black women, the highest total fertility rate was in Maine, at 4.003, and the lowest in Wyoming, at 1.146. For Hispanic women, the highest total fertility rate was in Alabama, at 3.085, and the lowest in Vermont, at 1.200, and Maine, at 1.281.^[109][110] Due to the aging and low birth rates among white people, deaths now outnumber births among white people (non-Hispanic) in more than half the states in the country.^[111]

In 2018, U.S. births fell to the lowest level in 32 years.^[112]

Median age of the population

Median age of the U.S. population through history. Source: U.S. Department of Commerce. Bureau of Census, United States Census Bureau and The World Factbook.^[79][113]

Vital statistics

States in the US shown with population change 2010 to 2020 census^[114]

  -2.00% or less

  -0.01% to -1.99%

  0% to 0.99%

  1% to 2.49%

  2.5% to 4.99%

  5% to 8.99%

  9% to 11.99%

  12% or more

One person households in the US over time

The U.S. total fertility rate as of 2020 is 1.641^[40]

• 1.86 for white Americans (including White Hispanics)
  • 1.55 for non-Hispanic whites^[40]
• 1.71 for non-Hispanic Blacks^[40]
• 1.65 for Native Americans (including Hispanics)
• 1.53 for Asian Americans (including Hispanics)

Other:^[60]

• 1.88 for Hispanics (of all racial groups)^[40]

(Note that ≈95% of Hispanics are included as "white Hispanics" by CDC, which does not recognize the Census's "Some other race" category and counts people in that category as white.)

Source: National Vital statistics report based on 2010 US Census data^[26]

Total Fertility Rates from 1800 to 2010

The total fertility rate is the number of children born per woman. Sources: Ansley J. Coale, Zelnik and National Center for Health Statistics.^[115]

Life expectancy at birth from 1901 to 2015

Life expectancy in the United States from 1901 to 2015. Source: Our World In Data and the United Nations.

1901–1950

1901–2015

Source: UN World Population Prospects^[118]

Percent distribution of the total population by age: 1900 to 2015

Population pyramid of United States in 1950

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Department of Commerce, United Nations medium variant projections.^[119][120]

Population centers

The United States has dozens of major cities, including 31 "global cities"^[121] of all types, with 10 in the "alpha" group of global cities: New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Boston, San Francisco, Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas, and Atlanta.^[122] As of 2021, the United States had 56 metropolitan areas with 1 million or more inhabitants. (The U.S. Census Bureau ranked Urban Honolulu as the 56th most populous area, with just over 1 million residents. See Table of United States Metropolitan Statistical Areas.)

As of 2011, about 250 million Americans live in or around urban areas. That means more than three-quarters of the U.S. population shares just about three percent of the U.S. land area.^[123]

The following table shows the populations of the top twenty metropolitan areas. Note Denver and Baltimore have over 2.5 million residents in their metro areas, and the San Juan (Puerto Rico) metro area has more than 2 million residents.^[124]

Largest metropolitan areas in the United States 2021 MSA population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau
	Rank	Name	Region	Pop.	Rank	Name	Region	Pop.
New York Los Angeles	1	New York	Northeast	19,768,458	11	Boston	Northeast	4,899,932
	2	Los Angeles	West	12,997,353	12	Riverside–San Bernardino	West	4,653,105
	3	Chicago	Midwest	9,509,934	13	San Francisco	West	4,623,264
	4	Dallas–Fort Worth	South	7,759,615	14	Detroit	Midwest	4,365,205
	5	Houston	South	7,206,841	15	Seattle	West	4,011,553
	6	Washington, D.C.	South	6,356,434	16	Minneapolis–Saint Paul	Midwest	3,690,512
	7	Philadelphia	Northeast	6,228,601	17	San Diego	West	3,286,069
	8	Atlanta	South	6,144,050	18	Tampa–St. Petersburg	South	3,219,514
	9	Miami	South	6,091,747	19	Denver	West	2,972,566
	10	Phoenix	West	4,946,145	20	Baltimore	South	2,838,327

Race and ethnicity

Counties in the United States by percentage of the population which is non-Hispanic or Latino and/or non-white according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[46] Counties with larger populations of Hispanic/Latino and/or non-white than the United States as a whole are in full purple.

States in the United States by Hispanic/Latino and/or non-white population according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[46] States with larger Hispanic/Latino and/or non-white populations than the United States as a whole are in full purple.

