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((Short description|none))
((Use mdy dates|date=November 2021))
((Culture of the United States))
[[File:Population pyramid of the United States by race-ethnicity in 2020.svg|thumb|Population pyramid by race/ethnicity in 2020]]

The [[United States]] has a [[Race (human categorization)|racially]] and [[Ethnicity|ethnically]] [[Multiculturalism|diverse]] population.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/pop-profile/2000/chap16.pdf |title=Our Diverse Population: Race and Hispanic Origin, 2000 |access-date=April 16, 2005 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]))</ref> At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately. The most recent [[United States census]] recognized five [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|racial categories]] ([[White Americans|White]], [[African Americans|Black]], [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]/[[Alaska Natives|Alaska Native]], [[Asian Americans|Asian]], and [[Native Hawaiians|Native Hawaiian]]/[[Pacific Islander Americans|Other Pacific Islander]]), as well as [[Multiracial Americans|people who belong to two or more of the racial categories]].<ref name="Standards" /><ref name="Overview" /><ref name="PEPT4HL">((cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=United States Census Bureau website|work=2008 Population Estimates|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=February 28, 2010))</ref> The United States also recognizes the broader notion of ethnicity. The 2000 census and 2010 [[American Community Survey]] inquired about the "ancestry" of residents, while the 2020 census allowed people to enter their "origins".<ref>((Cite news |title=Irish Americans must respond to ethnic question in 2020 US Census |language=en |work= |url=https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/genealogy/irish-americans-respond-ethnic-question-2020-census.amp |access-date=May 5, 2021))</ref> The Census Bureau also classified respondents as either [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]], identifying as an [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|ethnicity]], which comprises the minority group in the nation.<ref name="Standards" /><ref name="Overview" /><ref name="PEPT4HL"/> 

White Americans are the majority in every census-defined region ([[Northeastern United States|Northeast]], [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]], [[Southern United States|South]], and [[Western United States|West]]) and in every state except [[Hawaii]],<ref name="auto">((Cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_16_1YR_CP05&prodType=table|title=2016 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|publisher=American Community Survey|website=U.S. Census Fact Finder|access-date=February 19, 2018|archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20190815044401/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_16_1YR_CP05&prodType=table|archive-date=August 15, 2019|url-status=dead))</ref> but contribute the highest proportion of the population in the Midwest, at 85% per the [[Population Estimates Program]] (PEP)<ref name="PEPT4HL" /> or 83% per the [[American Community Survey]] (ACS).<ref name=b02001>((cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=B02001. Race – Universe: Total Population|work=2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|access-date=February 28, 2010|publisher=United States Census Bureau))</ref>((Verify source|date=May 2014)) Non-Hispanic whites make up 79% of the Midwest's population, the highest proportion of any region.<ref name=PEPT4HL /> At the same time, the region with the smallest share of white Americans is the South, which comprise 53%.<ref name="PEPT4HL" />

Currently, 55% of the African American population lives in the South.<ref name="PEPT4HL" /> A plurality or majority of the other official groups reside in the West. The latter region is home to 42% of Hispanic and Latino Americans, 46% of Asian Americans, 48% of American Indians and Alaska Natives, 68% of Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, 37% of the "two or more races" population (Multiracial Americans), and 46% of those self-designated as "some other race".<ref name="PEPT4HL" /><ref name=b03002regions>((cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|title=B03002. Hispanic or Latino Origin by Race – Universe: Total Population by region|work=2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|access-date=March 2, 2010|publisher=United States Census Bureau))</ref>

Each of the five inhabited [[Territories of the United States|U.S. territories]] is fairly homogeneous, though each comprises a different primary ethnic group. [[American Samoa]] has a high percentage of Pacific Islanders, [[Guam]] and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] are mostly Asian and Pacific Islander, [[Puerto Rico]] is mostly Hispanic/Latino, and the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]] are mostly African American.<ref name="ASAmericanFactFinder"/><ref name="Guam_CNMI"/><ref name="PR_ACS"/><ref name="USVI"/>

==Racial and ethnic categories==
((Main|Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Demographics of the United States))

===Racial categories===
((bar box
|title= 2021 estimates, including separate category for Latino / Hispanic<ref name="our-changing-population">((Cite web |date=2023-05-18 |title=US population by year, race, age, ethnicity, & more |url=https://usafacts.org/data/topics/people-society/population-and-demographics/our-changing-population/ |access-date=2023-06-03 |website=USAFacts |language=en))</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1='''Self-identified race and ethnicity'''
|right1='''Percent of population'''
|float=right
|bars=
((bar percent|[[White Americans|White]]|Blue|59.3))
((bar percent|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic and Latino]]|Blue|18.9))
((bar percent|[[African Americans|Black]]|Blue|12.6))
((bar percent|[[Asian Americans|Asian]]|Blue|5.9))
((bar percent|[[Multiracial Americans|Two or more races]]|Blue|2.3))
((bar percent|[[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian or Alaska Native]]|Blue|0.7))
((bar percent|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Some other race]]|Blue|0.5))
((bar percent|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander]]|Blue|0.2))
))

((bar box
|title= 2020 U.S. census, spreading Latino / Hispanic based on their racial identification<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/race-and-ethnicity-in-the-united-state-2010-and-2020-census.html |title=Race and Ethnicity in the United States: 2010 Census and 2020 Census |publisher=US Census Bureau |access-date=December 2, 2021))</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1='''Self-identified race'''
|right1='''Percent of population'''
|float=right
|bars=
((bar percent|[[White Americans|White]]|Blue|61.6))
((bar percent|[[African Americans|Black or African American]]|Blue|12.4))
((bar percent|[[Multiracial Americans|Two or more races]]|Blue|10.2))
((bar percent|[[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|Some other race]]|Blue|8.4))
((bar percent|[[Asian Americans|Asian]]|Blue|6.0))
((bar percent|[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American or Alaska Native]]|Blue|2.9))
((bar percent|[[Pacific Islander Americans|Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander]]|Blue|0.2))
))

