United States Population

The United States is the most powerful country in the world. The country has traditionally been a champion of democracy and human rights, but faces criticism for its self-proclaimed role as world police. The country’s controversial President Donald Trump is making headlines and political fluctuations both nationally and internationally.

Key figures and facts

• Capital: Washington DC
• Ethnic groups: Whites 72.4%, Blacks 12.6%, Asians 4.8%, Amerindians and Indigenous people in Alaska 0.9%, Indigenous people in Hawaii and other Pacific Islands 0.2%, other 6.2%, mixed ethnic background 2, 9% Approximately 16.3% of the US population is “Hispanic”, originating from Central and South America or Spain. (2010)
• Language: English 79%, Spanish 13%, other Indo-European languages ​​3.7%, Asian and Pacific languages ​​3.4%, other 1%. In Hawaii, Hawaiian is the official language, and in Alaska there are 20 official indigenous languages. (2015)
• Religion: Protestants 46.5%, Roman Catholic 20.8%, Jews 1.9%, Mormon 1.6%, other Christians 0.9%,, Muslims 0.9%, Jehovah’s Witnesses 0.8%, Buddhists 0, 7%, Hindu 0.7%, other/unspecified 2.6%, none 22.8% (2014)
• Population: 326 766 748
• Control Form: Constitutional Federal Republic
• Area: 9 831 510 km2
• Currency: dollar
• GNP per capita: 57 638 PPP $
• National Day:  July 4th

Population of the United States

The United States has 328,063,586 residents (US Census, July 2018). The population comes from all parts of the world and is made up of several ethnic groups. 37 different countries are the countries of origin of more than one million Americans. The majority of the population is white, originating mainly from Germany, Ireland and England. Another large group is so-called Hispanics, Hispanic from Latin America. Then comes African-Americans, originating from various African countries, and American Indigenous peoples.

Whites make up 76 percent, Hispanics 18 percent, African-Americans 13 percent, Asians six percent, U.S. Indigenous people 1.3 percent and Pacific Islanders 0.2 percent (2018). The figures are collected more than 100 percent because some claim to belong to several groups. About 82 percent of the population lives in densely populated areas, and there are 295 cities with more than 100,000 residents (2013).

Population of United States by Year (Historical)

Year	Population	Annual Growth Rate	Population Density	Global Rank
2020	331,002,540	0.590%	36.1854	3
2019	329,064,806	0.600%	35.9735	3
2018	327,096,154	0.620%	35.7583	3
2017	325,084,645	0.640%	35.5384	3
2016	323,015,884	0.670%	35.3122	3
2015	320,878,199	0.760%	35.0786	3
2010	309,011,364	0.930%	33.7813	3
2005	294,993,400	0.930%	32.2488	3
2000	281,710,798	1.220%	30.7968	3
1995	265,163,634	1.010%	28.9878	3
1990	252,120,198	0.950%	27.5619	3
1985	240,499,714	0.940%	26.2916	3
1980	229,476,243	0.930%	25.0865	3
1975	219,081,140	0.900%	23.9501	3
1970	209,513,230	0.960%	22.9041	3
1965	199,733,565	1.360%	21.8350	3
1960	186,720,460	1.690%	20.4124	3
1955	171,685,225	1.570%	18.7687	3
1950	158,804,284	0.000%	17.3606	3

