Hispanics, Asians drove post-pandemic U.S. population growth, data shows

Comment on this storyComment

The country’s population has begun to rebound across race and ethnic groups after dipping during the pandemic, new census data released Thursday shows.

The U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday released Vintage 2022 Population Estimates, which include updated population estimates by age, race and Hispanic origin.

An analysis by William Frey, a senior demographer at the Brookings Institution, showed the White population declining by 668,418 people, compared with a record decline of 809,784 people the previous year. The Hispanic population grew by 1.04 million, compared with 786,622 the year before. Asians and Pacific Islanders increased by 475,679, compared with 240,191 the previous year, and Black people increased by 211,193 compared with 121,787 the year before.

Much of the population increase is due to an increase in net immigration, Frey said. “Immigration nearly tripled compared to the year before and, together, Latinos and Asians make up more than two-thirds of arrivals. This helped to counter a continued, though more modest, decline in the nation’s older native-born White population.”

The D.C. metro area’s increase in population (it grew by 8,849 people after losing 1,772 the year before) was driven by the growth of its Hispanic and Asian populations, according to Frey’s analysis.

Most of the gain in the region came from an increase in the Hispanic population, which almost doubled its gain from the previous year (20,501, compared to 11,855) as well as a gain in the Asian and Pacific Islander population (from 8,847 to 12,152).

The White population continued to decline across the region in larger numbers (27,676 last year compared to 24,020 the previous year). The Black population showed a smaller decline, losing 453 people last year compared to 2,612 the year before.

However, there was a bigger gain of White people in the District itself, which, along with gains for Hispanic people, was largely responsible for its shift from a population decline in 2020-2021 compared with a gain in 2021-2022 (declining by 2,077 vs. growing by 3,012).

By contrast, most suburban counties continued to show White declines, many at larger levels than during 2020-2021, the prime pandemic year. Exceptions were in Alexandria and Arlington, which showed markedly lower White declines in 2021-2022, contributing, along with gains of other racial groups, to their flip from declining populations in 2020-21 to small gains last year.

Asians also had large gains in Fairfax County, and Hispanics and Asians saw large gains in Montgomery and Fairfax counties.

The United States also grew a little older in the past year, with the median age inching up by 0.2 years to 38.9 according to the census data released Thursday.

The increase continues a trend and reflects the aging of the large baby boomer generation, along with their children, sometimes known as echo boomers, said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division.

“The eldest of the echo boomers have started to reach or exceed the nation’s median age of 38.9,” she said. Noting that birthrates have gradually declined over the past two decades, she said, “Without a rapidly growing young population, the U.S. median age will likely continue its slow but steady rise.”

Median age is the age at which half of the population is older and half of the population is younger. The data released Thursday reflects the period from July 2021 to July 2022.

A third of U.S. states had a median age above 40.0 in 2022, with Maine having the highest, at 44.8, followed by New Hampshire, at 43.3. The lowest median ages were in Utah, at 31.9, and Texas, 35.5. Hawaii had the largest increase in median age among states, up 0.4 years, to 40.7.

Median age was 34.8 in Washington, D.C., 40.1 in Maryland, and 39.0 in Virginia.

No states experienced a decrease in median age, but Alabama, Maine, Tennessee and West Virginia, showed no change, as did the District.

Among counties with populations of 100,000 or more, several of the oldest were in Florida, including Sumter County, home to a substantial retirement community, which has a median age of 68. Several of the youngest counties were home to large universities.

Gift this articleGift Article