Census data shows drop in white population

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- The white population is a dwindling segment of the U.S. population, with lower numbers reported in 15 states, the U.S. Census Bureau said.

The Census Bureau said the non-Hispanic white population is dropping in the Northeast and Midwest and showing only modest growth in the South and West, The Washington Post reported Thursday.

The bureau's analysis of 2010 data indicated the number of non-Hispanic whites rose over a 10-year period from 194.5 million to 197 million. Non-Hispanic whites represent 64 percent of the population, down from 69 percent a decade ago, data indicated.

The Census Bureau said the black population grew by 12 percent, making up nearly 13 percent of the total population. More than half live in the South, and six out of 10 blacks live in 10 states.

Whites are moving to the South, where the white population grew by 5 percent, and the West, which saw a 3 percent increase in its white population, the Post said. But the white population fell by 3 percent -- more than a million people -- in the Northeast and about 1 percent, or 300,000 people, in the Midwest.

The white population rose by at least 10 percent in Arizona, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah and Wyoming, the analysis indicated. The District of Columbia, considered a state by the Census Bureau for statistical purposes, reported a 32 percent jump in whites.

The decade also experienced an increase in the number of people who identified themselves as multiracial, the Post said. All states reported their multiple-race population rose by at least 8 percent.