Major Cities in United States by Population

Rank	City	Population
1	New York City	8,175,022
2	Los Angeles	3,971,772
3	Chicago	2,720,435
4	Brooklyn	2,300,553
5	Houston	2,296,113
6	Queens	2,272,660
7	Philadelphia	1,567,331
8	Phoenix	1,562,914
9	Manhattan	1,487,425
10	San Antonio	1,469,734
11	San Diego	1,394,817
12	The Bronx	1,384,997
13	Dallas	1,299,981
14	San Jose	1,026,797
15	Austin	931,719
16	Jacksonville	867,920
17	San Francisco	864,705
18	Columbus	849,995
19	Fort Worth	833,208
20	Indianapolis	829,607
21	Charlotte	826,986
22	Seattle	684,340
23	Denver	682,434
24	El Paso	681,013
25	Detroit	677,005
26	Boston	667,026
27	Memphis	655,659
28	New South Memphis	641,497
29	Portland	632,198
30	Oklahoma City	631,235
31	Las Vegas	623,636
32	Baltimore	621,738
33	Washington, D.C.	601,612
34	Milwaukee	600,044
35	South Boston	571,170
36	Albuquerque	559,010
37	Tucson	531,530
38	Nashville	530,741
39	Fresno	519,941
40	Sacramento	490,601
41	Kansas City	475,267
42	Long Beach	474,029
43	Mesa	471,714
44	Staten Island	468,619
45	Atlanta	463,767
46	Colorado Springs	456,457
47	Virginia Beach	452,634
48	Raleigh	450,955
49	Omaha	443,774
50	Miami	440,892
51	Oakland	419,156
52	Minneapolis	410,828
53	Tulsa	403,394
54	Wichita	389,854
55	New Orleans	389,506
56	Arlington	388,014
57	Cleveland	387,961
58	Bakersfield	373,529
59	Honolulu	371,546
60	Tampa	368,964
61	Aurora	359,296
62	Anaheim	350,631
63	West Raleigh	338,648
64	Santa Ana	335,289
65	Corpus Christi	323,963
66	Riverside	322,313
67	St. Louis	315,574
68	Lexington-Fayette	314,377
69	Stockton	305,547
70	Pittsburgh	304,280
71	Anchorage	298,584
72	Cincinnati	296,832
73	Meads	288,538
74	Ironville	288,538
75	Henderson	285,556
76	Greensboro	285,231
77	Saint Paul	284,957
78	Plano	283,447
79	Newark	281,833
80	Toledo	279,678
81	Lincoln	277,237
82	Orlando	270,823
83	Chula Vista	265,646
84	Jersey City	264,179
85	Chandler	260,717
86	Fort Wayne	260,215
87	Buffalo	257,960
88	Durham	257,525
89	St. Petersburg	256,972
90	Irvine	256,816
91	Laredo	255,362
92	Lubbock	248,931
93	Madison	248,840
94	Gilbert	247,431
95	Norfolk	246,282
96	Louisville	243,528
97	Reno	241,334
98	Winston-Salem	241,107
99	Glendale	240,015
100	Hialeah	236,958
101	Garland	236,786
102	Scottsdale	236,728
103	Irving	236,496
104	Chesapeake	235,318
105	North Las Vegas	234,696
106	Fremont	232,095
107	Baton Rouge	228,479
108	Lexington	225,255
109	Paradise	223,056
110	Richmond	220,178
111	Jamaica	216,755
112	San Bernardino	215,997
113	Spokane	213,161
114	Birmingham	212,350
115	Modesto	211,155
116	Des Moines	210,219
117	Rochester	209,691
118	Maryvale	208,078
119	Tacoma	207,837
120	Arlington	207,516
121	Fontana	207,349
122	Oxnard	207,143
123	Moreno Valley	204,087
124	Fayetteville	201,852
125	Huntington Beach	201,788
126	Yonkers	201,005
127	Glendale	200,909
128	Aurora	200,550
129	Montgomery	200,491
130	Columbus	200,468
131	Amarillo	198,534
132	Little Rock	197,881
133	Akron	197,431
134	Shreveport	197,093
135	Grand Rapids	194,986
136	Mobile	194,177
137	Salt Lake City	192,561
138	Huntsville	190,471
139	Tallahassee	189,796
140	Sunrise Manor	189,261
141	Grand Prairie	187,698
142	Overland Park	186,404
143	Knoxville	185,180
144	Worcester	184,704
145	Brownsville	183,776
146	Newport News	182,274
147	Santa Clarita	182,260
148	Harlem	181,148
149	Providence	179,096
150	Fort Lauderdale	178,479
151	East Flatbush	178,353
152	Spring Valley	178,284
153	Chattanooga	176,477
154	Tempe	175,715
155	Oceanside	175,580
156	Garden Grove	175,282
157	Rancho Cucamonga	175,125
158	Cape Coral	175,118
159	Santa Rosa	174,861
160	East New York	173,087
161	Vancouver	172,749
162	Sioux Falls	171,433
163	Peoria	171,126
164	Ontario	171,103
165	Jackson	170,563
166	Hollywood	167,553
167	Elk Grove	166,802
168	Springfield	166,699
169	Pembroke Pines	166,500
170	Deer Valley	165,545
171	Port Saint Lucie	164,492
172	Salem	164,438
173	Corona	164,115
174	Eugene	163,349
175	McKinney	162,787
176	Fort Collins	161,064
177	Lancaster	160,992
178	Cary	159,658
179	Tempe Junction	158,257
180	Palmdale	158,240
181	Hayward	158,178
182	Salinas	157,269
183	Frisco	154,296
184	Springfield	154,230
185	East Chattanooga	153,913
186	Pasadena	153,673
187	Alexandria	153,400
188	Pomona	153,155
189	Washington Heights	152,502
190	Lakewood	152,486
191	Sunnyvale	151,643
192	Escondido	151,340
193	Kansas City	151,195
194	Astoria	150,054
195	Hollywood	149,617
196	Borough Park	149,137
197	Clarksville	149,065
198	Torrance	148,364