Race

Population pyramid by race

The United States Census Bureau collects racial data in accordance with guidelines provided by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and these data are based on self-identification. Many other countries count multiple races based on origin while America compiles multiple dozens of ethnicity groups into skin color grouping them together.^{[citation needed][relevant?]} The racial classifications and definitions used by the U.S. Census Bureau are:^[127]

• White: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.^[128] It includes people who indicate their race as "White" or report entries such as Afghan, English, Iranian, Irish, German, Italian, Portuguese, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.
• Black or African American: a person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.^[128] It includes people who indicate their race as "Black, African Am." or report entries such as African American, Kenyan, Nigerian, or Haitian.
• American Indian or Alaska Native: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America) and who maintains tribal affiliation or community attachment.^[128] This category includes people who indicate their race as "American Indian or Alaska Native" or report entries such as Navajo, Blackfeet, Inupiat, Yup'ik, Central American Indian groups, or South American Indian groups.
• Asian: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent including, for example: Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.^[128]
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander: a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands.^[128]
• Some other race: includes all other responses not included in the "White," "Black or African American," "American Indian or Alaska Native," "Asian," and "Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander" racial categories described above includes Asians from Western Asia or Russia (non European Russia) and White Africans
• Two or more races: people may choose to provide two or more races either by checking two or more race response check boxes, providing multiple responses, or some combination of check boxes and other responses.

Data about race and ethnicity are self-reported to the Census Bureau. Since the 2000 census, Congress has authorized people to identify themselves according to more than one racial classification by selecting more than one category. Only one ethnicity may be selected, however, because the U.S. Census recognizes only two ethnicities – Hispanic and Non-Hispanic – which are mutually exclusive since you can be one or the other, but not both. The Census Bureau defines "Hispanic" as any person who has an ancestral connection to Latin America.

According to the United States Census Bureau website, the racial composition of the United States in 2021 was:^[129]

According to the 2013–2017 American Community Survey, the racial composition of the United States in 2017 was:^[130]

• United States in racial and ethnic groups
• 

  White Americans (of one race)

• 

  Non-Hispanic White Americans

• 

  Hispanic and Latino Americans

• 

  Black Americans

• 

  Asian Americans

Distribution of Total Population by Race, 1900 to 2020 (in %)

Hispanic are shown like part of the races. Source: U.S. Census Bureau.^[119][113]

^*Data are shown for the White, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Asian and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, and Some other race alone populations.

Median age by each race alone & ethnicity, 2021

Source: United States Census Bureau.^[131]

Median age by race alone or in combination & ethnicity, 2021

Source: United States Census Bureau.^[131]

Hispanic or Latino origin

CensusViewer US 2010 Census Latino Population as a heatmap by census tract.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) defines "Hispanic or Latino" as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Dominican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. People who identify with the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the decennial census questionnaire and various Census Bureau survey questionnaires – "Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano" or "Puerto Rican" or "Cuban" – as well as those who indicate that they are "another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin."^[139] People who identify their origin as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.^[127]

Population distribution by Hispanic origin 1970–2020 (in %)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, decennial census of population, 1970 (5-percent sample), 1980 to 2020.^[113]

Median age of each race alone, 2021 (Hispanic)

Source: United States Census Bureau.^[131]

Median age of each race alone or in combination, 2021 (Hispanic)

Source: United States Census Bureau.^[131]

Note: Hispanic origin is considered an ethnicity, not a race. Hispanics may be of any race.

Indigenous peoples

As of 2017, there are 2,098,763 American Indian and Alaska Native people in the United States,^[130] representing 0.7% of the U.S. population. There are 573 federally recognized tribal governments^[140] in the United States. As of 2000, the largest groups in the United States by population were Navajo, Cherokee, Choctaw, Sioux, Chippewa, Apache, Blackfeet, Iroquois, and Pueblo.

Other groups

There were 22.1 million veterans in 2009,^[141] meaning that less than 10% of Americans served in the Armed Forces.^[142]

In 2010, The Washington Post estimated that there were 11 million undocumented immigrants in the country.^[143] As of 2017, Pew Research reported that there an estimated 10.5 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S.^[144]

There were about 2 million people in prison in 2010.^[145]

Projections

A report by the U.S. Census Bureau projects a decrease in the ratio of Whites between 2010 and 2050, from 79.5% to 74.0%.^[147] At the same time, Non-Hispanic Whites are projected to no longer make up a majority of the population by 2045, but will remain the largest single ethnic group. In 2050 they will compose 46.3% of the population. Non-Hispanic whites made up 85% of the population in 1960.^[148] However, white Americans overall are still projected to make up over 70% of the population in 2050.

