Latinos accounted for more than 70% of the overall growth of the U.S. population between 2022 and 2023, an increase primarily driven by births, according to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates released on Thursday.
While Latinos of any race grew to more than 65 million — an increase of 1.16 million (1.8%) from the prior year — white Americans, with a population of 195 million, experienced a slight population loss of 461,612 (0.2%) from the previous year, the Census’ Vintage 2023 Population Estimates show.
“The Hispanic population is expanding at a substantially faster rate than the non-Hispanic population, primarily due to natural increase, that is, more births than deaths,” said Kristie Wilder, a demographer in the Census Bureau’s Population Division, in a statement.
Wilder noted that the growth of the non-Latino population was “tempered by a decline among non-Hispanic Whites, the largest demographic within the non-Hispanic category and the only one to experience a population loss.”
With nearly 630,000 more deaths than births, natural decrease was the main contributor to the non-Hispanic white population decline, according to the Census.
The Latino growth, the Census said, significantly contributed to the nation’s total population gain of 1.6 million in 2023.
With approximately 722,000 more births than deaths, natural increases are what largely drove the Latino population growth. International migration resulted in about one-third of the overall net gain in the Latino population, with 437,000 migrants coming into the country.
Latinos made up 19.5% of the U.S. population in 2023, making it the second largest group, with white Americans representing the largest share (58%) of the nation’s total population.
The Census, however, noted that the Latino population’s growth has been slower than in previous decades: 2.0% between 2012 and 2013, and 3.7% between 2002 and 2003.