The first [[1790 United States census|United States census in 1790]] classed residents as free White people (divided by age and sex), all other free persons (reported by sex and color), and enslaved people. The 2000 census officially recognized six [[Race and ethnicity in the United States census|racial categories]] including people of two or more races; a category called "some other race" was also used in the census and other surveys, but is not official.<ref name="Standards" /><ref name="Overview" /><ref name="PEPT4HL" /> In the 2000 census and subsequent Census Bureau surveys, Americans self-described as belonging to these racial groups:<ref name="Overview">((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/cenbr01-1.pdf |title=Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2000 |access-date=January 30, 2008 |last=Grieco |first=Elizabeth M |author2=Rachel C. Cassidy |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]))</ref>
* '''[[White Americans|White American]], [[European Americans|European American]], or [[Middle Eastern Americans|Middle Eastern American]]''': those having origins in any of the original peoples of [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]], or [[North Africa]]. Following consultations with [[Middle East and North Africa]] (MENA) organizations, the [[United States Census Bureau|Census Bureau]] announced in 2014 that it would establish a new MENA ethnic category for populations from the Middle East, North Africa, and the [[Arab world]].<ref name="Menastrata">((cite web|title=Public Comments to NCT Federal Register Notice|url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/programs-surveys/decennial/2020-census/2015_census_tests/nct/2015-nct-frn.pdf|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau; Department of Commerce|access-date=April 19, 2016))</ref> However, this did not occur on the 2020 census.<ref>((Cite news|last=Alshammari|first=Yousef H|date=April 1, 2020|title=Why is there no MENA category on the 2020 US census?|work=[[Al Jazeera English|Al Jazeera]]|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/04/01/why-is-there-no-mena-category-on-the-2020-us-census/|access-date=September 25, 2020))</ref>
* '''[[African Americans|Black or African American]]''': those having origins in any of the native peoples of [[sub-Saharan Africa]]. For the 2000 census, this includes people who indicated their race or races as "Black, African Am., or Negro", or wrote in entries such as African American, Afro American, Nigerian, or Haitian.<ref name="Overview"/>
* '''[[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] or [[Alaska Natives|Alaska Native]]''': those having origins in any of the original peoples of [[North America|North]], [[Central America|Central]], and [[South America]].
* '''[[Asian Americans|Asian American]]''': those having origins in any of the original peoples of the [[Far East]], [[Southeast Asia]], and the [[Indian subcontinent]].
* '''[[Native Hawaiians|Native Hawaiian]] or [[Pacific Islander Americans|Other Pacific Islander]]''': those having origins in any of the original peoples of [[Polynesia]], [[Melanesia]], or [[Micronesia]].
* ''' Other''': respondents wrote how they identified themselves if different from the preceding categories (e.g. [[Romani people in the United States|Roma]] or [[Aboriginal Australians|Aboriginal/Indigenous Australian]]). However, 95% of the people who report in this category are [[Hispanic]] [[Mestizo]]s.<ref name="Overview" /><ref name=b03002regions /><ref>((cite web |title=Persons reporting some other race, percent, 2000 |access-date=July 19, 2019 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/help/en/some_other_race.htm |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200213004245/https://factfinder.census.gov/help/en/some_other_race.htm |archive-date=February 13, 2020 |url-status=dead ))</ref> This is not a standard OMB race category.<ref name="Overview" /> Responses have included mixed-race terms such as [[Métis]], [[Louisiana Creole people|Creole]], and [[Mulatto]], which are generally considered to be categories of multi-racial ancestry (see below),<ref name="racefactcb">((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/race/racefactcb.html |title=Racial and Ethnic Classifications Used in Census 2000 and Beyond |access-date=November 2, 2007 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20011127063008/http%3A//www%2Ecensus%2Egov/population/www/socdemo/race/racefactcb%2Ehtml |archive-date=November 27, 2001 ))</ref> but, write-in entries reported in the 2000 census also included [[Nationality|nationalities]] (as opposed to [[Ethnicity|ethnicities]]), such as [[South Africa]]n, [[Belize]]an, or [[Puerto Rico|Puerto Rican]], as well as other terms for mixed-race groups like [[Wesort]], [[Melungeon]], ''mixed'', ''interracial'', and others.
* '''Two or more races''', widely known as '''[[Multiracial Americans|multiracial]]''': those who check off and/or write in more than one race. There is no option labelled "two or more races" or "[[Multiracial people|multiracial]]" on census and other forms; people who report more than one of the foregoing six options are classified as people of "two or more races" in subsequent processing. Any respondent may identify with any number (including all six) of the racial categories.

In the census, people are asked about their racial identity, including their origins, and whether or not they are of Hispanic ethnicity.<ref>((cite web|url=https://ask.census.gov/faq.php?id=5000&faqId=191 |title=U.S. Census Bureau: FAQs |publisher=Ask.census.gov |access-date=May 16, 2013))</ref> These categories are sociopolitical constructs and should not be interpreted as being scientific or anthropological in nature.<ref name="Standards" /> They have been changed from one census to another, and the racial categories include both "racial" and national origin groups.<ref>[http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68178.htm The American FactFinder] ((webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090831085310/http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/meta/long_68178.htm |date=August 31, 2009 ))</ref><ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/census/race_ethnic_data.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813055015/http://www.eeoc.gov/stats/census/race_ethnic_data.html|url-status=dead|title=Introduction to Race and Ethnic (Hispanic Origin) Data for the Census 2000 Special EEO File|archive-date=August 13, 2009))</ref>

In 2007, the [[Equal Employment Opportunity Commission]] of the [[United States Department of Labor|U.S. Department of Labor]] finalized the update of its EEO-1 report<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.eeoc.gov/eeo1/index.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090813053315/http://www.eeoc.gov/eeo1/index.html|url-status=dead|title=Final Revisions of the Employer Information Report (EEO-1)|archive-date=August 13, 2009))</ref> format and guidelines concerning the definitions of racial or ethnic categories.