199	Valencia	148,345
200	Rockford	148,167
201	East Hampton	147,882
202	Joliet	147,750
203	Paterson	147,643
204	Bridgeport	147,518
205	Naperville	146,989
206	Boise	145,876
207	Savannah	145,563
208	Mesquite	144,677
209	Syracuse	144,031
210	Metairie Terrace	142,378
211	Pasadena	142,139
212	Orange	140,881
213	Fullerton	140,736
214	Killeen	140,695
215	Dayton	140,488
216	McAllen	140,158
217	Bellevue	139,709
218	Metairie	138,370
219	Miramar	137,021
220	Hampton	136,343
221	Van Nuys	136,332
222	West Valley City	136,097
223	Olathe	134,194
224	Warren	133,945
225	Columbia	133,692
226	Thornton	133,340
227	Carrollton	133,057
228	Midland	132,839
229	Charleston	132,498
230	Waco	132,245
231	Sterling Heights	131,941
232	Denton	130,933
233	Cedar Rapids	130,294
234	New Haven	130,211
235	Roseville	130,158
236	Gainesville	130,017
237	Visalia	129,993
238	Coral Springs	129,374
239	Thousand Oaks	129,228
240	Elizabeth	128,896
241	Stamford	128,763
242	Concord	128,556
243	Surprise	128,311
244	Alhambra	127,653
245	Lafayette	127,546
246	Topeka	127,154
247	Kent	126,841
248	Simi Valley	126,677
249	East Los Angeles	126,385
250	Santa Clara	126,104
251	Murfreesboro	126,007
252	Sunset Park	125,889
253	Koreatown	124,170
254	Hartford	123,895
255	Sheepshead Bay	122,423
256	Amherst	122,255
257	Victorville	122,114
258	Abilene	121,610
259	Vallejo	121,142
260	North Stamford	121,119
261	Berkeley	120,861
262	Norman	120,173
263	Allentown	120,096
264	Evansville	119,832
265	Columbia	118,997
266	Odessa	118,857
267	Fargo	118,412
268	Beaumont	118,018
269	Independence	117,144
270	Ann Arbor	116,959
271	El Monte	116,621
272	Athens	116,603
273	Springfield	116,454
274	Round Rock	115,886
275	Wilmington	115,822
276	East Harlem	115,810
277	Arvada	115,257
278	Provo	115,153
279	Peoria	114,959
280	Lansing	114,945
281	Downey	114,108
282	Carlsbad	113,342
283	Elmhurst	113,253
284	Costa Mesa	113,093
285	Miami Gardens	113,076
286	Westminster	113,019
287	North Peoria	112,893
288	Clearwater	112,892
289	Fairfield	112,859
290	Bushwick	112,509
291	Gravesend	112,118
292	Rochester	112,114
293	Elgin	112,000
294	Temecula	111,900
295	West Jordan	111,835
296	Inglewood	111,555
297	Richardson	110,704
298	Lowell	110,588
299	East Independence	110,564
300	Gresham	110,442
301	Antioch	110,431
302	Cambridge	110,291
303	High Point	110,157
304	Billings	110,152
305	Manchester	110,118
306	Murrieta	109,719
307	Centennial	109,630
308	Richmond	109,597
309	Corona	109,587
310	Pueblo	109,301
311	Pearland	108,710
312	Waterbury	108,691
313	West Covina	108,373
314	Enterprise	108,370
315	North Charleston	108,193
316	Everett	107,899
317	College Station	107,778
318	Palm Bay	107,777
319	Pompano Beach	107,651
320	Boulder	107,238
321	Norwalk	107,029
322	West Palm Beach	106,668
323	Broken Arrow	106,452
324	Daly City	106,451
325	Sandy Springs	105,219
326	Burbank	105,208
327	Green Bay	105,096
328	Santa Maria	104,982
329	Universal City	104,889
330	Wichita Falls	104,599
331	Lakeland	104,290
332	Clovis	104,069
333	Lewisville	103,928
334	Tyler	103,589
335	El Cajon	103,568
336	San Mateo	103,425
337	Brandon	103,372
338	Rialto	103,021
339	Davenport	102,471
340	Edison	102,437
341	Hillsboro	102,236
342	Las Cruces	101,532
343	South Bend	101,405
344	Vista	100,779
345	Greeley	100,772
346	Davie	100,771
347	Chinatown	100,463
348	San Angelo	100,339
349	Renton	100,131
350	Roanoke	99,786
351	Kenosha	99,747
352	Clinton Township	99,642
353	Columbia	99,504
354	Erie	99,364
355	Portsmouth Heights	98,938
356	Richmond Hill	98,873
357	Alief	98,614
358	Spring Hill	98,510
359	Albany	98,358
360	Compton	98,351
361	Tuscaloosa	98,221
362	League City	98,201
363	Flint	98,199
364	Allen	98,032
365	Mission Viejo	97,045
366	Vacaville	96,692
367	Ventura	96,658
368	Highlands Ranch	96,602
369	Lawton	96,544
370	Beaverton	96,466
371	South Gate	96,290
372	Portsmouth	96,090
373	Sparks	95,983
374	Brockton	95,203
375	Federal Way	95,060
376	Dearborn	95,060
377	Lee’s Summit	94,983
378	New Bedford	94,847
379	Spokane Valley	94,808
380	Fordham	94,567
381	Livonia	94,524
382	Roswell	94,390
383	Orem	94,346
384	Yuma	94,028
385	Lawrence	93,806
386	The Woodlands	93,736
387	West Albany	93,683
388	Yakima	93,590
389	Quincy	93,507
390	Flatbush	93,250
391	Hesperia	93,184
392	Carson	93,170
393	Boca Raton	93,124
394	Santa Monica	93,109
395	San Marcos	92,820
396	Boyle Heights	92,674
397	Plantation	92,449
398	Lynn	92,346
399	Miami Beach	92,201
400	Arden-Arcade	92,075

