White people will no longer make up a majority of Americans by 2043, according to new census projections, part of a historic shift that is already reshaping the nation’s schools, workforce and electorate.
The official projection, released yesterday by the Census Bureau, places the tipping point for the white majority a year later than previous estimates, which were made before the impact of the recent economic downturn was fully known.
The country continues to grow and become more diverse due to higher birth rates among minorities, particularly Hispanics who entered the US at the height of the immigration boom in the 1990s and early 2000s. Since the mid-2000s housing bust, however, the arrival of immigrants from Mexico and other nations has slowed, reducing minority growth.