The report foresees the Hispanic or Latino population rising from 16% today to 30% by 2050, the Black percentage barely rising from 13.2% to 14.4%, and Asian Americans upping their 4.6% share to 7.8%. The United States had a population of 310 million people in October 2010, and is projected to reach 400 million by 2039 and 439 million in 2050.^{[149][150][151][152]} It is further projected that 82% of the increase in population from 2005 to 2050 will be due to immigrants and their children.^[153]

Of the nation's children in 2050, 62% are expected to be of a minority ethnicity, up from 44% today. Approximately 39% are projected to be Hispanic or Latino (up from 22% in 2008), and 38% are projected to be single-race, non-Hispanic Whites (down from 56% in 2008).^[154] Racial and ethnic minorities surpassed non-Hispanic whites as the largest group of U.S. children under 5 years old in 2015.^[155]

Pew Research Center projections

The United Nations projects a population of just over 400 million in 2060.^[156]

The country's racial profile will be vastly different, and although whites will remain the single largest ethnic group in the U.S., they will no longer be a majority excluding White Hispanics by 2055 according to Pew Research Center. Growth in the Hispanic and Asian populations is predicted to almost triple over the next 40 years. By 2055, the breakdown is estimated to be 48% non-Hispanic white, 24% Hispanic, 16% Black, and 14% Asian.^[156]

As of 2015, 14% of the United States' population is foreign born, compared to just 5% in 1965. Nearly 39 million immigrants have come to the U.S. since 1965, with most coming from Asia and Latin America. The 2015 Census Report predicts that the percentage of the U.S. population that is foreign-born will continue to increase, reaching 19% by 2060. This increase in the foreign-born population will account for a large share of the overall population growth.^[156]

The average person in the U.S. of 2060 is likely to be older than the average person of 2018 today, and almost one in four people will be 65 or older.^[156]

U.S. Census Census Bureau projections

Percent minority 1970–2042 (2008 projections)

^[113]

Note: "Minority" refers to people who reported their ethnicity and race as something other than non-Hispanic White alone in the decennial census.

Total US population

Religion

Religious affiliations

The table below is based mainly on selected data as reported to the United States Census Bureau. It only includes the voluntary self-reported membership of religious bodies with 750,000 or more. The definition of a member is determined by each religious body.^[160] In 2004, the US census bureau reported that about 13% of the population did not identify themselves as a member of any religion.^{[161][clarification needed]}

In a Pew Research Survey performed in 2012, Americans without a religion (atheists, agnostics, nothing in particular, etc.) approached the numbers of Evangelical Protestant Americans with almost 20% of Americans being nonreligious (compared to just over 26% being Evangelical Protestant). If this current growth rate continues, by 2050, around 51% of Americans will not have a religion.^[162]

Surveys conducted in 2014 and 2019 by Pew indicated that the percentage of Americans unaffiliated with a religion increased from 16% in 2007 to 23% in 2014 and 26% of the population in 2019.^[163][164]

According to statistical data made by the Pew Research Center in 2021 about 63% of the US population is Christian, 28% is Unaffiliated, 2% is Jewish, 1% follows Buddhism, 1% follows Hinduism, 1% follows Islam and 2% follow traditional religions and others. Currently, the United States has the largest Christian population in the world (approximately 230-250 million) and the largest Protestant Christian population (approximately 150-160 million). The country also has the second largest Jewish community in the world (after Israel) and the largest Buddhist and Hindu communities in the West, as well as the largest number of followers of Islam in North America. The country has about 64 million non-affiliates (only China and Japan have more).^{[citation needed][165]}

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  Religious affiliation within each state that has the largest deviation compared to the national average, 2001.

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  Percentage of state populations that identify with a religion rather than "no religion", 2014.

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  Plurality religion by state, 2001. Data is unavailable for Alaska and Hawaii.

According to Pew Research Center study released in 2018, by 2040, Islam will surpass Judaism to become the second largest religion in the US due to higher immigration and birth rates.^[191]

Religions of U.S. adults

The United States government does not collect religious data in its census. The survey below, the American Religious Identification Survey (ARIS) 2008, was a random digit-dialed telephone survey of 54,461 American residential households in the contiguous United States. The 1990 sample size was 113,723; 2001 sample size was 50,281.