In March 2024, the [[Office of Management and Budget]] published revisions to [[Statistical Policy Directive]] No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity that address: (1) combined question for race and ethnicity; (2) adding a "Middle Eastern or North African ([[Middle East and North Africa|MENA]])" category; and (3) collecting additional detail to enable data disaggregation.<ref>((Cite web |last=Orvis |first=Karin |author-link=Karin Orvis |date=2024-03-28 |title=OMB Publishes Revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity ((!)) OMB |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/briefing-room/2024/03/28/omb-publishes-revisions-to-statistical-policy-directive-no-15-standards-for-maintaining-collecting-and-presenting-federal-data-on-race-and-ethnicity/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=The White House |language=en-US))</ref><ref>((Cite web |title=U.S. Office of Management and Budget's Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity |url=https://spd15revision.gov/ |access-date=March 28, 2024 |website=[[U.S. Office of Management and Budget]] Interagency Technical Working Group on Race and Ethnicity Standards))</ref>

===Census-designated ethnicities: Hispanic or Latino origin===
((See also|Race and ethnicity in Latin America|Ethnic groups in Latin America))

The question on Hispanic or Latino origin is separate from the question on race.<ref name="Overview" /><ref>((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/dmd/www/pdf/d61a.pdf |title=Short Form Questionnaire |access-date=May 5, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]))</ref> [[Hispanic and Latino Americans]] have ethnic origins in a Spanish-speaking country or [[Brazil]]. Latin American countries are, like the United States, racially diverse.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070613003008/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2075.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 13, 2007 |title=CIA – The World Factbook – Field Listing: Ethnic groups |access-date=April 2, 2010 |publisher=CIA))</ref> Consequently, no separate racial category exists for Hispanic and Latino Americans, as they do not constitute a race, nor a national group. When responding to the race question on the census form, each person is asked to choose from among the same racial categories as all Americans, and are included in the numbers reported for those races.<ref name="Guidance">((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/compraceho.html |title=U.S. Census Bureau Guidance on the Presentation and Comparison of Race and Hispanic Origin Data |access-date=April 6, 2007 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |quote=Race and Hispanic origin are two separate concepts in the federal statistical system. People who are Hispanic may be of any race. People in each race group may be either Hispanic or Not Hispanic. Each person has two attributes, their race (or races) and whether or not they are Hispanic.))</ref>

Each racial category may contain '''Non-Hispanic or Latino''' and '''Hispanic or Latino''' Americans. For example: the White or European American race category contains Non-Hispanic Whites and Hispanic Whites (see [[White Hispanic and Latino Americans]]); the Black or African American category contains Non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanic Blacks (see [[Black Hispanic and Latino Americans]]); the Asian-American category contains Non-Hispanic Asians and Hispanic Asians (see [[Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans]]), and likewise for all the other categories.

Self-identifying as both Hispanic or Latino ''and'' not Hispanic or Latino is neither explicitly allowed nor explicitly prohibited.<ref name="Standards">((cite web |url=https://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/1997standards.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040208185224/http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fedreg/1997standards.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 8, 2004 |title=Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity |access-date=May 5, 2008 |publisher=[[Office of Management and Budget]]))</ref>

===Ethnicity, national origin, and cultural groups (generally not mentioned in census data)===
((See also|Category:Lists of American people by ethnic or national origin))

==Social definitions of race==
((See also|Definitions of whiteness in the United States))
((+rs|date=June 2022|talk=Missing references))

Since the concept of race became widespread in the early United States, people of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] heritage, African heritage, and European heritage were considered to belong to different races. For nearly three centuries, the criteria for membership in these groups were similar; a person's appearance, their social circle (how they lived), and ancestry were all considered by society when determining someone's race. 

The motivations behind historical definitions of racial identity, especially Native American and black identities, have been the topic of much discussion in modern years. According to many [[anthropologist]]s, these racial designations were a means to concentrate power, wealth, privilege and land in the hands of white people in a society of [[White privilege|white hegemony and privilege]]. Racial distinctions generally had little to do with biology and more to do with the history of slavery, the systemic racism it produced, and specific forms of [[white supremacy]] that benefited from specific definitions of racial identity. For example, it has been suggested that the [[Blood quantum laws|blood quantum]] laws defining Native American identity enabled whites to acquire indigenous lands during the allotment process, and the [[One-drop rule|one-drop]] rule of black identity, enforced legally in the early 20th century, enabled them to preserve their agricultural labor force in the South.

The descendants of Native and Black Americans not only had to contend with laws defining their racial identity for the benefit of the majority, but also with a variety of social consequences depending on how they were perceived in society. Compared to other mixed Americans, the blood quantum laws made it easier for a person of mixed European and Native American ancestry to be accepted as white; after a few generations of intermarriage, the offspring of Native and White Americans would no longer legally be considered Native American. They could have treaty rights to land, but because an individual with only one native great-grandparent was no longer was classified as Native American, they lost legal claim to their land under historical allotment rules, making it easier for White Americans to acquire the land for their own development. On the other hand, the same individual who could be denied legal standing in a tribe because he was "too White" to claim property rights might still have enough visually identifiable native ancestry to be considered socially as a "[[half-breed]]" and stigmatized by both communities.

The 20th century one-drop rule made it relatively difficult for anyone of known black ancestry to be accepted as white. The child of a black [[Sharecropping|sharecropper]] and a white person was considered black by the local communities, and would likely become a sharecropper as well, thus adding to the landholder or employer's labor force. Because the agricultural economy of the time benefited from using Black Americans as a labor force, it was advantageous for as many people as possible to be defined as black. Many experts on the [[Jim Crow laws|Jim Crow period]] agree that the 20th century notion of invisible blackness shifted the color line in the direction of paleness, and "expanded" the labor force in response to Southern blacks' [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] to the North, although others (such as the historians [[C. Vann Woodward]], [[George M. Fredrickson]], and [[Stetson Kennedy]]) considered the one-drop rule a consequence of the need to justify the oppression of Black Americans and define whiteness as pure.

Over the centuries, as whites wielded social and political power over people of color in the United States, they created a social order of [[hypodescent]], in which they assigned mixed-race children to the lower-status groups. However, they were often ignorant of the systems of social classification within Native American tribes. The [[Omaha people]], for instance, who had a [[Patrilineality|patrilineal]] [[kinship]] system, classified all children with white fathers as "White", and excluded them as members of the tribe unless they were formally adopted by a male member. Tribal members might care for mixed-race children of White fathers, but they were considered outside the hereditary clan and kinship fundamental to tribal society.<ref name="TrueLogan">[http://www.usgennet.org/usa/ne/topic/resources/OLLibrary/collections/vol19/v19p064.htm Melvin Randolph Gilmore, "The True Logan Fontenelle"], ''Publications of the Nebraska State Historical Society,'' Vol. 19, edited by Albert Watkins, Nebraska State Historical Society, 1919, p. 64, at GenNet, accessed August 25, 2011</ref>

