Summary: The composition of the population by race/ethnicity. Population projections are not available for cities. Data for 2010 for the by age breakdown and for 2022 for all breakdowns represent five-year average (e.g., 2018-2022). 

Data Source(s): US Census Bureau, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 Decennial Census Summary Files, 2023 National Population Projections; Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., 2023 Complete Economic and Demographic Data Source. Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 1980, 1990, 2000, Decennial Census Files, and 2010, and 2022 American Community Survey 5-year samples.

Universe: All people.

Methods: The composition of the population by race/ethnicity was calculated by age for each year and geography. Projections of the racial/ethnic composition are based on a combination of initial county-level projections from Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., and national projections from the US Census Bureau. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups are non-Hispanic.
• Much of the increase in the mixed/other population between 1990 and 2000, and between 2010 and 2020, is due to changes made to the survey question on race and the way the responses are coded by the US Census Bureau.
• Data for 2010 for the by age breakdown represents a 2006-2010 average while data for 2022 for all breakdowns represents a 2018-2022 average.

Summary: The composition of the population by race/ethnicity, nativity, and ancestry. Data for 2010 and 2022 represent five-year averages (e.g., 2018-2022).

Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 1990 and 2000 5% samples, 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey 5-year samples.

Universe: All people.

Methods: The total population and percentage population were calculated by race/ethnicity, nativity and ancestry for each year and geography from microdata samples using appropriate survey weights. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
• Data for 2010 and 2022 represent 2006-2010 and 2018-2022 averages, respectively.
• No data are reported in the by ancestry breakdown if based on fewer than 50 individual (i.e., unweighted) survey respondents.
• No data are reported in breakdowns other than by ancestry if based on fewer than 100 individual (i.e., unweighted) survey respondents.
   

Summary: People of color and white people as a percentage of the total population. People of color include all who do not identify as non-Hispanic white; white people include all who do.

Data Source(s): US Census Bureau, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 Decennial Census Summary Files, 2023 National Population Projections; Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., 2023 Complete Economic and Demographic Data Source.

Universe: All people.

Methods: The percentage of people of color and non-Hispanic white was calculated for each year and geography. Projections of the racial/ethnic composition are based on a combination of initial county-level projections from Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., and national projections from the U.S. Census Bureau. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• No data are shown for cities because demographic projections are unavailable.

Summary: The net change in population and the share of net population growth attributable to people of color and immigrants. Shares of net population growth attributable to people of color (immigrants) are restricted to range between 0 and 100 percent and are not reported if there was a net decline in both the White population and the population of color (immigrant population and US-born population).

Data Source(s): US Census Bureau, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2020 Decennial Census Summary Files, 2023 National Population Projections; Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 1980, 1990, and 2000 5% samples, 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey 5-year samples; Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., 2023 Complete Economic and Demographic Data Source.

Universe: All people.

Methods: The actual and projected population growth attributable to people of color and immigrants was calculated for each year and geography. Projections of the racial/ethnic composition are based on a combination of initial county-level projections from Woods & Poole Economics, Inc., and national projections from the US Census Bureau. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups are non-Hispanic.
• Shares of net population growth attributable to people of color (immigrants) are restricted to range between 0 and 100 percent and are not reported if there was a net decline in both the White population and the population of color (immigrant population and U.S.-born population).
• 2010 and 2022 data on immigrant contribution to population growth represent 2006-2010 and 2018-2022 averages, respectively.
• No data are available for the mixed/other population prior to 2000 due to a change in the Census question on race in that year.
• Much of the increase in the mixed/other population between 2010 and 2020 is due to changes made to the survey question on race and the way the responses are coded by the US Census Bureau.
• Projected data is not available for cities.
• No data are reported for the population growth due to immigrants breakdown if based on fewer than 100 individual (i.e., unweighted) survey respondents in each year over which growth measures are calculated.
   

Summary: The racial generation gap is defined as the difference in the percentage of people of color between the youth (under age 18) and senior (ages 65 and older) populations. Data for 2022 represents a 2018-2022 average.

Data Source(s): US Census Bureau, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 Decennial Census Summary Files, 2022 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Summary File.

Universe: All people under age 18, and all people ages 65 and older.

Methods: Care was taken to generate consistent estimates of people by race/ethnicity and age groups (ages under 18, 18 to 64, and 65 and older) for the years 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2022, at both the city and county levels. The county-level estimates were then aggregated to generate estimates at the regional, state, and US levels.

For 2000 and later, data on the number of people by race/ethnicity and age is readily available in SF1 of the Census (and the 5-year ACS for 2022) in categories that are consistent with the seven broad racial/ethnic groups (identified by the census) detailed in the Atlas; however, this is not entirely the case for 1980 and 1990. Estimates for these years had to be made to ensure consistency over time, utilizing two different Census summary files from each year. The estimates were necessary because while all data reported in the Atlas (unless otherwise noted) treat “Hispanic or Latino” as one of seven broad mutually exclusive racial/ethnic groups (with all other groups excluding people of Hispanic or Latino origin), the US Census Bureau considers “Hispanic or Latino” an ethnicity and not a race, and often reports data only for groups defined by single race alone (e.g., “White alone,” “Black alone”) which includes people of Hispanic or Latino origin.

