New U.S. Census data show Whatcom County’s increased diversity slowed in 2019
Whatcom County’s population continued to diversify last year, according to new estimates released Thursday, June 25, by the U.S. Census Bureau, but at a rate slower than seen in the last decade.
Whatcom’s nonwhite-only population increased at nearly twice the rate of those who identify as being solely white in 2019, according to the Census data. But that is actually slower than the county has seen since 2010, when growth rates for other races outpaced white-alone growth by more than three times.
Perhaps most dramatic was the slowing of Whatcom’s Black-alone population, which increased by just 12 people (0.4%) between July 1, 2018, and July 1, 2019, according to Census estimates. That is by far the slowest annual growth the demographic has seen in the county over the past decade and is a sharp drop from what Whatcom saw from 2016-18, when it averaged an annual increase of 136 people identifying as Black alone.
People who identify as white only still make up 86.2% of Whatcom County’s total population of 229,247 — a slight decrease from 86.4% in 2018, according to the data.
Whatcom’s Hispanic population — which according to Census Bureau’s definition includes people who identify as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish and may be any race, including white — grew by 4.3% in 2019 (922 people), continuing a trend that has seen that demographic increase by 41.4% since 2010 (6,581 people).
Whatcom’s nonwhite-only population is estimated to have grown by 924 people in 2019, according to the Census data. The 31,532 residents that identify at least partially as a race other than white represent a 3.0% growth over 2018’s estimate of 30,608. Since 2010, that demographic has grown by 8,178 people (35.0%).
But the growth in 2019 is actually the smallest Whatcom has seen since 2014, when the county’s nonwhite-only population is estimated to have grown by 721 people, Census data shows. Since 2014 the county’s nonwhite-only population has grown by more than 1,000 people and at least 3.8% annually.
The races that saw the largest growth rates last year in Whatcom County were those who identify as two or more races (4.3%), those who identify as Asian alone (3.9%) and those who identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (3.3%).
Those identifying as white alone in Whatcom County increased by 3,126 in 2019 to 197,715, the data shows, an increase of 1.6% over the 194,589 reported in 2018, when Whatcom’s white-alone population grew by 1.4%.
Since 2010 estimates, Whatcom’s white-only estimated population has grown by 19,524 people — an 11.0% growth. Overall, Census data shows the county’s estimated total population has grown by 13.7% since 2010 (27,702 people).
A look at what the latest Census estimates showed about Whatcom County’s racial makeup:
▪ Black alone: There were 2,893 people who identify as Black alone in 2019, which represents 1.3% of the county’s total population. The demographic has grown by 713 people since 2010 (32.7% increase).
▪ American Indian or Alaska Native alone: There were 7,786 people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native alone in 2019, which represents 3.4% of the county’s total population and an increase of 100 people from 2018 (1.3%). The demographic has grown by 1,475 people since 2010 (23.4% increase).
▪ Asian alone: There were 10,928 people who identify as Asian alone in 2019, which represents 4.8% of the county’s total population and an increase of 408 people. The demographic has grown by 3,511 people since 2010 (47.3% increase).
▪ Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone: There were 713 people who identify as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone in 2019, which represents 0.3% of the county’s total population and an increase of 23 people (3.3% increase). The demographic has grown by 129 people since 2010 (22.1% increase).
▪ Two or more races: There were 9,212 people who identified as being from two or more races in 2019, which represents 4.0% of the county’s total population and an increase of 381 people. The demographic has grown by 2,350 people since 2010 (34.2% increase).
National Census numbers
For the first time, nonwhites and Hispanics in the United States were a majority of people under age 16 in 2019, an expected demographic shift that will grow over the coming decades, according to figures released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.
“We are browning from bottom up in our age structure,” said William Frey, a senior fellow at The Brookings Institution. “This is going to be a diversified century for the United States, and it’s beginning with this youngest generation.”
At the same time, the number of non-Hispanic whites in the U.S. has gotten smaller in the past decade as deaths surpassed births in this aging demographic, according to the Census Bureau population estimates.
Since 2010, the number of whites who aren’t Hispanic had dropped by more than 16,600 people. But the decline has been escalating in the past three years, with the number of non-Hispanic whites dropping by more than a half-million people from 2016 to 2019, according to the Census Bureau population estimates.
In 2019, a little under 40% of the total U.S. population was either nonwhite or Hispanic. Non-Hispanic whites are expected to be a minority of the U.S. population in about 25 years.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
This story was originally published June 26, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
