The latest data on American demographics and what it means for higher education’s future

The United States Census recently released data about the nation’s population. This is very rich and useful stuff in general, and in particular has relevance for higher education.

Here I’ll summarize highlights, then add some thoughts about what it all might mean for the next decade of colleges and universities. I don’t have time to go into the electoral implications (In the US, Census results feed into shifting and redesigning Congressional districts.).

Some of the most important findings have to do with race. Most are unsurprising, and all matter. To begin with, the number of people identifying as white or Caucasian is the largest number of the overall population (“204.3 million people identifying as White alone. Overall, 235.4 million people reported White alone or in combination with another group”) yet that number actually shank over the past decade, “decreas[ing] by 8.6% since 2010.”

The next largest racial group in American society remains Hispanic, numbering “62.1 million in 2020.” That population grew very strongly, by 23% over the past decade. Asian Americans grew even more rapidly, while the black population grew slightly. In the BBC’s summary:

the Asian-American population swelled by 35% to 24 million, making it the fastest growing segment of the US population. The black population grew by 5.6%, though essentially held steady at 12.1% as a share of the overall US demographic.