2020 Census: How Wisconsin Has Changed Over A Decade

WISCONSIN — The last 10 years have marked a dramatic shift in the demographic makeup of the United States, with a marked shrinkage of the white population and the rapid growth of the Hispanic community.

These changes were reflected in Wisconsin, where the share of the white population fell by 3.4 percent while the Hispanic population grew by 33.1 percent.

The Hispanic boom accounted for almost half of the overall U.S. population growth, which was the slowest since the Great Depression, The Associated Press reported. By comparison, the non-Hispanic growth rate over the decade was 4.3%. The Hispanic share of the U.S. population grew to 18.7% of the U.S. population, up from 16.3% in 2010.

The share of the white population fell from 63.7 percent in 2010 to 57.8 percent in 2020, the lowest on record, driven by falling birthrates among white women compared with Hispanic and Asian women, AP reported. The number of non-Hispanic white people shrank from 196 million in 2010 to 191 million.

See Also: U.S. Is Diversifying, White Population Shrinking: Census Data

Wisconsin also showed an increase of its Black, Asian and Native American populations. The Asian population grew by 36 percent and the Native American population also grew by 10.8 percent between 2010 and 2020. The state's Black population grew slightly by 4.8 percent over the decade.

Wisconsin also showed an increase in the number of people who identified themselves as multiracial, although the reasons are complex. Experts say the increase reflects changes in the way people identify themselves as well the number of children born to parents of mixed races or ethnicities, along with changes in the wording of census forms themselves.

People who identified as two or more races rose in the state by 244.7 percent, or 255,217 people, between 2010 and 2020.

See Also: 5 Takeaways From The Release Of 2020 Census Data: AP Explainer

Census Data Sets Up Redistricting Fight Over Growing Suburbs