The social construction of hypodescent also related to the racial caste system associated with slavery. It was made explicit by [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]] and other colonies' laws as early as 1662. Virginia incorporated the Roman principle of [[partus sequitur ventrem]] into slave law, saying that children of enslaved mothers were born into slavery as well. Under English common law, children's social status was determined by the father, not the mother, but the colonists considered enslaved Africans outside the category of English subjects. Although White men were in positions of power to take sexual advantage of enslaved black women, this meant that their offspring would be considered Black and were enslaved regardless of their parentage. However, most free Black American families listed in the censuses of 1790–1810 were descended from unions between White women and African men in colonial Virginia, from the years when working classes lived and worked closely together, and before slavery had hardened as a racial caste.<ref name="heinegg">((Cite web|url=http://www.freeafricanamericans.com/|title=Home Page|website=www.freeafricanamericans.com))</ref>

In the United States, social and legal conventions developed over time by Whites classified individuals of mixed ancestry into simplified racial categories, but these were always flawed. The decennial censuses conducted since 1790, after slavery was well established in the United States, included a classification of persons by race, with the categories of "White", "Black", "[[Mulatto]]", and "Indian". The inclusion of mulatto was a rare explicit acknowledgement of mixed race people, but that status was usually simplified into one race or another in actual society. Before the Civil War, states such as Virginia had a legal definition of whiteness that classified people as white if they were no more than 1/8th black. For example, if not born into slavery, [[Thomas Jefferson]]'s children by his slave [[Sally Hemings]] would have been classified as legally white, as they were 7/8ths White by ancestry. Three of the four surviving children entered white society as adults, and their descendants have identified as white. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, people of mixed race often migrated to frontiers where societies were more open, and they might be accepted as white if they satisfied obligations of citizenship.<ref name="heinegg" /> 

The more familiar "[[one-drop rule]]" was not adopted by Virginia and other states until the 20th century, but it classified persons with any known African ancestry as black. Passage of these laws was often encouraged by white supremacists and people promoting "racial purity", who disregarded the long history of multi-racial unions in the South.<ref>Jones, Suzanne W., ''Race Mixing: Southern Fiction Since the Sixties'', JHU Press, 2006, p. 186, ((ISBN|9780801883934)) [https://books.google.com/books?id=-G0clCdcSSkC&pg=PA186]</ref> In other countries in the [[Americas]], where mixing among groups was overtly more extensive, social categories have tended to be more numerous and fluid. In some cases, people may move into or out of categories on the basis of a combination of socioeconomic status, social class, ancestry, and appearance.

The term [[Hispanic]] as an [[ethnonym]] emerged in the 20th century, with the rise of migration of laborers from [[Spanish-speaking countries]] of the western hemisphere to the United States. It includes people who may have been considered racially distinct (black, white, native, or other mixed groups) in their home countries. Today, the word "Latino" is often used as a synonym for "Hispanic". Even if such categories were earlier understood as racial categories, today they have begun to represent ethnolinguistic categories, regardless of perceived race. Similarly, the prefix "[[Anglo]]" is now used among many Hispanics to refer to non-Hispanic [[White Americans]] or [[European Americans]], most of whom speak the English language but are not of primarily [[English people|English]] descent. A similar phenomenon of ethnolinguistic identity can historically (and in some cases contemporarily) be seen in the case of the [[Louisiana Creole people]], who may be of any race but share certain cultural characteristics.

==Historical trends and influences==
The growth of the Hispanic population through [[immigration]] and high [[birth rate]]s is noted as a partial factor for U.S. population gains in the last quarter-century. The [[2000 United States census|2000 census]] revealed that Native Americans had reached their highest documented population, 4.5 million, since the U.S. was founded in 1776.<ref name="Overview" /> In some cases, immigrants and migrants have formed [[ethnic enclave]]s; in others, this mixture of races has created ethnically diverse communities. Earlier [[Immigration|immigrants]] to the Americas came from widely separated regions of [[Afro-Eurasia]], and American immigrant populations frequently [[Miscegenation|mixed]] among themselves and with the [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous inhabitants of the continents]], creating a complex multiracial population. 

Throughout American history, efforts to classify the increasingly mixed population of the United States into discrete categories have generated many difficulties. Early efforts to track mixing between groups led to a proliferation of historical categories (such as "mulatto" and "[[Quadroon|octaroon]]" among persons with partial African descent) and "blood quantum" distinctions, which became increasingly detached from self-reported ancestry. By the standards used in early censuses, many mixed-race children born in the U.S. were classified as of a different race than one of their biological parents, and even when these standards were no longer commonly accepted, the combination of social perceptions of race and self-identification with a racial identity frequently complicated legal standards of racial identity. Even people who did not identify as mixed faced the issue of unclear legal terminology; until the 2000 census, [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic Americans]] were required to identify as one race on censuses, and without the option to select Latino or Hispanic, confusion flourished.

