Overview
- Late May Census Bureau projections show non-white residents are on track to outnumber white residents nationally around 2050, with the white share falling to about 47% by 2050 and 44% by 2060.
- The bureau attributes the change mainly to international immigration, people moving within the United States, and lower birth rates among white Americans.
- About 10 additional states are forecast to drop below 50% white by 2050, including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma and Washington.
- California and Texas are projected to see especially sharp declines in white share, to roughly 23% and 27% respectively by 2050, while West Virginia is expected to remain majority white at about 86% that year.
- The projections are scenario-based estimates that extend to 2060 and warn of wide regional variation with consequences for planning, public services and politics as roughly 24 states near or fall below about 51% white by 2060.