But in the coming decades, nearly all increases in the metropolitan share of the population would stem from growth in the suburbs. The share of the population in metro areas was 56.1% in 1950, with 32.8% in central cities and 23.3% living in suburbs. Of the nation’s 10 largest cities in 1950, only New York and Los Angeles would have bigger populations in 2020. The Technical Documentation PDF 10.6 MB provides more information on data quality and how the Census Bureau collects, codes and tabulates statistics on race and Hispanic or Latino origin. Although there is a great deal of diversity in the detailed White groups, many of the largest groups are also broadly distributed across the United States. The county with the largest Norwegian population (135,077) was Hennepin, Minnesota, which includes Minneapolis.

• The addition of a new write-in area for collecting detailed White responses was one of the improvements made to the 2020 Census race question design.
• More recently, Nike’s “Cortez” sneakers played a “supporting role” in 1994’s Academy Award-winning movie Forest Gump.
• In contrast, the District of Columbia’s Black or African American alone non-Hispanic population was 50.0% and the White alone non-Hispanic population was 34.8% in 2010, a difference of 15.2 percentage points.
• Other White responses, such as Canadian and Pennsylvania German, represented around 2% of the White alone and White alone or in combination populations.
• More detailed data for the nation, states, counties and Puerto Rico are available in our interactive data visualization.
• Fearing the film would be unpopular, movie studio executives chose these cities to debut the movie to better gauge audience reaction.

English alone or in any combination was the largest detailed White group in approximately two-thirds (2,050) of the counties in the United States and Puerto Rico. The Italian alone population was concentrated in New York and New Jersey. The next largest groups were Pennsylvania German, Cajun, and Australian (Figure 2). An additional 11 detailed White alone or in any combination groups had at least 1 million people, including Swedish (3.8 million), Norwegian (3.8 million), and Dutch (3.6 million) (Figure 1). Middle Eastern and North African responses, such as Lebanese, Iranian, and Egyptian, represented over 1% of the White alone and White alone or in combination populations.

Story Ideas and Statistics

The Census Bureau acts as the collection agent for these surveys, but the data themselves are available through the sponsoring agency. The Census Bureau collected data about libraries—like the public library in Universal City, Texas (pictured above)—as reimbursable projects for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). He also edited President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s official papers, served as West Virginia’s secretary of state, and served in the U.S. His 1957 book The Bridge at Remagen was made into a movie in 1969. He published the first Ilocan language translation of Don Quixote, wrote novels, plays, and founded the Ilokanos Writers Association of the Philippines.Author and historian Ken Hechler worked for the Census Bureau’s population division during the 1940 Census.
The largest German alone population was in Pennsylvania — 1,112,662, or 11.4% of the state’s White alone population. Texas had the largest English alone population (over 2.1 million) (Table 1). The German alone population was the largest in 10 states, the Italian alone population in four, and the Irish alone population only in Massachusetts. The English alone population was the largest detailed White group nationally, in 35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. French Canadian and Canadian were the two largest detailed groups in the “Other White” population, with their alone or in any combination populations each exceeding half a million.

Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Survey Shows Significant Increase in Homeschooling Rates in Fall 2020

Other White responses, such as Canadian and Pennsylvania German, represented around 2% of the White alone and White alone or in combination populations. Detailed European responses accounted for 58.8% of the White alone and 56.1% of the White alone or in combination populations. About two-thirds of the White alone and White alone or in combination populations reported a detailed response, such as German, Irish, Lebanese or French Canadian.
He also published a series of nonfiction books containing humorous children’s phrases (Boners and More Boners) in 1931. Theodor Seuss Geisel was born in Springfield, MA, on March 2, 1904, a short distance away from the Mulberry Street he made famous with the publication of his first children’s storybook—And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. At the time of his death on September 24, 1991, “Dr. Seuss” had sold more than 600 million copies of books that had been translated into dozens of languages for children around the world to enjoy. Children’s book author and illustrator Theodor Seuss Geisel wrote some of the most popular children’s books of all time. Theodor Seuss Geisel—better known as “Dr. Seuss”—authored some of the most popular and best-selling children’s books ever written. The whimsical world of Dr. Seuss is still so popular more than eight decades since author Theodor Seuss Geisel published his first children’s book that the U.S.