Historical trends influencing the ethnic [[demographics of the United States]] include:
* '''Patterns of original settlement'''
** [[Prehistoric migration and settlement of the Americas from Asia|Settlement of the Americas]] by [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Native American]] [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] and [[Alaska Natives|Alaska Native]] peoples in several waves over thousands of years, beginning at least 15,000 years ago
** [[Polynesian expansion|Settlement of Pacific islands]] by Polynesian people, including [[Native Hawaiians]], [[Samoans]] in [[American Samoa]],<ref>((cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/American-Samoa/Government-and-society |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |edition=Online |title=American Samoa: Government and society |access-date=July 1, 2020))</ref> and the [[Chamorro people|Chamorros]] in [[Guam]] and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]]
** Settlement of [[Antilles|the Antilles]], including the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]] and [[Puerto Rico]], by the "[[Ortoiroid people|Ortoiroid]]" people, and later by the [[Arawak]]-speaking [[Saladoid|ancestors]] of the [[Taíno people|Taíno]], [[Ciboney]], and [[Kalinago]] people
* '''Colonization'''
** [[Spanish colonization of the Americas]], including [[Florida]], [[Southwestern United States|the Southwest]], and Puerto Rico, which are all today considered part of the United States
** [[French colonization of the Americas]], including the [[Old Northwest]] and the lower Mississippi River; historical events, including the [[Expulsion of the Acadians]], influenced the ethnic mix, especially in [[Louisiana]], northern [[New England]], and [[New York (state)|New York]]
** [[Dutch colonization of the Americas]], mainly of the [[Hudson River]]
** [[British colonization of the Americas]], beginning with Caribbean and the [[Thirteen Colonies]]
** [[Danish colonization of the Americas]], including what is now known as the [[United States Virgin Islands]]
* [[Penal transportation]] to the Americas of [[Felony|felons]] under British rule
* The popularity of [[Indentured servitude in British America|indentured servitude]], usually from Ireland, until the late 18th century
* The '''[[Atlantic slave trade]]''', which brought millions of Africans to the South, Caribbean, and Latin America
* [[Population history of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Severe reduction]] of Native American populations in the contiguous United States, largely due to new infectious diseases carried by European colonists combined with genocidal warfare
* '''Forced migration'''
** Deportation and flight of [[United Empire Loyalist]]s to Canada, the Caribbean, and Britain after the [[American Revolution]]
** Forced removal of more than one million African Americans in the domestic slave trade from the Upper South to the Deep South during the early 19th century as Americans developed new lands for [[Plantation complexes in the Southern United States|plantations]]
** Territorial conflict with Native Americans and the [[Indian removal]] policy of the 19th century displaced many remaining native populations from east of the Mississippi River to territories to the west, especially to what is now [[Oklahoma]]
* '''Immigration'''
** [[History of immigration to the United States|Historical immigration to the United States]] from all countries of the world for religious, political and economic reasons, influenced by [[Immigration policy of the United States|laws concerning immigration and naturalization in the United States]] and [[illegal immigration to the United States]], which denied various entry due to discrimination, economic protectionism, and political conflict with their nation of origin
** [[Transatlantic migrations]] from Europe, especially in the 19th century, which created ethnic enclaves in many eastern cities and settling many rural areas east of the Mississippi
** [[Asian immigration to the United States|Immigration from Asia]], which has had the most influence on [[Hawaii]] and the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]]
** Immigration from Mexico and Latin America, which has strongly influenced the Southwest
* '''[[Territorial evolution of the United States|Westward expansion of the United States]]'''
** The [[Royal Proclamation of 1763]], which restricted the western boundary of European settlement to the watershed east of the Appalachian Mountains
** The [[Homestead Act]], which promoted settlement west of the Mississippi after the [[Louisiana Purchase]]
** [[Utah#Latter Day Saint settlement (1847)|Settlement of Utah by members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
** [[California Gold Rush]]
** [[Oregon Trail]]
** The [[Klondike Gold Rush]], which promoted settlement of Alaska
* '''Internal migration'''
** African Americans escaping from slavery prior to the Civil War, sometimes via the [[Underground Railroad]], and reaching the free North 
** The [[American Industrial Revolution]], which promoted urbanization of what was previously a largely agrarian society
** [[Transportation in the United States|Improved transportation systems]] increasing the ease of American migration through the country
** The [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]] and [[Second Great Migration (African American)|Second Great Migration]], in which Black Americans moved to Northern, Midwestern, and Western cities in order to seek economic opportunity and escape racial violence
** [[Railroad]]s, promoting migration westwards and [[streetcar suburb]]s, which created significant ethnic shifts in urban areas
** Natural disasters such as the [[Dust Bowl]]
** The suburbanization period after World War II, which produced "[[white flight]]" to new housing and away from social unrest, followed by "[[black flight]]"
** The development of [[air conditioning]], which encouraged migration from northern areas to the [[Sun Belt]]

==Racial makeup of the U.S. population==
For demographics by specific ethnic groups rather than general race, see "Ancestry" below.

===White and European Americans===
((Main|European Americans|White Americans))
[[File:White America (of one race) from 1960 to 2020.gif|thumb|513x513px|White Americans of one race (or alone) from 1960 to 2020]]

White and European Americans are the majority of people living in the United States. [[White people]] are defined by the [[United States Census Bureau]] as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of [[Europe]], the [[Middle East]], or [[North Africa]]".<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/race/about.html|title=About the Topic of Race|access-date=Dec 7, 2022))</ref> Like all official U.S. racial categories, "White" has a "[[Non-Hispanic Whites|not Hispanic or Latino]]" and a "[[White Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]" component,<ref name=Census>((cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-4.pdf|title=The White Population: 2000|publisher=United States Census Bureau|date=August 2001|access-date=March 10, 2011))</ref> the latter consisting mostly of [[White Mexicans|White]] [[Mexican Americans]] and [[White Cubans|White]] [[Cuban Americans]].

As of 2019, [[White Americans]] are the majority in 49 of the 50 states (plus [[Puerto Rico]]). White Americans are not a majority in [[Hawaii]], the [[Washington, D.C.|District of Columbia]], [[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], the [[Northern Mariana Islands]], and the [[United States Virgin Islands|U.S. Virgin Islands]].<ref name="HI">((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/HI |title=Quick Facts: Hawaii |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2022))<br />((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/DC |title=Quick Facts: District of Columbia |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2022))<br />((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/PR |title=Quick Facts: Puerto Rico |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2022))</ref><ref name="AS1">((cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPAS_ASDP1&prodType=table |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503200517/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPAS_ASDP1&prodType=table |archive-date=May 3, 2017 |work=American FactFinder |title=American Samoa 2010 Demographic Profile |access-date=July 25, 2020))</ref><ref name="GU1">((cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPGU_GUDP1&prodType=table |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413071617/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPGU_GUDP1&prodType=table |archive-date=April 13, 2016 |title=American FactFinder |publisher=United States Census Bureau))<br />
((cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPMP_MPDP1&prodType=table |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212212938/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPMP_MPDP1&prodType=table |archive-date=February 12, 2020 |title=American FactFinder |publisher=United States Census Bureau))</ref><ref name="VI1">((citation |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/virgin-islands/ |work=CIA World Factbook |title=U.S. Virgin Islands |access-date=July 25, 2020))</ref> As of 2019, non-Hispanic Whites are a majority in 44 states, excluding [[California]], [[Hawaii]], [[Maryland]], [[Nevada]], [[New Mexico]], [[Texas]], the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.<ref name="HI"/><ref name="CA1">((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/CA |title=Quick Facts: California |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2022)) <br />((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MD |title=Quick Facts: Maryland |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2022)) <br />((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/NV |title=Quick Facts: Nevada |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2022))<br />((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/NM |title=Quick Facts: New Mexico |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2022))<br />((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/TX |title=Quick Facts: Texas |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=February 10, 2022))</ref><ref name="AS1"/><ref name="GU1"/><ref name="VI1"/><ref>((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/005514.html |title=Texas Becomes Nation's Newest "Majority-Minority" State, Census Bureau Announces |access-date=May 5, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080420121231/http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/005514.html <!--bot retrieved archive--> |archive-date = April 20, 2008))</ref>

The non-Hispanic White percentage of the 50 states and District of Columbia (60.1% in 2019)<ref name="US2019">((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219 |publisher=U.S. Census Bureau |title=QuickFacts: United States |access-date=July 25, 2020))</ref> has been decreasing since the mid-20th century as a result of changes made in immigration policy, most notably the [[Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965|Hart–Celler Act]] of 1965. If current trends continue, non-Hispanic Whites will drop below 50% of the overall U.S. population by 2043. White Americans overall (non-Hispanic Whites together with [[White Hispanics]]) are projected to continue as the majority, at 73% (or 303 million out of 420 million) in 2005, from currently 77%.