Historical development

In the time since colonization began in the 17th century, the United States has experienced strong population growth, which, in addition to high natural growth, is due to high immigration, especially in the late 1800s and early 1900s. At the nation’s birth in 1776, the population was around three million. A hundred years later, that figure was about 46 million, and by the 200th anniversary of 1976, the United States had 218 million residents. In 2000, the population in the country’s 3142 counties was estimated at approximately 281 million.

Growth in the period 1990–2000 was 1.1 percent annually, a large part of which is due to immigration. In October 2006, the population passed 300 million, and the Spanish or Portuguese speakers (Hispanics) had become the largest minority with almost 42 million or about 14 percent. Today, Hispanics are still the largest minority with over 57 million, about 18 percent.

The country’s original population

The American indigenous peoples (often called ” Native Americans “, often called Native Americans or First Americans) live mainly in separate reserves, most west of the Mississippi, and in cities, often concentrated in their own quarters. Indigenous peoples in what is today the United States when America became known to Europeans in 1492 is a controversy among the experts. The estimates range from 800,000 to several million, but most researchers prefer figures of the order of one million.

In the context of European colonization of the country, the population was greatly reduced due to war, exploitation and diseases brought by Europeans, reaching a low at the end of the 19th century. In 1900, the number was 237,000, in 1970 793,000, in 1980 was approximately 1.4 million, and in 1990 almost two million. At the 2000 census, one could indicate affiliation to several “races” (at the census, people even indicate ethnic affiliation), which complicates comparisons with previous measurements. About 2.5 million were thought to be “pure” Indians or Inuit, while over 4.1 million (1.5 percent of the United States population) indicated Native or Inuit origin combined with other backgrounds.

The strong increase in the years 1960–1990 is largely due to awareness and pride of descent among the indigenous people, as well as the opportunity to benefit from compensation for lost land that some tribes have been granted, rather than high birth rates. At the 2010 census, more than 2.9 million were of pure Native American or Inuit origin, and the number with a combined background grew to over 5.2 million (1.7 percent of the United States population).