Census Detailed Demographic and Housing Characteristics File A on America Counts

The addition of a new write-in area for collecting detailed White responses was one of the improvements made to the 2020 Census race question design. Among those who identified as White alone or in combination, English (46.6 million), German (45 million), and Irish (38.6 million) were the largest groups. Together, the English (46.6 million), German (45 million), and Irish (38.6 million) alone or in any combination populations made up over half of the White alone or in combination population in 2020. For the first time ever, respondents to the 2020 Census who reported White as a race could write in more details such as Italian, Palestinian or Cajun. Reimbursable surveys conducted for the National Center for Education Statistics—like the National Teacher and Principal Survey—collect data on the number of schools with libraries and media centers. For example, the Surveys for the Institute of Museum and Library Services collected data from more than 9,000 libraries in 2022.
There was an average of 3.51 people per household in 1950, substantially higher than the average of 2.61 in 2019. The population under age 18 was 31.0% of the total population in 1950 and would grow to 34.3% in 1970. In some of these cities, the population began climbing again in recent decades. In some cases, the population losses were sizeable, amounting to one half or more of the cities’ 1950 populations. The other eight (Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Cleveland, St Louis, Washington, D.C., and Boston) all saw their decennial populations peak in 1950 and fall in the coming decades. A number of large industrial cities in the Northeast and Midwest hit their peak decennial populations in 1950 and would experience population declines in subsequent decades in both relative and absolute terms.

History and the Census: Theodor Seuss Geisel and Children’s Literature

In a 1975 episode of Mister Rogers Neighborhood, Hamilton said of the Wicked Witch, “Sometimes, Mister Rogers, I’m a little unhappy because lots of children are quite scared by her.” Another of the films stars was often recognized by children who ran away crying! The movie stars Grand Rapids, MN, native Judy Garland as Dorothy Gale, a Kansas farm girl who is transported to the Land of Oz by a tornado. L. Frank Baum’s popular children’s book The Wizard of Oz became one of the most beloved motion pictures in history thanks to a talented cast of lovable characters.
The 2020 Census used the required two separate questions (one for Hispanic or Latino origin and one for race) to collect the races and ethnicities of the U.S. population — following the standards set by the U.S. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. A decennial census is, after all, a collection of data on every individual in the United States. By 2020, Aurora’s population had skyrocketed to around 386,000, making it the 51st largest city in the country surpassing Cleveland (population around 373,000), then ranked 54th. For instance, Cleveland in 1950 had about 915,000 people and was the nation’s seventh-largest city.
Here we present highlights on racial and ethnic diversity from the 2020 Census and explain what each measure tells us about the nation’s population. The White alone non-Hispanic population was the largest — or most prevalent — racial or ethnic group for most counties in the United States. In 2020, the Hispanic or Latino population became the largest racial or ethnic group in California, comprising 39.4% of the total population, up from 37.6% in 2010. The remaining racial and ethnic groups combined to make up 11.4% of the total population, representing the diffusion score. The higher the score, the less concentrated the population is in the three largest race and ethnic groups. We also calculate the diffusion score, which measures the combined percentage of all racial and ethnic groups that are not in the first-, second- or third-largest racial and ethnic group.
Italian was the largest group in several counties in New Jersey and the Long Island area of New York. German was the largest group in over 1,000 counties, particularly in the Midwest, Pennsylvania, and parts of Texas, including the Texas Hill Country. The English population was the most prevalent group in northern New England, the South, and throughout the West, as well as in Puerto Rico (Figure 4).