Although a high proportion of the population is known to have multiple ancestries, in the 2000 U.S. census, the first with the option to choose more than one, most people still identified with one racial category.((Citation needed|date=June 2016)) In the 2000 census, self-identified [[German Americans]] made up 17% of the U.S. population, followed by [[Irish Americans]] at 12%, as reported in the 2000 census. This makes German and Irish the largest and second-largest self-reported ancestry groups in the United States. Both groups had high rates of [[Immigration to the United States|immigration to the U.S.]] beginning in the mid-19th century, triggered by the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Great Famine]] in Ireland and the failed [[German revolutions of 1848–1849|1848 Revolution]] in Germany. [[English Americans]] and [[British Americans]] are still considered the largest ethnic group, despite the statistical errors caused by events such as the confusion in the 2000 census where many English and British Americans self-identified under the new category entry "American", thus considering themselves indigenous because their families had resided in the US for so long,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=SVoAXh-dNuYC&dq=Sharing+the+dream:+white+males+in+multicultural+America++english+ancestry&pg=PA57 Sharing the Dream: White Males in a Multicultural America] By Dominic J. Pulera.</ref><ref>((Cite journal|last=Farley|first=Reynolds|date=January 1, 1991|title=The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?|jstor=2061465|journal=Demography|volume=28|issue=3|pages=411–429|doi=10.2307/2061465|pmid=1936376|s2cid=41503995|doi-access=free))</ref><ref>Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns', ''Social Science Research'', Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44–46.</ref><ref>Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, 'Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites', ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82–86.</ref> or, if of mixed European ancestry, identified with a more recent and differentiated ethnic group.<ref name="waters1990">Mary C. Waters, ''Ethnic Options: Choosing Identities in America'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1990), p. 36.</ref> 7.2% of the population listed their ancestry as American on the 2000 census (see [[American ancestry]]). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of people in the U.S. who reported American and no other ancestry increased from 12.4 million in 1990 to 20.2 million in 2000. This change in reporting represented the largest "growth" of any ethnic group in the United States during the 1990s, but it represented how people reported themselves more than growth through birth rates, for instance, and certainly did not reflect immigration.

Most [[French Americans]] are believed to be descended from colonists of Catholic [[New France]]; exiled [[Huguenots]], much fewer in number and settling in the eastern English colonies in the late 1600s and early 1700s, needed to assimilate into the majority culture and have intermarried over generations. Some [[Louisiana Creole people|Louisiana Creoles]], including the [[Isleños in Louisiana|Isleños of Louisiana]], and the Hispanos of the [[Southwestern United States|Southwest]] have had, in part, direct Spanish ancestry; most self-reported White Hispanics are of [[Mexican Americans|Mexican]], [[Puerto Ricans in the United States|Puerto Rican]], [[Cuban Americans|Cuban]], and [[Salvadoran American|Salvadoran]] origins,<ref>((cite web |title=The Hispanic Population: 2010 |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf |website=census.gov |publisher=U.S. Department of Commerce |access-date=August 13, 2021))</ref> each of which are multi-ethnic nations. Hispanic immigration has increased from nations of Central and South America.<ref name="PHC">((cite web |url=http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/35.pdf |title=Shades of Belonging |last=Tafoya |first=Sonya |year=2004 |publisher=[[Pew Research Center|Pew Hispanic Center]] |access-date=January 22, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080528123221/http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/35.pdf |archive-date=May 28, 2008 |url-status=dead ))</ref>

There are a substantial number of White Americans who are of Eastern and Southern European descent, such as [[Russian Americans|Russian]], [[Polish Americans|Polish]], [[Italian Americans|Italian]], and [[Greek Americans]]. Eastern Europeans immigrated to the United States more recently than Western Europeans. [[Arab Americans|Arabs]], [[Turkish Americans|Turks]], [[Iranian Americans|Iranians]], [[Israeli Americans|Israelis]], [[Armenian Americans|Armenians]], and other West Asians are reported as White in the United States census, as a result of a federal court case from 1909, even though most do not identify as White.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Arab-Americans-others-of-Middle-Eastern-descent-14075860.php|title=Arab Americans, others of Middle Eastern descent say Census forms make them feel invisible|first=Massarah|last=Mikati|date=July 6, 2019|website=Houston Chronicle))</ref>

===Middle Eastern and North African Americans===
((Main|Middle Eastern Americans|Arab Americans|North Africans in the United States))