The elderly

In 2000, approximately 35 million Americans were over the age of 65. This was an increase of 12 percent since 1990. But for the first time, this group grew more slowly than the total population, which increased by 13.2 percent over the same period. In 2000, the group aged 65-74 accounted for approximately 53 percent of the elderly (65+), the group aged 75-84 represented approximately 35 percent, while approximately 12 percent was over 85 years. However, the group over 85 years represented the strongest growth, with a full 38 percent. In contrast, the group aged 65-74 increased by only two percent (the number in the group aged 65-69 actually showed a decline of six percent), which was due to the low birth rates in the 1920s and 1930s. The female dominance was high in all groups over the age of 65, a total of 20.6 million women compared to 14.4 million men, and the gap was increasing with age.

In 2018, 16 percent of the population was over 65. The number over 65 is expected to double in the coming decades, from 49 million today to 95 million in 2060, as this group is expected to make up almost a quarter of the population (US Census, 2018).

Immigration

The first real colonization with permanent settlement took place in 1607 with the founding of Jamestown, Virginia. Later, New England was colonized (from 1620), and between these areas settled among other Dutch and Swedes (New York and Delaware). By the end of the 1600s, however, the entire east coast was from Georgia to New England on British hands. In the 18th century, immigration continued, and the population increased from about 210,000 in 1690 to 1.6 million in 1760 in English America. During this time, other nationalities joined the immigration, primarily Scots, Irish and Germans. At the beginning of the 18th century, the transport of African slaves to the United States began in earnest, almost exclusively to the southern states. In 1750, South Carolina had twice as many blacks as white residents.

During the 18th century the settlement was limited to the coastal plain. The Appalachians constituted a barrier to colonization westward. The French settlement of Québec (founded in 1608) and the Spanish dominion of Florida also limited the extent of settlement to the north and south respectively.

The really big immigration stream first came out in the 19th century, after the Napoleonic wars. While the average annual immigration during the period 1783–1820 was slightly below 7,000, it increased to approximately 260,000 annually in the 1850s and 880,000 annually in the period 1901–1910. In some years only in the 1900s, immigration exceeded one million.

Not only the immigrant population, but also the ethnic composition of the immigrant population underwent major changes until the First World War. In 1871-1880, 92 percent of immigrants came from Northern, Western and Central Europe, mainly the United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany and the Nordic countries. In the period 1891–1900, 52 percent of European immigrants came from southern and eastern Europe (in the period 1901–1920 77 percent). At the same time as this shift towards Eastern and Southern Europe, the number of immigrants from Asia increased, first with China as the most important country (from the 1850s), later from Japan, Korea and the Philippines.

The first immigrants settled mainly as farmers. Immigration during the 19th century came from a Europe that was largely a farming community. This created a strong demand for land in the United States, and immigration thus became a decisive factor for colonization westward. The colonization west of the Appalachians started in earnest just after the states became independent, but it was not until the end of the 19th century that the “vacant” agricultural land in the United States was largely used. In this way, the immigration stream was gradually channeled to the cities. Thus, a significant element of southern and eastern Europeans as well as Asians were obtained in the cities, while the countryside was completely dominated by people of northern and western European origin.

The strong immigration naturally brought with it a number of problems, and it created a good deal of dissatisfaction that manifested itself in quite strong anti-immigration waves, especially in the 1890s and during and after the First World War. These moods were partly a product of increased competition in the labor market and on the housing front, but also to some extent conditional on xenophobia and even racism. The series of restrictions introduced in the period 1882–1929 also had as a main consequence that less “desirable” individuals (mentally ill, prostitutes and people who could become a burden on the public) and entire peoples, oriental and southern and Eastern Europeans, were held out or released in smaller numbers than before.

The first group to be shut out was the Chinese, by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. In 1907, the Japanese were virtually banned by the Gentlemen’s Agreement between the United States and Japan. Illiterate people were denied access through the Literacy Actin 1917, and in 1921 a quota system was introduced. The Act of 1921 imposed a “ceiling” on immigration from each country calculated on the basis of the number from their nationality group in the year 1910 (three percent). In 1924, the ceiling was lowered to two percent, while the base year was traced back to 1890, and all Oriental groups were excluded. This led to a further restriction on immigration from southern and eastern Europe, since the main stream from there assumed large dimensions only after 1890. The base year was then changed to 1920 in the law which came into force in 1929.

