The first detailed results of the 2020 census show that the total white population shrank for the first time in the nation’s history as the U.S. diversified and continued to grow more rapidly in the South and Southwest.
The nation’s population grew just 7.4% during the decade, the second slowest on record for a decennial census. Only the 1930s—the era of the Great Depression—recorded slower growth. Slightly more than half—51.1%—of the total U.S. population growth between 2010 and 2020 came from growth among Hispanic or Latino residents, the Census Bureau said.
As many cities and suburbs continued to grow, the bureau said that the trend toward rural depopulation continued during the decade. More than half of U.S. counties—52%—had smaller populations in 2020 than in 2010.
“Population growth was almost entirely in metropolitan areas,” said Marc Perry, a senior demographer for the Census Bureau.
The nation’s fastest growing metropolitan area was The Villages, a sprawling retirement community in central Florida that saw a 39% population gain during the decade.
