Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio, Hey brain Stuff Lauren Vogelbaum here. Every ten years since the federal government of the United States conducts a census of the country's population, which includes a headcount of the people living in the country in addition to a distribution breakdown of where those people live. The U. S Constitution created the census in order to figure out how many seats in the House of Representatives and how much federal
funding each state will get. The census asks questions about every member of each household in America, including their sex, age, stated race, and relationship to each other. Here are some key takeaways from the U. S Census, now that the results are in. The U S population grew slowly between twenty from three eight point seven million to one point four million people. That's an increase of twenty two point seven million, but it's a percentage increase in total population
of only seven point four percent. This percentage increase in total population of only seven point four percent rivals the great depressions for slow growth in contrast, For example, the period between nineteen fifty and nineteen sixty saw an eighteen point five percent increase in the total US population. A fewer children were born in the past decade than usual, and the percentage of the US population under the age
of eighteen declined by almost one point five percent. A Children now make up about twenty two percent of the population, although that varies by factors like region. The population in the Northeast is only twenty percent children, while in the Southeast it's twenty two point five percent. American families have become more multi racial, or are at least describing themselves
as such. Among the non Hispanic population alone, there was a one hundred and twenty seven percent jump in people who I identified as multi racial, and among the Hispanic population it was even higher. The number of Hispanic Americans who identifies multiracial grew from three million to twenty point three million, a whopping five hundred and seventy six percent increase.
Americans who identify as multiracial still only make up around four percent of the population, but this spike is significant. It's possible that it has to do with an increase in multiracial families, Americans reporting their race differently, or something about the design of the is that caused people to
answer questions differently than before, or possibly all three. Along with this, for the first time on record, the white population of the United States, the largest racial group in the country, shrank, falling from sixty percent of the population to fifty eight percent. In Meanwhile, the Hispanic and Asian populations grew, as of one in four Americans identified as either Hispanic or Asian, according to demographers. A part of the reason for the declining numbers of white Americans has
to do with their age. The median age of white people in twenty nineteen was forty four years, compared with thirty years for Hispanic people and thirty eight years for the American population overall. This has to do with declining birth rates, but also the baby Boomer generation moving into their sixties and seventies. The growth in the US happened almost exclusively in urban areas. Over the past decade. People
flocked from rural to metropolitan counties. Even in states that are growing rapidly like Georgia and North Carolina, the rural areas shranken population. Interestingly, a retirement community in Florida called The Villages was the fastest growing metro area in the country, seeing thirty nine percent growth between twenty and twenty Phoenix Arizona overtook Philadelphia as the fifth largest city in America,
its population growing eleven percent in the past decade. Similarly, Dallas and Houston, Texas are two of the fast is to growing cities in the country. These are just a few numbers from the Census. We'll have to stay tuned to see what lawmakers choose to do with this information. Today's episode is based on the article eight Fascinating Findings from the Census on how Stuff works dot Com, written
by Desolin Shields. Brain Stuff is production of I Heart Radio in partnership with how stuff works dot Com and is produced by Tyler Clang. Four more podcasts from my heart Radio. Visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.