Until 1965, only minor changes were made to immigration laws, essential special arrangements for refugees after World War II and from communist states in Europe. The 1965 Act replaced the quota system based on nationality with quota systems for the eastern hemisphere (with a ceiling of 20,000 from a single country) and the western hemisphere. In 1978 this was changed to a common ceiling of 290,000, with a maximum of 20,000 from a single country. Two years later, the annual quota was lowered somewhat, while the Refugee Act separated refugees from ordinary immigration.

In particular, it was the illegal immigration from Mexico that was behind the Immigration Reform and Control Act, which was finally enacted in 1986. Those who could prove that they had been in the country before January 1, 1982, were granted a residence permit. With the Immigration Act of 1990, a selective immigration policy was again introduced, setting up a separate quota (140,000) with so-called “economic visas” for people with much needed expertise, as well as for people who could provide jobs. Likewise, the law set a special quota for nationalities that had become particularly prejudiced by the 1965 law (for example, the Irish). The law also introduced a moving ceiling on immigration for the next few years, and also meant amnesty for “undocumented” relatives of immigrants who had been legalized by the 1986 law (mainly Mexicans).

Congress has long been working on additional legislation to restrict and control immigration, especially from Mexico, while also aiming to legalize some of the estimated 11-12 million illegal immigrants currently in the country. In 2006, President George W. Bush submitted several proposals involving labor contracts, amnesty schemes and the like, but the proposals met with strong opposition in Congress. Consequently, they were set aside after the congressional elections in November 2006. Congress nevertheless decided to build a fence of 1126 kilometers along the Mexico border, which the president sanctioned. Donald Trump has also, without success, insisted that Congress allocate large funds to a wall along the Mexico border. In the election campaign, he promised that Mexico would pay for this.

Between 1820 and 1992, approximately 60 million people immigrated to the United States. From the beginning of mass immigration to the present, the nature of immigration has changed in accordance with, among other things, the introduction of new laws, with changes in economic conditions, both in the sender and the recipient countries, and with the progress made in the means of communication.

The United States’ foreign-born population is expected to rise from 44 million people today to 69 million in 2060, ie from 14 to 17 percent of the population. The previous historical peak was in 1890, when almost 15 percent of the population was born abroad (US Census, 2018).

Ethnic distribution

The Norwegians live especially in the upper Midwest (Iowa, Wisconsin, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota) and in the western states of Montana and Washington, as well as Texas and New York. With the exception of New York, the Norwegian settlement has largely been in the countryside. Other ethnicities include the large number of Mexicans in the southwest, Italians and Irish on the northeast coast, Germans in a wide belt from Pennsylvania and the Midwest, and Canadians in the north, especially on the New England coast, and in the Mississippi Delta (cajuns= acadians). Until recent decades, immigration to the Southern States has been low.

The ethnic composition of the population also shows major regional differences. Before the Civil War (1861-1865), most blacks lived in the southern states. After the abolition of slavery, a veritable stream of blacks began to the northern states, especially to the cities of the east. Today, blacks make up a disproportionately large proportion of the population in the poor inner-city districts, although more and more people have moved to affluent suburbs. In a special position stands the District of Columbia (Washington), where the population is predominantly non-white, and where the blacks make up about two-thirds. In 1790, blacks accounted for approximately 19.3 percent of the United States population, in 1930 approximately 9.7 percent and in 2000 approximately 12.3 percent or 34.6 million. Hispanics totaled 35.3 million (12.5 percent) in 2000 and has exceeded African Americans in number. However, Hispanics do not constitute a “racial” minority, but a language-based category.

Otherwise, Cubans and Puerto Ricans are an important part of hispanics, in Miami (Dade County) and New York City, respectively. The Puerto Ricans are US citizens, as the islands are US federal territory. In several cities, there have been rubbish between different ethnic groups, often as a result of conflicts of interest (for example, in the job and housing market between blacks and Hispanics) or ethnic roles (for example, Korean merchants in black residential neighborhoods in Los Angeles).