For 1980, after combining data from STF1 and STF2, information on total population by race/ethnicity for all ages combined was available at the city and county levels for all seven requisite groups, but race/ethnicity by age was only available for non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, Latino, and the remainder of the population. To estimate the number non-Hispanic Asian Americans, non-Hispanic Native Americans, non-Hispanic Others, and non-Hispanic Pacific Islanders among the remainder for each age group, we applied the distribution of these four groups from the overall city and county populations (across all ages) to that remainder. So, for example, if non-Hispanic Asian Americans were 20 percent of the combined non-Hispanic Asian American, non-Hispanic Native American, non-Hispanic Other, and non-Hispanic Pacific Islander populations of all ages in a particular city or county, we assumed that the same was true within each of the three age categories (ages under 18, 18 to 64, 65 and older).

For 1990, the level of detail available in the underlying data differed at the city and county levels, calling for different estimation strategies. At the county level, data by race/ethnicity was taken from STF2A, while data by race/ethnicity and age was taken from the 1990 MARS file – a special tabulation of people by age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin. However, to be consistent with the way race is categorized by the OMB’s Directive 15, the MARS file allocates all persons identifying as “other race alone” or multiracial to a specific race. After confirming that population totals by county (across all ages) were consistent between the MARS file and STF2A, we calculated the number of “other race alone” or multiracial people who had been added to each racial/ethnic group in each county by subtracting the number who were reported in STF2A for the corresponding group. We then derived the share of each racial/ethnic group in the MARS file (across all ages) that was made up of “other race alone” or multiracial people and applied it to estimate the number of people by race/ethnicity and age group exclusive of “other race alone” or multiracial people and the total number of “other race alone” or multiracial people in each age group.

For the 1990 city-level estimates, all data were from STF1, which provided counts of the total population for the seven broad racial/ethnic groups detailed in the Atlas but not counts by age. Rather, age counts were only available for people of a single race alone (including those of Hispanic origin) as well as for all people of Hispanic origin combined. To estimate the number of people by race/ethnicity and age for the seven broad racial/ethnic groups that are detailed in the Atlas, we first calculated the share of each single race alone group that was Hispanic based on the overall population (across all ages). We then applied it to the population counts by age and race alone to generate an initial estimate of the number of Hispanic and non-Hispanic people in each age/race alone category. This initial estimate was multiplied by an adjustment factor (specific to each age group) to ensure that the sum of the estimated number of Hispanic people across the race alone categories within each age group equated to the “actual” number of Hispanic origin people by age as reported in STF1. Finally, an Iterative Proportional Fitting procedure was applied to ensure that our final estimate of the number people by race/ethnicity and age was consistent with the total population by race/ethnicity (across all ages) and total population by age group (across all racial/ethnic categories) as reported in STF1. 

See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Data for 2022 represents a 2018-2022 average.

Summary: The diversity index is a measure of the racial/ethnic diversity of residents based on seven major racial/ethnic groups (Asian American, Black, Latinx, Pacific Islander, Mixed/other race, Native American, and white) identified by the census. The maximum diversity score (1.95) would occur if each group were evenly represented in the region. Data for 2010 and 2022 represent five-year averages (e.g., 2018-2022).

Data Source(s): US Census Bureau, 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey 5-Year Summary Files; GeoLytics, Inc., 2000 Long Form in 2010 Boundaries.

Universe: All people.

Methods: The formula used to calculate the diversity score was drawn from a 2004 report by John Iceland of the University of Maryland, The Multigroup Entropy Index (Also Known as Theil’s H or the Information Theory Index). In that report, the measure is referred to as the “entropy score” and its derivation can be found on page 7. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups are non-Hispanic.
• Data for 2010 and 2022 represent 2006-2010 and 2018-2022 averages, respectively.
• The maximum diversity score (1.95) would occur if each group were evenly represented in the region.

Summary: The median age of the population. Data for 2010 and 2022 represent five-year averages (e.g., 2018-2022).

Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, www.ipums.org, 2010 and 2022 American Community Survey 5-year samples.

Universe: All people.

Methods: The median age was calculated by race/ethnicity, nativity, and ancestry for each year and geography. It was estimated using each respondent's age and birth quarter (i.e., January-March, April-June, July-September, October-December). See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups are non-Hispanic. 
• Data for 2010 and 2022 represent 2006-2010 and 2018-2022 averages, respectively.

Summary: The number and percentage of people among the prime working age population (ages 25-64), and the number and percentage ages 18-24 and 65 or older. Data represent a 2018-2022 average.

Data Source(s): Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, IPUMS USA, University of Minnesota, http://www.ipums.org, 2022 American Community Survey 5-year sample.

Universe: All people.

Methods: The number and percentage of people of prime working age (ages 25-64), as well those just entering the workforce (ages 18-24) and the potential elderly workforce (age 65 or older), was calculated by race, nativity, ancestry, and gender for each year and geography. Percentages are figures as each demographic group as a share of all people in a given age group. See the methodology page for other relevant notes.

Notes:

• Latinos include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin.
• Data represent a 2018-2022 average.
• No data on the number of people are reported if based on fewer than 100 individual (i.e., unweighted) survey respondents in the universe for any group defined by race/ethnicity, gender, nativity, or ancestry.
• No data on the percentage any demographic group comprises of a given age group are reported unless there are at least 100 individual (i.e., unweighted) survey respondents in the universe for that particular age group overall.