Hybrid()
Death Awaits You
Non-hispanic Whites are projected to account for 50% of US population by 2045.
These tipping point years occur later for older age groups, meaning that seniors, age 60 and above, will continue to be majority white after the year 2060. The latter can be attributable in the near term to the staying power of the largely white baby boom. In fact, over the 2018–2060 time span, the only white age group that does not lose population is the 65 and older age group, an age group that, overall, grows far more rapidly than any other.
Figure 4 makes clear how important minority populations will become for the nation’s youth even through 2060. At that point in time, the census projects whites will comprise only 36 percent of the under age 18 population, with Hispanics accounting for 32 percent. This contrasts sharply with the minority contribution to the nation’s seniors, which will still be over half white.
“Minority white” tipping points differ by age
Because minorities as a group are younger than whites, the minority white tipping point comes earlier for younger age groups. As shown in Figure 3, the new census projections indicate that, for youth under 18–the post-millennial population–minorities will outnumber whites in 2020. For those age 18-29–members of the younger labor force and voting age populations–the tipping point will occur in 2027.These tipping point years occur later for older age groups, meaning that seniors, age 60 and above, will continue to be majority white after the year 2060. The latter can be attributable in the near term to the staying power of the largely white baby boom. In fact, over the 2018–2060 time span, the only white age group that does not lose population is the 65 and older age group, an age group that, overall, grows far more rapidly than any other.
Youthful diversity as a counterweight to aging whites
Clearly it is the growth of the nation’s youthful minority population–attributable to a combination of past and present immigration and births among younger minority groups–that is keeping the nation from aging even faster than would otherwise be the case.Figure 4 makes clear how important minority populations will become for the nation’s youth even through 2060. At that point in time, the census projects whites will comprise only 36 percent of the under age 18 population, with Hispanics accounting for 32 percent. This contrasts sharply with the minority contribution to the nation’s seniors, which will still be over half white.