Immigration from Asia, mainly Filipinos, Japanese, Chinese, Koreans and Vietnamese, and from the Pacific Islands has been great in recent decades. These have mostly settled on the west coast and in 2000 constituted about 4.2 percent of the population. The large immigration of Hispanics, mainly from Mexico, has led to them now being the largest minority group.

The non-Hispanic white population is projected to shrink over the coming decades, from 199 million in 2020 to 179 million in 2060 – although overall the population continues to grow. The decline is driven by falling birth rates and increasing numbers of deaths over time as the non-Hispanic white population ages. In comparison, regardless of Spanish origin, the white population is expected to grow from 253 million to 275 million in the same period (US Census, 2018).

Regional distribution

Ever since the United States became a separate nation, the center of gravity of the population has been moving westward. From 1790 to 1990, the population center of gravity moved from Baltimore at Chesapeake Bay to Steelville, Missouri. At the 1980 census, it had moved west of the Mississippi River for the first time. From the time around World War I to the end of World War II there was a marked migration of people from the countryside to the cities. In 1920, the population was divided equally between city and country. After World War II, a new trend began, the move from cities to suburbs, which continued at full strength until the early 1970s. From the late 1950s, a noticeable regional population shift also began, from the northeastern states and the Midwest to the southern states, the “Sun Belt,” the two southernmost ranks of states. This trend continued into the 1980s, when it slowed and to some extent reversed by the economic downturn.

In the decade 1981–1990, the population in the western states increased by 22.3 percent and in the southern states by 13.4 percent, compared with the national average of 9.8 percent. A clear trend in the decade 1981–1990 was a “continental dilution”, a general movement from the inland to the coast, both in the north and south. However, the main conclusion of the development from 1960 to 1993 is that the southern and western states increased their share of the population, from 46.3 percent (30.7 percent and 15.6 percent) to 56.4 percent (34.7 percent and 21.7 percent).).

In the decade 1991–2000, the population increased by as much as 32.7 million. (13.2 percent) nationally, the largest increase in clean numbers in a decade in US history (relatively the population increased the most in the 1950s, by 18.4 percent). Western states grew the fastest by 19.7 percent and the Southern States by 17.3 percent, while in the Midwest, the population grew by a moderate 7.9 percent and in the Northeast states by only 5.5 percent. Nevada grew the fastest by 66 percent, while North Dakota’s growth was 0.5 percent. In the south, the population of Georgia increased the most, by 26 percent, while the nation’s capital, Washington, yielded a full 5.7 percent. In the Midwest, Minnesota increased the most for the third consecutive year by 12 percent. The four regions now have 63.2, 100.2, 64.4 and 53.6 million residents respectively. In the belt along the Mexico border, growth was 21 percent, while along the Canadian border it was only 0.8 percent. In the 1950s-2000s, the southern states increased their share of the population from 31 to 36 percent and the western states from 13 to 22 percent, while the Midwest lost its share from 29 to 23 percent and the northeast states from 26 to 19 percent.

From 2000 to 2010, the percentage increase in the population was the lowest in a decade since the 1930s, and about the same level as in the period 1980-1909. The increase for the whole country was about 27.3 million (9.7 percent), and the population was about 308.7 million in 2010. The average hides large regional differences: the southern states increased by 14.2 percent and the western states by 13.8 percent while The Midwest had an increase of 3.9 percent and the northeastern states increased by 3.2 percent. In 2010, the southern states had approximately 114.6 million residents. The Western states had about 71, 9 million, and passed for the first time the Midwest, which had about 66.9 million in population. In the northeastern states, approximately 55.3 million residents lived in 2010. The southern states and the western states together accounted for 84.4 percent of the total population increase during the period.

Nevada was the fastest growing state in the decade 2000-2010 (35.1 percent), followed by Arizona (24.6 percent) and Utah with 23.8 percent. Texas had the largest nominal increase with approximately 4.3 million residents, California followed closely with 3.4 million and Florida with 2.8 million. The only state with a decline in population between 2000 and 2010 was Michigan, which had a reduction of about 55,000 (0.6 percent).

As a result of the high mobility, significant population concentrations (conurbations) have emerged in several places in the country. The largest, commonly known as Megalopolis, extends north and south from New York City. Another center of gravity is the Chicago area and a third is the Los Angeles region. Future researchers talk about three “megalopoles”: “Boshwash” (Boston – Washington, DC), “Chipitts” (Chicago – Pittsburgh), and “Sansan” (San Francisco – San Diego).

