What the 2020 U.S. Census Will Tell Us About a Changing America

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Population Reference Bureau (PRB) today released its preview of results from the upcoming 2020 U.S. Census, providing a look at key population and housing trends that will shape the United States in 2020 and beyond.

Among the key findings:

    --  The U.S. population is increasing and could reach a third of a billion
        people by 2020, but the population is on track to grow at the slowest
        rate since the 1930s, with wide-ranging impacts on the labor supply and
        the demand for goods and services--including new homes--over the coming
        years.

    --  Fewer households are being established, due in part to the growing share
        of young adults who still live with their parents. Population growth is
        on track to outpace household growth this decade for the first time
        since the 1930s. The slowdown in household growth is likely to impact
        the housing market and could reduce the demand for home-related services
        and durable goods, such as major appliances.

    --  As the U.S. population continues to shift to the South and West, states
        in those regions will likely gain congressional seats at the expense of
        states in the Northeast and Midwest, changing the political landscape.
        Texas gained four seats after the 2010 Census and is expected to gain
        two or three more after the 2020 count.

    --  More than half of U.S. counties have experienced net population loss
        since 2010, with more than 550 counties losing at least 5 percent of
        their residents, which could result in fewer federal dollars to support
        local infrastructure and public programs. The post-2010 demographic
        situation is especially bleak in Puerto Rico, which has lost more than
        half a million residents, or 14 percent of its 2010 population. Florida,
        with an estimated 21.3 million residents, has surpassed New York as the
        nation's third-largest state behind California and Texas. Utah, Texas,
        Florida, Colorado, and North Dakota were the fastest-growing states
        overall.

    --  The percentage of U.S. residents ages 65 and older is increasing at the
        fastest pace in U.S. history, with significant implications for public
        spending on programs for older adults. The increasing costs of providing
        for an older population may reduce public spending for other groups,
        including young families with children.

    --  Children are at the forefront of racial/ethnic change in the United
        States, creating a diversity gap among generations. Only half of the
        population under age 18 are projected to be non-Hispanic white by 2020,
        compared with three-fourths (76 percent) of those ages 65 and older.

    --  Growing racial/ethnic diversity in the United States is no longer being
        driven by immigration, but by patterns of births and deaths among the
        U.S. resident population. The population identifying with two or more
        races is projected to be the fastest-growing racial/ethnic group between
        2010 and 2020, increasing by 36 percent.

    --  A growing divide in homeownership rates between whites and blacks is
        increasing the wealth gap between racial and ethnic groups. Since 2010,
        homeownership rates for most racial/ethnic groups held steady or
        increased, but the rate for blacks continued to drop, especially among
        young adults.

"The data show a rapidly changing U.S. population, growing more slowly but also shifting in many important ways," said Mark Mather, associate vice president of U.S. Programs at PRB. "The 2020 Census data are critical because they will allow policymakers, businesses, and others to see how America's communities are changing and help them adapt to the challenges ahead."

About Population Reference Bureau (PRB)
PRB informs people around the world about population, health, and the environment, and empowers them to use that information to advance the well-being of current and future generations. Find out more at www.prb.org.

Contact:
Leslie Aun, PRB
laun@prb.org
703-517-4550

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SOURCE Population Reference Bureau (PRB)