The U.S. Census Bureau has released additional 2020 Census results showing an increase in the population of U.S. metro areas compared to a decade ago. In addition, the results show the nation’s growing diversity in how people identify their race and ethnicity.
According to the Census Bureau, the population of U.S. metro areas grew by 9 percent from 2010-2020. That accounts for 86 percent of the population living in U.S. metro areas in 2020, compared to 85 percent in 2010.
The largest county in the United States in 2020 remains Los Angeles, with more than 10 million people. The largest city (incorporated place) in the United States in 2020 remains New York with 8.8 million people.
In terms of SoCal growth, Riverside County saw the biggest population change, growing by 10 percent in the past decade. That’s followed by San Bernardino County at 7.2 percent, Orange County at 5.9 percent and Los Angeles County with 2 percent growth.
In all, 312 of the 384 U.S. metro areas gained population between 2010 and 2020. The 2020 Census showed that on April 1, 2020, there were 140,498,736 housing units in the United States, up 6.7 percent from the 2010 Census. The data also notes that there were 126,817,580 occupied housing units and 13,681,156 vacant units in the United States.
Looking at the demographics, respondents indicating two or more races grew considerably since 2010. The multiracial population was measured at 9 million people in 2010 and is now 33.8 million people in 2020, a 276 percent increase.
The White population remained the largest race or ethnicity group in the U.S., with 204.3 million people identifying as White alone. Overall, 235.4 million people reported White alone or in combination with another group. However, the White alone population decreased by 8.6 percent since 2010.
“As the country has grown, we have continued to evolve in how we measure the race and ethnicity of the people who live here,” said Nicholas Jones, director and senior advisor for race and ethnicity research and outreach at the Census Bureau. “Today’s release of 2020 Census redistricting data provides a new snapshot of the racial and ethnic composition and diversity of the country. The improvements we made to the 2020 Census yield a more accurate portrait of how people self-identify in response to two separate questions on Hispanic origin and race, revealing that the U.S. population is much more multiracial and more diverse than what we measured in the past.”