There are an estimated 9–10 million Middle Eastern Americans according to the U.S. Census Bureau,<ref>((cite web|url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_SPT_B01003&prodType=table|title=2015 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates|website=B01003|publisher=2011–2015 American Community Survey Selected Population Tables|access-date=February 6, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214060820/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_15_SPT_B01003&prodType=table|archive-date=February 14, 2020|url-status=dead))</ref> including both Arab and non-Arab Americans,<ref>((cite book|title=The Arab Americans|last1=Kayyali|first1=Randa|date=2006|publisher=Greenwood Press|location=Westport, CT|pages=45–64))</ref> comprising 0.6% of the total U.S. population; however, the [[Arab American Institute]] estimates a population closer to 3.6 million.<ref name=":0">((cite web|url=https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/aai/pages/9843/attachments/original/1460668240/National_Demographic_Profile_2014.pdf?1460668240|title=Demographics|author1=Arab American Institute Foundation|date=2014|access-date=February 6, 2018))</ref> U.S. census population estimates are based on responses to the ancestry question on the census, which makes it difficult to accurately count Middle Eastern Americans.<ref name=":0" /><ref>((cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/censr-21.pdf|title=We the People of Arab Ancestry in the United States|author1=Angela Brittingham|author2=G. Patricia de la Cruz|date=2005|website=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=February 6, 2018))</ref> Though Middle Eastern American communities can be found in each of the 50 states, the majority live in just 10 states; nearly a third live in California, New York, and Michigan.<ref name=":1">((Cite web|url=https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/aai/pages/9843/attachments/original/1432919063/quickfacts.pdf?1432919063|title=Quick Facts about Arab Americans|website=Arab American Institute|access-date=February 9, 2018))</ref> More Middle Eastern Americans live in California than any other state, with ethnic groups such as Arabs, Persians, and Armenians being a large percentage, but Middle Eastern Americans represent the highest percentage of the population of Michigan.<ref name=":1" /><ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.arabamerica.com/california/|title=Arab American community in California, the largest|website=Arab America))</ref> In particular, [[Dearborn, Michigan]] has [[History of the Middle Eastern people in Metro Detroit|long been home]] to a high concentration of Middle Eastern Americans.<ref>((Cite book|title=Arab Detroit: From Margin to Mainstream.|last1=Nabeel|first1=Abraham|last2=Shryock|first2=Andrew|publisher=Wayne State University Press|year=2000|isbn=9780814328125|location=Detroit, Michigan|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/arabdetroitfromm00))</ref><ref>((Cite book|title=Arabs in Michigan|last=Hassoun|first=Rosina|publisher=Michigan State University Press|year=2005|isbn=9780870136672|location=East Lansing, Michigan))</ref>

The U.S. Census Bureau is still finalizing the ethnic classification of MENA populations. Middle Eastern Americans are currently counted as racially White on the census, although many do not identify as such. In 2012, prompted in part by post-9/11 discrimination, the [[American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee]] petitioned the Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency to designate the MENA populations as a minority/disadvantaged community.<ref name="usatoday.com">[https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/08/13/stateline-census-mena-africa-mideast/13999239/ "Lobbying for a 'MENA' category on U.S. Census"] Wiltz, Teresea. USA Today. Published October 7, 2014. Accessed December 14, 2015.</ref> Following consultations with MENA organizations, the U.S. Census Bureau announced in 2014 that it would establish a new MENA ethnic category for populations from the [[Middle East]], [[North Africa]], and the [[Arab world]], separate from the "white" classification that these populations had previously sought in 1909. The expert groups felt that the earlier "White" designation no longer accurately represents MENA identity, so they successfully lobbied for a distinct categorization.<ref name="Menastrata" /><ref name="Nussbaum">((cite news|last1=Cohen|first1=Debra Nussbaum|title=New U.S. Census Category to Include Israeli' Option|url=http://www.haaretz.com/jewish/features/.premium-1.661491|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=December 16, 2015))</ref> This process does not currently include ethnoreligious groups such as [[Sikh]]s, as the Bureau only tabulates these groups as followers of religions rather than members of ethnic groups.<ref name="MENA1">((cite web|title=2015 National Content Test|url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/programs-surveys/decennial/2020-census/2015_census_tests/nct/2015-nct-omb-package.pdf|pages=33–34|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|quote=The Office of Management and Budget is undertaking related mid-decade research for coding and classifying detailed national origins and ethnic groups,and is considering adding a Middle Eastern or North African checkbox in a combined race and ethnicity question. Our consultations with external experts on the Asian community have also suggested Sikh receive a unique code classified under Asian. The Census Bureau does not currently tabulate on religious responses to the race or ethnic questions (e.g., Sikh, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, Lutheran, etc.).|access-date=December 13, 2015))</ref>

According to the Arab American Institute, countries of origin for Arab Americans include [[Algeria]], [[Bahrain]], [[Egypt]], [[Iraq]], [[Jordan]], [[Kuwait]], [[Lebanon]], [[Libya]], [[Morocco]], [[Oman]], [[Qatar]], [[State of Palestine|Palestine]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Syria]], [[Tunisia]], [[United Arab Emirates]], and [[Yemen]]. As of December 2015, the sampling strata for the new MENA category includes the Census Bureau's working classification of 19 MENA groups, as well as Armenian, [[Afghan Americans|Afghan]], Iranian, [[Azerbaijani Americans|Azerbaijani]], and [[Georgian Americans|Georgian]] groups.<ref name="MENA2">((cite web|title=2015 National Content Test|url=https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/programs-surveys/decennial/2020-census/2015_census_tests/nct/2015-nct-omb-package.pdf|page=60|publisher=U.S. Census Bureau|access-date=December 13, 2015))</ref>

===Hispanic and Latino Americans===
((Main|Hispanic and Latino Americans))

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="float:right; font-size:85%"
|+'''[[Hispanic and Latino Americans]] by race (2010)<ref name=c2010>((cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-02.pdf |title=Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin: 2010 |access-date=January 2, 2015 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |date=March 2011 |first1=Karen R. |last1=Humes |first2=Nicholas A. |last2=Jones |first3=Roberto R. |last3=Ramirez))</ref>'''
|-
!Race||Population||% of all Hispanic<br /> and Latino Americans
!% of total U.S.
population
|-
|[[White Hispanic and Latino Americans|White]]
|26,735,714
|53.0
|8.7
|-
|Some other race<br />([[Mestizo]], etc.)
|18,503,103
|36.7
|6.0
|-
|Two or more races
|3,042,592
|6.0
|1.0
|-
|[[Black Hispanic and Latino Americans|Black]]
|1,243,471
|2.5
|0.4
|-
|[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|American Indian]] and [[Alaska Natives|Alaska Native]]
|685,150
|1.4
|0.2
|-
|[[Asian Hispanic and Latino Americans|Asian]]
|209,128
|0.4
|<0.1
|-
|[[Native Hawaiians|Native Hawaiian]] and [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]]
|58,437
|0.1
|<0.1
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''50,477,594'''
|'''100.0'''
|'''16.3'''
|}

[[Hispanic and Latino Americans]] constitute 59.8 million people, or 18.3% of the total U.S. population as of 2018.<ref>((cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B03002&tid=ACSDT1Y2018.B03002&lastDisplayedRow=20&hidePreview=true&vintage=2018&layer=county&cid=B03002_001E&y=2018&table=B03002&g=0100000US|title=B03002 HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY RACE – United States – 2018 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|date=July 1, 2018 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=November 25, 2019))</ref> The category includes people who are of full or partial Hispanic or Latino origin. They typically have origins in the Spanish-speaking nations of Latin America, although a few also come from other places (0.2% of Hispanic and Latino Americans were born in Asia, for example).<ref name=popprofile>((cite web |url=http://www.factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-reg=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201:400;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR:400;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T:400;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:400&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format= |title=United States – Selected Population Profile in the United States (Hispanic or Latino (of any race)) |work=2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=April 8, 2010 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20100902082439/http://www.factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=NBSP&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-ds_name=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_&-reg=ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201:400;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201PR:400;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201T:400;ACS_2008_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:400&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format= |archive-date=September 2, 2010 |url-status=dead ))</ref> The group is heterogeneous in race and national ancestry.