Measuring Racial and Ethnic Diversity

From 1790 through 1820, the decennial census was conducted as of the first Monday in August. The 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz was filmed at the Metro Goldwyn-Mayer studios (above) in Culver City, CA, and in Liberal, KS. The Wizard of Oz remains so popular that the 2019 theatrical release of the movie commemorating its 80th anniversary grossed more than $1.2 million! Today, the movie remains a staple of the holiday television schedule with families planning to view the movie together at Thanksgiving and the Winter Holidays.
In the 2020 Census, over 235 million people reported they were White alone or in combination with another race group, such as Black or African American. The alone or in any combination population includes those who reported one or more responses to the race question such as only Austrian or Austrian and German or Austrian and Asian. The alone population includes those who reported only one response to the race question, such as Austrian. As a result, data are now available from the decennial census for 104 detailed White groups, including Lithuanian, Irish, Libyan, Syrian, Pennsylvania Dutch and Australian.

• The English alone population was the largest detailed White group nationally, in 35 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
• For the District of Columbia, the difference in the size of the Black or African American alone non-Hispanic population (40.9%) and the White alone non-Hispanic population (38.0%) narrowed dramatically in 2020 with only a 2.9 percentage point difference.
• More than 8 decades later, movie critics, adults, and children still consider The Wizard of Oz to be one of the greatest movies in film history.
• The 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz was filmed at the Metro Goldwyn-Mayer studios (above) in Culver City, CA, and in Liberal, KS.
• His 1957 book The Bridge at Remagen was made into a movie in 1969.

The concept of “diversity” we use refers to the representation and relative size of different racial and ethnic groups within a population and is maximized when all groups are represented in an area and have equal shares of the population. In this America Counts story on racial and ethnic diversity, we cross-tabulate the race and Hispanic origin statistics, as data users often do, such as with the 2020 Census redistricting tables. This differs from 2010, when the largest racial or ethnic group in California was the White alone non-Hispanic population, whose share declined from 40.1% in 2010 to 34.7% in 2020. We do plan to continue researching how using alternative racial and ethnic categories may inform the diversity measures and share these findings in future publications. These demographic changes as well as improvements to the ways in which race wino casino and ethnicity data are collected and processed reveal the U.S. population is more racially and ethnically diverse than measured in 2010.
These improvements reveal that the U.S. population is much more multiracial and diverse than what we measured in the past. An official website of the United States government The first link explains the methodology used for identifying and editing names data. Or it might be the first census showing an African American family from the rural South living in an urban neighborhood in the Northeast or Midwest, or a family from the rural Midwest living in California.

Related America Counts Stories

For the District of Columbia, the difference in the size of the Black or African American alone non-Hispanic population (40.9%) and the White alone non-Hispanic population (38.0%) narrowed dramatically in 2020 with only a 2.9 percentage point difference. In Texas, the first- and second-most prevalent group rankings did not change between 2010 and 2020, but the difference in size between the White alone non-Hispanic population (39.7%) and the Hispanic or Latino population (39.3%) shrank to 0.4 percentage points. In Wisconsin, the Hispanic or Latino population (7.6%) became the second-most prevalent group, surpassing the Black or African American alone non-Hispanic population (6.2%). You can explore the Diversity Index for all states and counties by interacting with the data visualization.
Table 2 shows the 10 counties (with 5,000 or more total population) with the highest DI in 2020 and their scores in 2010. Of the states listed here, Maryland had the largest DI gain, increasing from 60.7% in 2010 to 67.3% in 2020. Table 1 shows the 10 states with the highest DI in the 2020 Census and their 2020 and 2010 census values. More detailed data for the nation, states, counties and Puerto Rico are available in our interactive data visualization. Our recent blog, Measuring Racial and Ethnic Diversity for the 2020 Census, includes detailed information about these specific diversity measures and how to interpret them.
Similarly, we do not see the same large increase in the Multiracial non-Hispanic population from 2010 to 2020 using these cross-tabulated categories. This is because the vast majority (94%) of responses to the race question that are classified as Some Other Race alone are from people of Hispanic or Latino origin identifying as “Mexican,” “Latino” and other Hispanic origin groups. We know that cross tabulating the race and Hispanic origin categories yields a relatively small Some Other Race alone non-Hispanic population. The 1997 OMB standards emphasize that people of Hispanic origin may be of any race. The improvements and updates enabled a more thorough and accurate depiction of how people self-identify, yielding a more accurate portrait of how people report their Hispanic origin and race within the context of a two-question format.