Non-whites are set to become the majority for the first time in the US by 2050, a situation mirrored in up to 16 states — including New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, according to new census data.
The expected transformation reflects astonishing demographic changes projected to sweep across America by between 2040 and 2050, fueled by international and internal migration, as well as falling birthrates, the US Census Bureau figures show.
In 1980, the US was 80% white, but that figure is expected to drop to 47% by 2050 and 44% by 2060.
At the state level, some of the shifts are even more striking.
In 2000, just three states — California, Hawaii and New Mexico — had less than a 50% white population.
Hawaii has never had a majority white population, while in the 2000 US Census, the white population was 46% in California and 45% in New Mexico.
Then by 2020, according to the most recent census, the white population in Maryland also had dropped to 47%, 46% in Nevada and 40% in Texas.
Now the next two decades are set to see further drastic demographic shifts.
By 2050, an additional 10 US states are forecast to see white people become a minority.
They include New York, where the white population will drop to 46%, New Jersey at 37%, Connecticut, 45%, Delaware, 47%, Florida, 39%, Georgia, 37%, Arizona, 43%, Illinois, 49%, Oklahoma, 49%, and Washington, 49%.
The forecast trends are set to continue, too, with white people becoming a minority or close to a minority in a total of 24 states by 2060.
Some of those shifts involve Alaska, where white people will drop to 50% of the population by 2060, Louisiana at 51%, Massachusetts, 46%, Minnesota, 51%, Mississippi, 51%, North Carolina ,49%, Rhode Island, 47%, and Virginia, 47%.
The data reflect the staggering changes that have taken place across the US since 1980.
The least ethnically diverse state in the US is West Virginia, where 89% of the population was white in 2020. By 2050, that figure is set to only decrease marginally to 86%.
This is how many states look set to change in the next few decades:
Alaska
2020: 58%. 2030: 57% 2040: 54%. 2050: 52%. 2060: 50%
Arizona
2020: 53%. 2030: 51%. 2040: 47%. 2050: 43%. 2060: 39%
California
2020: 35%. 2030: 31%. 2040: 27%. 2050: 23%. 2060: 20%
Connecticut
2020: 63%. 2030: 57%. 2040: 51%. 2050: 45%. 2060: 39%
Delaware
2020: 59%. 2030: 55%. 2040: 51%. 2050: 47%. 2060: 44%
Florida
2020: 52%. 2030: 47%. 2040: 43%. 2050: 39%. 2060: 36%
Georgia
2020: 50%. 2030: 45%. 2040: 41%. 2050: 37%. 2060: 33%
Hawaii
2020: 22%. 2030: 29%. 2040: 28%. 2050: 27%. 2060: 25%
Illinois
2020: 58%. 2030: 57%. 2040: 53%. 2050: 49%. 2060: 45%
Louisiana
2020: 56%. 2030: 56%. 2040: 54%. 2050: 53%. 2060: 51%
Maryland
2020: 47%. 2030: 42%. 2040: 36%. 2050: 31%. 2060: 26%
Massachusetts
2020: 68%. 2030: 63%. 2040: 57%. 2050: 51%. 2060: 46%
Minnesota
2020: 76%. 2030: 71%. 2040: 65%. 2050: 58%. 2060: 51%
Mississippi
2020: 55%. 2030: 55%. 2040: 53%. 2050: 52%. 2060: 51%
Nevada
2020: 46%. 2030: 40%. 2040: 34%. 2050: 28%. 2060: 23%
New Jersey
2020: 52%. 2030: 47%. 2040: 42%. 2050: 37%. 2060: 32%
New Mexico
2020: 37%. 2030: 34%. 2040: 31%. 2050: 28%. 2060: 26%
New York
2020: 52%. 2030: 52%. 2040: 49%. 2050: 46%. 2060: 43%
North Carolina
2020: 60%. 2030: 59%. 2040: 56%. 2050: 53%. 2060: 49%
Oklahoma
2020: 61%. 2030: 59%. 2040: 54%. 2050: 49% 2060: 44%
Rhode Island
2020: 69%. 2030: 64%. 2040: 58%. 2050: 53%. 2060: 47%
Texas
2020: 40%. 2030:35%. 2040: 31%. 2050: 27%. 2060: 23%
Virginia
2020: 59%. 2030: 57%. 2040: 54%. 2050: 50%. 2060: 47%
Washington
2020: 64%. 2030: 60%. 2040: 55%. 2050: 49%. 2060: 44%
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