Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers
The population born between 1946 and 1964 is commonly referred to as the Baby Boom generation. Generation X is the population born between 1965 and 1981. Millennials are the population born between 1982 and 2000. U.S. Census Gen Xers are projected to remain the “middle child” of generations – caught between two larger generations of the Millennials and the Baby Boomers. The oldest Gen Xer is now 50. The Gen X population (ages 35 to 50 in 2015) is projected to outnumber the Boomers by 2028. –Pew Research Center
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Millennials, or America’s youth born between 1982 and 2000, now number 83.1 million and represent more than one quarter of the nation’s population. Their size exceeds that of the 75.4 million baby boomers, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates released today. Overall, millennials are more diverse than the generations that preceded them, with 44.2 percent being part of a minority race or ethnic group (that is, a group other than non-Hispanic, single-race white).
These latest population estimates examine changes among groups by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin nationally, as well as in all states and counties, between April 1, 2010, and July 1, 2014.
Even more diverse than millennials are the youngest Americans: those younger than 5 years old. In 2014, this group became majority-minority for the first time, with 50.2 percent being part of a minority race or ethnic group.
Reflecting these younger age groups, the population as a whole has become more racially and ethnically diverse in just the last decade, with the percentage minority climbing from 32.9 percent in 2004 to 37.9 percent in 2014.
White
The nation’s white alone population totaled 197.9 million in 2014, up by 94,000, or 0.5 percent, since 2013.
California had the largest non-Hispanic white alone population of any state in 2014 (14.9 million).
Texas had the largest numeric increase in this population group since 2013 (79,000). Maine had the highest percentage of the white alone population (93.8 percent).
Los Angeles had the largest white alone population of any county (2.7 million) in 2014. Maricopa, Ariz., had the largest numeric increase in this population since 2013 (23,000). Leslie, Ky., comprised the highest percentage (98.1 percent) of single-race whites.
Black or African-American
The nation’s black or African-American population totaled 45.7 million as of July 1, 2014, up by 578,000, or 1.3 percent, since July 1, 2013.
New York had the largest black or African-American population of any state or equivalent in 2014 (3.8 million); Texas had the largest numeric increase since July 1, 2013 (88,000). The District of Columbia had the highest percentage of blacks (50.6 percent), followed by Mississippi (38.2 percent).
Cook County, Ill. (Chicago) had the largest black or African-American population of any county in 2014 (1.3 million), and Harris, Texas, had the largest numeric increase since 2013 (21,000). Holmes, Miss., was the county with the highest percentage of blacks or African-Americans in the nation (82.5 percent).
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Video: Millennials outnumber baby boomers; more non-white children being born
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July 2, 2015
Did you know?, World culture/events