The changing categories the U.S. census has used to measure race
Racial categories, which have been on every U.S. census, have changed from decade to decade, reflecting the politics and science of the times.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Racial categories, which have been on every U.S. census, have changed from decade to decade, reflecting the politics and science of the times.
Between 2000 and 2024, the U.S. Latino population nearly doubled, rising from 35.3 million to 68 million.
In this Q&A, we speak with Senior Demographer Jeffrey S. Passel about how the Center estimates the number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S.
The number of unauthorized immigrants in the U.S. reached an all-time high after two consecutive years of record growth.
As of June 2025, the country’s foreign-born population had shrunk by more than a million people, marking its first decline since the 1960s.
About four-in-ten immigrants (43%) say they worry a lot or some, up from 33% in March.
Half of U.S. adults say people born in the United States to parents who immigrated illegally should have U.S. citizenship, while 49% say they should not.
Americans have expressed skepticism that attention to racial issues after Floyd’s killing led to changes that improved Black people’s lives.
The number of Asian Americans grew from 11.9 million in 2000 to 24.8 million in 2023.
About four-in-ten (42%) Hispanic adults say they worry that they or someone close to them could be deported.