SafekipediaRace and ethnicity in the United States census
Adapted from Wikipedia · Adventurer experience
In the United States census, people share information about their race and ethnicity. This helps the government learn about the different backgrounds of Americans. The U.S. Census Bureau and the Office of Management and Budget make categories for people to choose from. Everyone answers these questions themselves.
Race and ethnicity are different ideas. Race includes groups like African American, White, Asian, and others, based on how people see themselves. Ethnicity looks at whether someone is of Hispanic or Latino origin. These categories change over time to better show the country's diversity.
In the past, officials decided people's races for them. But since the 1970 Census, people can choose their own racial identity. This change happened because of laws like the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which wanted more accurate data.
Starting with the 2000 Census, people could pick more than one race to better show their mixed backgrounds. Recently, there have been talks about adding new categories, like Middle Eastern or North African, to include more groups accurately.
Data on race and ethnicity
The U.S. government uses information about race and ethnicity from the census to help make fair rules and support different groups of people. This data helps make sure everyone has equal chances for jobs and can watch for unfair treatment in health and safety.
Knowing about ethnic groups also helps governments follow laws, such as making sure elections include people who speak different languages, and checking that banks help all communities fairly. Local leaders use this information to plan services and make sure everyone gets the help they need.
Main article: Voting Rights Act
Main articles: Civil Rights Act, Public Health Service Act, Community Reinvestment Act
History
The first census in the United States took place in 1790. It counted 3,929,214 people. The census asked for the head of each family's name and grouped people into categories like free white males, free white females, other free persons, and slaves.
Over time, the census questions changed. By 1820, new groups like "colored" people and "foreigners not naturalized" were added. In 1850, people were listed individually for the first time. By 1900, the census began to tell apart different Asian groups like Japanese and Chinese. In 2000, people could choose more than one race for the first time. The 2010 census made it clearer that Hispanic ethnicity is not a race. Each census helped shape how race and ethnicity are understood and counted in the United States.
| Snapshot: Race in the US census |
| The 23rd federal census, 2010 asks one ethnic and one race question (questions 1–4 not reproduced here, questions 5 and 6 paraphrased): Is the person of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin? No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin Yes, Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano Yes, Puerto Rican Yes, Cuban Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin – Print origin, for example, Argentinian, Colombian, Dominican, Nicaraguan, Salvadoran, Spaniard, and so on. What is the person's race? White Black or African American American Indian or Alaska Native – Print name of enrolled or principal tribe. Asian Indian Chinese Filipino Other Asian – Print race, for example, Hmong, Laotian, Thai, Pakistani, Cambodian, and so on. Japanese Korean Vietnamese Native Hawaiian Guamanian or Chamorro Samoan Other Pacific Islander – Print race, for example, Fijian, Tongan, and so on. Some other race – Print race. This census acknowledged that "race categories include both racial and national-origin groups." |
| Race and Hispanic origin | 2010 | 2020 | Significant difference? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 0.01 | −0.24 | |
| Race alone or in combination | |||
| White | 0.54* | 0.66* | No |
| Non-Hispanic White alone | 0.83* | 1.64* | Yes |
| Black or African American | −2.06* | −3.30* | No |
| Asian | 0.00 | 2.62* | Yes |
| American Indian or Alaska Native | −0.15 | −0.91* | No |
| On reservation | −4.88* | −5.64* | No |
| American Indian areas off reservation | 3.86 | 3.06 | No |
| Balance of the United States | 0.05 | −0.86* | No |
| Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander | −1.02 | 1.28 | No |
| Some other race | −1.63* | −4.34* | Yes |
| Hispanic or Latino | −1.54* | −4.99* | Yes |
Relation between ethnicity and race in census results
The U.S. Census Bureau collects information about race and ethnicity to learn about the diversity of the population. In the year 2000, people could choose more than one race when they filled out the census. This made the numbers for each race add up to more than the total population.
Some experts thought that race and ethnicity should be combined into one question because many people see them as the same thing. However, these ideas were not changed for the censuses in 2000, 2010, and 2020. Hispanic or Latino origin is considered an ethnicity, not a race.
| Race | Hispanic or Latino | % of H/L | % of US | Not Hispanic or Latino | % of not H/L | % of US | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All races | 35,305,818 | 100 | 12.5 | 246,116,088 | 100 | 87.5 | ||
| One race | 33,081,736 | 93.7 | 11.8 | 241,513,942 | 98.1 | 85.8 | ||
| White | 16,907,852 | 47.9 | 6.0 | 194,552,774 | 79.1 | 69.1 | ||
| Black or African A. | 710,353 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 33,947,837 | 13.8 | 12.1 | ||
| A. Indian/Alaska Nat. | 407,073 | 1.2 | 0.1 | 2,068,883 | 0.8 | 0.7 | ||
| Asian | 119,829 | 0.3 | 10,123,169 | 4.1 | 3.6 | |||
| Hawaiian N. & Pacific Is. | 45,326 | 0.1 | 353,509 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |||
| Some other | 14,891,303 | 42.2 | 5.3 | 467,770 | 0.2 | 0.2 | ||
| 2+ races | 2,224,082 | 6.3 | 0.8 | 4,602,146 | 1.9 | 1.6 | ||
| Some other + W/B/N/A | 1,859,538 | 5.3 | 0.7 | 1,302,875 | 0.5 | 0.5 | ||
| 2+ W/B/N/A | 364,544 | 1.0 | 0.1 | 3,299,271 | 1.3 | 1.2 | ||
Other agencies
Further information: Equal Employment Opportunity Commission § Race and ethnicity
In 2001, the National Institutes of Health changed their language. In 2007, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission of the United States Department of Labor did the same. These changes helped everyone use the same words when talking about race and ethnicity.
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