Everything is bigger in Texas, including the number of residents of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds who joined the state’s population last year.
The Lone Star State led all others in new Hispanic, Asian and Black residents in 2023. Among U.S. metropolitan areas, Houston added the most Hispanic residents, and Dallas the most Asian and black residentsaccording to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.
Texas also had the biggest jump. last year in the total population, adding 473,000 people.
“We’re adding more people, and that would include all kinds of people and more diversity,” said Xiuhong “Helen” You, associate director and senior demographer at the Texas Demographic Center. “Whether it’s people looking for job opportunities or people who are starting families and looking for affordable housing.”
Nationally, Hispanic residents drove U.S. growth last year, accounting for nearly three-quarters of the country’s population growth, according to the bureau’s 2022 to 2023 population estimates.
Hispanics, who can be of any race, are now the second-largest demographic group in the country, and births, which outnumbered deaths, made up most of the Hispanic growth last year.
“The Hispanic population is expanding at a substantially faster rate than the non-Hispanic population,” said Kristie Wilder, a Census Bureau demographer.
The Hispanic population The U.S. Hispanic population grew by about 1.2 million people last year, out of a total increase of more than 1.6 million residents, bringing the number of Hispanics in the country to 65.2 million people, or nearly one-fifth of the total U.S. population, according to bureau estimates.
The largest racial or ethnic group in the United States, non-Hispanic whites, who make up 58% of the population, was the only one to see a year-over-year decline (461,000 people) as deaths outpaced births. Their numbers would have decreased even more if not for immigration. With a median age of 43.2 years, it is the oldest demographic group. South Carolina added the most non-Hispanic white residents among states, and Nashville had the largest increase among metropolitan areas.
The Asian population grew by more than 585,000 people last year. Unlike Hispanic growth, Asian growth was driven by immigration, rather than natural growth. The Asian population was more than 20.6 million people last year.
The black population grew by half a million people last year, driven by natural increase, and rose to 42.3 million people in 2023.
The American Indian and Alaska Native population grew by 8,227 people, primarily through natural increase, and now stands at 2.4 million people.
The median age in the US increased slightly from 38.9 years in 2022 to 39.1 last year. Among metropolitan areas, The Villages retirement community in central Florida had the highest median age of 68 last year, while Provo, Utah had the youngest at 26.1.
Among states, Texas had the largest Hispanic increase last year, an increase of 242,000 residents, with 30% of the increase in the Houston metropolitan area. The Lone Star State added nearly 92,000 new Asian residents and 91,000 new Black residents, with the Dallas metropolitan area accounting for nearly half of the state’s increase in Asian residents and 40% of its increase in Black residents.
“Our state is younger than the rest of the nation, and our Hispanic population is also a younger group, and at the same time we have an aging white population,” said Coda Rayo-Garza, director of research and data at Every . Texan, a research and advocacy group. “We’re only going to experience increasing growth in the non-white demographic.”
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