This is also a significant period because, as a previous report shows, the nation’s white population began to decline in 2016. This initial white population loss occurred before the pandemic and is related to the aging of the white population, which has led to fewer births and more deaths—losses that are projected to continue. And as shown below, the pandemic has exacerbated this white population loss.
The examination of age shifts shows a loss of young people under age 18 and those in their prime working ages (18 through 59). Moreover, when looking at age and race, it becomes clear that nonwhite Americans, especially Latino or Hispanic Americans, comprise larger shares of the population at all ages.
While it is true that each of the other race-ethnic groups grew more slowly in 2020-21 (download Table A), white population loss contributed most. Moreover, it continued a trend, now five years running, of white population loss across the nation as a whole.
