January 25, 2024
Looks like the takeover!
A new study shows that the Black population is growing, and fast.
According to The Philadelphia Tribune, researchers from the Pew Research Center found the Black population in the United States has grown by 11 million people in the last two decades. That’s a 32% increase, bringing the number to 47.9 million from a little over 36 million between 2000 and 2022.
There are a few factors that contributed to the increase in numbers — things like the birth rate amongst Black women, interracial marriages, and mixed-race people identifying as Black. The rise of immigration from African and Caribbean countries on Census forms also adds to the number. Black Americans born overseas have doubled since 2000, growing from 2.4 million to 5.1 million, marking only 11% of the nation’s population.
With those numbers, some would think the Black population is the fastest growing, but that’s not true.
“The African American population is not the fastest growing, but they are growing at least as fast as the rest of the nation,” Mark Lopez, director of Race and Ethnicity Work at the Pew Center, said. “The nation’s Asian population, for example, has grown more quickly.”
According to Lopez, all demographics have increased – given the number of people identifying as two or more races.
Census results show “more people saying they are both Black and Hispanic.”
However, when it comes to certain cities in the states, some are losing their Black population. The city of St. Louis, MO, is seeing a vast majority of its Black residents leaving. Saint Louis University professor and demographer Ness Sándoval found that St. Louis is seeing lots of single people and childless couples moving in and Black families moving out. “They’re moving out to St. Charles, to some extent. St. Louis County,” Sándoval said.
“It’s when the families start leaving the region. Then, you have to start to realize you cannot be a major metropolitan region and say that you’re going to grow if you have a declining Black population.”
More data from the study found that Black people are generally younger than most. Close to 30% of the Black population in its entirety is under age 20, with 12% being 65 and older.
Compared to white and non-Hispanic Americans, under half of the Black U.S. population was younger than 30 in 2022, with the median age for Blacks sitting at 32. The median age for white Americans is between 43 and 44, and U.S.-born Latinos are 20 years old.
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