Americans became more racially diverse and earned more money in almost every state, from 2016 to 2020 according to the Census Bureau’s newly released American Community Survey (ACS), which aims to offer a more detailed picture of racial and ethnic demographics with newly refined survey questions.
During the period of the survey, the
median U.S. household income was $64,994, up from about $58,844 (corrected for inflation) in 2011-2015, with median household income increasing in all states except Alaska, where it fell, and Wyoming, where it remained steady.
The U.S. poverty rate decreased from 15.5% in 2011-2015 to 12.8% in 2016-2020, with poverty decreasing in all states except Alaska, where it did not change significantly, according to the survey.
From 2011-2015 to 2016-2020, poverty rates decreased in 1,294 counties and municipios (administrative divisions in Puerto Rico), increased in 85 counties and municipios and remained roughly steady in 1,840 counties and municipios, the Census Bureau said.
About
5.17% of respondents identified as belonging to two or more races during 2016-2020, up from 3.32% 2011-2015, the Census Bureau said, reinforcing
findings from the 2020 Census.
Additionally
, 7.24% of people identified as belonging solely or in part to “some other race” than the ones captured by the survey, up from 5.5% in 2011-2015, as “some other race” became the race group showing the largest increase.
The share of the population that’s
Hispanic or Latino of any race grew from 17.13% in 2011-2015 to 18.2% in 2016-2020; the share that’s white grew from 73.6% to 75.05% (while the share that’s non-Hispanic white alone fell from 62.32% to 60.09%); the share that’s
Black or African American grew from 12.61% to 14.17% (while the share that’s non-Hispanic Black or African American alone remained static at 12.25%); and the
share that’s Asian rose from 5.13% to 6.8%.
BIG NUMBER
333 million. That’s about how many people currently live in the U.S.—bolstered by one birth every 9 seconds and one net international migrant arrival every 130 seconds for a net gain of one person every 45 seconds, according to the Census Bureau.
SURPRISING FACT
There are more people living in the U.S. than in Albania, Australia, Canada, Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, Russia, Sweden and the U.K. combined, according to
Census Bureau figures. Even so, the U.S. population is dwarfed by China’s 1.41 billion inhabitants and India’s 1.38 billion inhabitants.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
March 31, the Census Bureau plans to release
Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) files from the 2016-2020 ACS. PUMS files allow members of the public to formulate custom estimates using Census data. Individuals and housing units included in PUMS files are protected so they cannot be identified, the bureau said. The bureau did not release PUMS files for the 1-year 2020 ACS due to Covid impacts.