Cities

Like other industrialized countries, the United States has seen strong growth in the proportion of the population living in or around cities. About 1920, half lived in cities. In 1990, 75.2 percent of the population lived in urban areas (towns with at least 2,500 residents), while in 2016 the figure was 84 percent. In 2016, there were 382 metropolitan regions (Metropolitan Statistical Areas, abbreviated MSA, areas with over 50,000 residents). Of these, 53 had over one million residents and comprised about 55 percent of the population. In 2016, approximately 25 percent lived in metropolitan regions with at least five million. New York is the largest metropolitan region with 20,320,876 residents (US Census, 2017).

The largest cities in the United States

City	State	Residents (2016)
New York City	New York	8 538 000
Los Angeles	California	3 976 000
Chicago	Illinois	2 705 000
Houston	Texas	2 304 000
Phoenix	Arizona	1 615 000
Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	1 568 000
San Antonio	Texas	1 493 000
San Diego	California	1 407 000
Dallas	Texas	1 318 000
San Jose	California	1 025 000
Austin	Texas	948 000
Jacksonville	Florida	881 000
San Francisco	California	871 000
Indianapolis	Indiana	865 000
Columbus	Ohio	860 000
Fort Worth	Texas	854 000
Charlotte	North Carolina	842 000
Seattle	Washington	704 000
Denver	Colorado	693 000
Nashville	Tennessee	684 000
El Paso	Texas	683 000
Washington	District of Columbia	681 000
Boston	Massachusetts	673 000
Seattle	Washington	668 000
Denver	Colorado	664 000
Washington	District of Columbia	659 000
Memphis	Tennessee	657 000
Boston	Massachusetts	656 000
Detroit	Michigan	673 000
Memphis	Tennessee	653 000
Portland	Oregon	640 000
Oklahoma City	Oklahoma	638 000
Las Vegas	Nevada	633 000
Baltimore	Maryland	615 000
Milwaukee	Wisconsin	595 000
Albuquerque	New Mexico	559 000
Tucson	Arizona	531 000
Fresno	California	522 000

Source: U.S. Census, 2017

Population

At the 2010 census, the US Census divided the population by “race” and “ethnicity”. The term Hispanic/Latino refers to populations originating in Spain or Latin America, and is the fastest growing population in the United States.

The figures in the tables below refer to the US Census estimates as of January 1, 2015.

Race	Number of citizens	Percent
white	248 320 000	77.4
Afro-Americans	42 440 000	13.2
Asians	17 456 000	5.4
Indians and Inuit	3 988 000	1.2
Hawaii and Oceania	746 000	0.2
Multi (at least two breeds)	8 050 000	2.5

Ethnicity	Number of citizens	Percent
Hispanic/Latino (all races)	57 140 000	17.8
Not H/L (all breeds)	263 860 000	82.2
Population total	321 000 000	100.0

Largest urban areas

Metropolitan Statistical Areas, State (s)	Population (2016)
New York – Newark – Jersey City, NY, NJ, PA	20 154 000
Los Angeles- Long Beach – Santa Ana, CA	13 310 000
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL, IN, WI	9 513 000
Dallas- Fort Worth -Arlington, TX	7 233 000
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	6 772 000
Washington- Arlington -Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV	6 132 000
Philadelphia-Camden- Wilmington, PA, NJ, DE, MD	6 071 000
Miami- Fort Lauderdale -West Palm Beach, FL	6 067 000
Atlanta -Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA	5 790 000
Boston- Cambridge -Newton, MA, NH	4 794 000
San Francisco- Oakland -Hayward, CA	4 679 000
Phoenix- Mesa -Scottsdale, AZ	4 662 000
San Bernardino-Riverside-Ontario, CA	4 528 000
Detroit-Warren- Dearborn, MI	4 297 000
Seattle- Tacoma -Bellevue, WA	3 799 000
Minneapolis – St. Paul -Bloomington, MN, WI	3 551 000
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA	3 317 000
Tampa – St. Petersburg – Clearwater, FL	3 032 000
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO	2 853 000
St. Louis, MO, IL	2 807 000
Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD	2 799 000
Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC	2 474 000
Orlando -Kissimmee-Sanford, FL	2 441 000
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX	2 430 000
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA	2 425 000

Source: U.S. Census, 2017.