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White Americans

"White America" redirects here. For the song by Eminem, see White America (song). For the white supremacist organization, see White America, Inc.

White Americans
Proportion of White Americans in each county as of the 2020 US census
Total population
Alone (one race)
Decrease 204,277,273 (2020 census)[1]
Decrease 61.63%% of the total US population

In combination (multiracial)
Increase 31,134,234 (2020 census)[1]
Increase 9.39% of the total US population

Alone or in combination
Increase 235,411,507 (2020 census)[1]
Decrease 71.02% of the total US population
Regions with significant populations
All areas of the United States
California California16,296,122[1]
Texas Texas14,609,365[1]
Florida Florida12,422,961[1]
New York (state) New York11,143,349[1]
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania9,750,687[1]
Languages
Majority: English
Minority: German · Spanish · Irish · Italian · Polish · French · Scots · Arabic · Dutch · Norwegian
Religion
[2] (Among non-Hispanic whites only)
Related ethnic groups
European Americans
North African Americans
Middle Eastern Americans

White Americans (sometimes also called Caucasian Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. In a more official sense, the United States Census Bureau, which collects demographic data on Americans, defines "white" as "[a] person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa". This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. According to the 2020 census, 71%, or 235,411,507 people, were White alone or in combination, and 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were White alone. This represented a national white demographic decline from a 72.4% white alone share of the US population in 2010.

As of the latest American Community Survey in 2022, US Census Bureau estimates that 60.9% of the US population were White alone, while Non-Hispanic Whites were 57.7% of the population. Overall, 72.5% of Americans identified as White alone or in combination.[3] [4] European Americans are by far the largest panethnic group of white Americans and have constituted the majority population of the United States since the nation's founding.

The US Census Bureau uses a particular definition of "white" that differs from some colloquial uses of the term.[5][6] The Bureau defines "White" people to be those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa".[7] Within official census definitions, people of all racial categories may be further divided into those who identify as "not Hispanic or Latino" and those who do identify as "Hispanic or Latino".[8][5] The term "non-Hispanic white", rather than just "white", may be the census group corresponding most closely to those persons who identify as and are perceived to be white in common usage; similarly not all Hispanic/Latino people identify as "white", "black", or any other listed racial category.[5][6] In 2015, the Census Bureau announced their intention to make Hispanic/Latino and Middle Eastern/North African racial categories similar to "white" or "black", with respondents able to choose one, two, or more racial categories; this change was canceled during the Trump administration.[6][9] Other persons who are classified as "white" by the US census but may or may not identify as or be perceived as white include Arab Americans and Jewish Americans of European or MENA descent.[10][11][12][13][14] In the United States, the term White people generally denotes a person of European ancestry, but has been legally extended to people of West Asian and North African (Middle Eastern, West Asian, and North African) ancestry.[15][16][17] However, in 2024, the Office of Management and Budget announced that the race categories used by the federal government would be updated, and that Middle Eastern and North African Americans will no longer be classified as white in the upcoming 2030 Census.[18]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Race and Ethnicity in the United States". United States Census Bureau. August 12, 2021. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  2. ^ "Religious tradition by race/ethnicity (2014)". The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Retrieved April 5, 2019.
  3. ^ "Grid View: Table B02001 - Census Reporter". censusreporter.org. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  4. ^ "Grid View: Table B03002 - Census Reporter". censusreporter.org. Retrieved June 29, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Analysis | There's a big problem with how the census measures race". The Washington Post. February 6, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  6. ^ a b c Demby, Gene (June 16, 2014). "On The Census, Who Checks 'Hispanic,' Who Checks 'White,' And Why". NPR.org. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  7. ^ Karen R. Humes; Nicholas A. Jones; Roberto R. Ramirez, eds. (March 2011). "Definition of Race Categories Used in the 2010 Census" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. p. 3. Retrieved September 8, 2013.
  8. ^ "The White Population: 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. August 2001. Retrieved March 10, 2011.
  9. ^ "Public Comments Received on Federal Register notice 79 FR 71377: Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; 2015 National Content Test" (PDF). Census.gov. December 2, 2014 – February 2, 2015. Retrieved October 29, 2019.
  10. ^ "Census Bureau explores new Middle East/North Africa ethnic category". Pewresearch.org. March 24, 2014. Retrieved November 6, 2017.
  11. ^ Sources:
  12. ^ Sources:
    • Reynolds Farley, "The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?", Demography, Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.
    • Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, "The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns", Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44–46.
  13. ^ Sources:
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference LiebersonWaters86 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Race". QuickFacts. United States Census Bureau.
  16. ^ Bhopal, R.; Donaldson, L. (1998). "White, European, Western, Caucasian, or what? Inappropriate labeling in research on race, ethnicity, and health". American Journal of Public Health. 88 (9): 1303–1307. doi:10.2105/ajph.88.9.1303. PMC 1509085. PMID 9736867.
  17. ^ Baum 2006, p. 3, 18.
  18. ^ Bureau, US Census. "What Updates to OMB's Race/Ethnicity Standards Mean for the Census Bureau". Census.gov. Retrieved June 29, 2024. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)

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