Adult respondents were asked the open-ended question, "What is your religion, if any?". Interviewers did not prompt or offer a suggested list of potential answers. The religion of the spouse or partner was also asked. If the initial answer was "Protestant" or "Christian" further questions were asked to probe which particular denomination. About one-third of the sample was asked more detailed demographic questions.

Religious Self-Identification of the U.S. Adult Population: 1990, 2001, 2008^[192]
Figures are not adjusted for refusals to reply; investigators suspect refusals are possibly more representative of "no religion" than any other group.

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  States in the United States by Catholic population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.^[193] States with Catholic population greater than the United States as a whole are in full red.

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  States in the United States by Evangelical Protestant population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.^[193] States with Evangelical Protestant populations greater than the United States as a whole are in full orange.

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  States in the United States by Mainline or Black Protestant population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.^[193] States with Mainline or Black Protestant population greater than the United States as a whole are in full purple.

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  States in the United States by non-Christian (e.g. Non-religious, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist) population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.^[193] States with non-Christian populations greater than the United States as a whole are in full blue.

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  States in the United States by non-Protestant and non-Catholic Christian (e.g. Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, Eastern Orthodox) population according to the Pew Research Center 2014 Religious Landscape Survey.^[193] States with non-Catholic/non-Protestant Christian population greater than the United States as a whole are in full green.

LGBT population

The 2000 U.S. Census counted same-sex couples in an oblique way; asking the sex and the relationship to the "main householder", whose sex was also asked. Community Marketing & Insights, an organization specializing in analyzing gay demographic data, reported, based on this count in the 2000 census and in the 2000 supplementary survey, that same-sex couples comprised between 1.0% and 1.1% of U.S. couples in 2000.^[194] A 2006 report issued by The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation concluded that the number of same-sex couples in the U.S. grew from 2000 to 2005, from nearly 600,000 couples in 2000 to almost 777,000 in 2005.^{[citation needed]} A 2006 UCLA study reported that 4.1% of Americans aged 18–45 identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual.^[195]

A 2011 report by the Williams Institute estimated that nine million adults identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, representing 3.5% of the population over 18.^[196] A spokesperson said that, until recently, few studies have tried to distinguish people who had occasionally undertaken homosexual behavior or entertained homosexual thoughts, from people who identified as lesbian or gay.^[197] (Older estimates have varied depending on methodology and timing; see Demographics of sexual orientation for a list of studies.)

Foreign-born population

As of 2017, an estimated 44,525,458 residents of the United States were foreign-born,^[198] 13.5% of the country's total population. This demographic includes recent as well as longstanding immigrants; statistically Europeans have resided in the US longer than those from other regions with approximately 66% having arrived prior to 2000.^[199]

Citizens living abroad

As of April 2015, the U.S. State Department estimated that 8.7 million American citizens live overseas. Americans living abroad are not counted in the U.S. Census unless they are a federal government employees or dependents of a federal employee.^[200] A 2010 paper estimated the number of civilian Americans living abroad to be around 4 million.^[201] So-called "accidental Americans" are citizens of a country other than the United States who may also be considered U.S. citizens or be eligible for U.S. citizenship under specific laws but are not aware of having such status (or became aware of it only recently).^[202]

Income

In 2020, the median household income in the United States was around $67,521, 2.9 percent less than the 2019 median of $69,560^[203] Household and personal income depends on variables such as race, number of income earners, educational attainment and marital status.

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  Counties in the United States by the percentage of the over 25-year-old population with bachelor's degrees according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[207] Counties with higher percentages of bachelor's degrees than the United States as a whole are in full orange.

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  States in the United States by the percentage of the over 25-year-old population with bachelor's degrees according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[207] States with higher percentages of bachelor's degrees than the United States as a whole are in full orange.

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  Counties in the United States by per capita income according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[208] Counties with per capita incomes higher than the United States as a whole are in full green.

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  States in the United States by per capita income according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[208] States with per capita incomes higher than the United States as a whole are in full green.

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  Counties in the United States by median nonfamily household income according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[208] Counties with median nonfamily household incomes higher than the United States as a whole are in full green.

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  States in the United States by median nonfamily household income according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[208] States with median nonfamily household incomes higher than the United States as a whole are in full green.

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  Counties in the United States by median family household income according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[208] Counties with median family household incomes higher than the United States as a whole are in full green.

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  States in the United States by median family household income according to the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 2013–2017 5-Year Estimates.^[208] States with median family household incomes higher than the United States as a whole are in full green.