The Census Bureau defines "Hispanic or Latino origin" thus:
((cquote
|For Census 2000, American Community Survey: People who identify with the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the Census 2000 or ACS questionnaire ("Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban") as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino". Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person, or the person's parents or ancestors, before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any race.<ref>((cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/help/en/hispanic_or_latino_origin.htm |title=American FactFinder Help; Hispanic or Latino origin |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=September 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20170524223029/https://factfinder.census.gov/help/en/hispanic_or_latino_origin.htm |archive-date=May 24, 2017 |url-status=dead ))</ref>))

Per the 2019 [[American Community Survey]], the leading ancestries for Hispanic Americans are [[Mexican Americans|Mexican]] (37.2 million) followed by [[Stateside Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]] (5.83 million), [[Cuban Americans|Cuban]] (2.38 million), and [[Salvadoran Americans|Salvadoran]] (2.31 million).<ref name=ACS-B03001-2019>((cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=B03001%3A%20HISPANIC%20OR%20LATINO%20ORIGIN%20BY%20SPECIFIC%20ORIGIN&tid=ACSDT1Y2019.B03001&hidePreview=true|title=B03001 HISPANIC OR LATINO ORIGIN BY SPECIFIC ORIGIN - United States - 2019 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates|date=July 1, 2019 |publisher=United States Census Bureau  |access-date=February 4, 2021))</ref> In addition, there are 3.19 million people living in Puerto Rico who are excluded from the count (see [[Puerto Ricans]]).

The Hispanic and Latino population in the United States has reached 58 million as of 2016, and has been the principal driver of United States demographic growth since 2000. Mexicans make up most of the Hispanic and Latino population at 35,758,000. The United States also has large [[Dominican Americans|Dominican]], [[Guatemalan Americans|Guatemalan]], [[Colombian Americans|Colombian]], [[Honduran Americans|Honduran]], [[Spanish Americans|Spanish]], [[Ecuadorian Americans|Ecuadorian]], [[Peruvian Americans|Peruvian]], [[Salvadoran Americans|Salvadoran]], [[Nicaraguan Americans|Nicaraguan]], [[Venezuelan Americans|Venezuelan]], [[Argentine Americans|Argentine]], and [[Panamanian Americans|Panamanian]] populations.<ref> ((cite web |last1=Noe-Bustamante |first1=Luis |last2=Flores |first2=Antonio |last3=Shah |first3=Sono |title=Facts on Hispanics of Honduran origin in the United States, 2017 |url=https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/fact-sheet/u-s-hispanics-facts-on-honduran-origin-latinos/ |access-date=February 10, 2022 |publisher=Pew Research Center))</ref> The population of Hispanic Americans that has received a college education is also growing; in 2015, 40% of Hispanic Americans age 25 and older have had a college experience, but in 2000, the percentage was at a low 30%. Among U.S. states, California houses the largest population of Latinos. In 2019, 15.56 million lived in California.<ref name="CA1" /><ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2017/09/18/how-the-u-s-hispanic-population-is-changing/|title=How the U.S. Hispanic population is changing|first=Antonio|last=Flores |date=September 18, 2017 |website=Pew Research Center ))</ref> As of 2019, the U.S. territory with the largest percentage of Hispanics/Latinos is [[Puerto Rico]] (98.9% Hispanic or Latino).<ref name="HI" /><ref name="PR_ACS">((cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_17_5YR_DP05&prodType=table |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200214010714/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=ACS_17_5YR_DP05&prodType=table |archive-date=February 14, 2020 |work=American FactFinder |title=Puerto Rico (ACS 2013–2017 population estimates) |access-date=November 29, 2019))</ref>

The Hispanic or Latino population is young and fast-growing, due to immigration and higher birth rates.<ref name=popprofile /> For decades it has contributed significantly to U.S. population increases, and this is expected to continue. The Census Bureau projects that by 2050, one-quarter of the population will be Hispanic or Latino.<ref name=projection>((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj/natprojtab01a.pdf |title=Projected Population of the United States, by Race and Hispanic Origin: 2000 to 2050 |date=2004 |access-date=May 5, 2008 |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080306035846/http://www.census.gov/ipc/www/usinterimproj/natprojtab01a.pdf <!--bot retrieved archive--> |archive-date = March 6, 2008))</ref><ref>((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html |title=US Census Press Releases |access-date=May 5, 2008 |date=March 18, 2004 |publisher=United States Census Bureau |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080313083717/http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.html <!--bot retrieved archive--> |archive-date = March 13, 2008))</ref>

===African Americans===
((Main|African Americans))

[[African Americans]], or Black Americans, are citizens of the United States with [[Africa]]n ancestry.<ref name="IOM">((cite web|title=Race, Ethnicity, and Language data – Standardization for Health Care Quality Improvement|url=http://www.ahrq.gov/sites/default/files/publications/files/iomracereport.pdf|publisher=Institute of Medicine of the National Academies|access-date=May 10, 2016))</ref> According to the [[Office of Management and Budget]], the grouping includes individuals who self-identify as African American and are descended from Africans that were forcibly relocated to the United States and enslaved, as well as those who recently and voluntarily emigrated from nations in the [[Caribbean]] and [[sub-Saharan Africa]].<ref name="2010USCBAA">((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-06.pdf |title=The Black Population: 2010 |author=Sonya Tastogi |author2=Tallese D. Johnson |author3=Elizabeth M. Hoeffel |author4=Malcolm P. Drewery, Jr. |date=September 2011 |work=United States Census Bureau |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |access-date=September 11, 2012))</ref> Both groups of people may also identify as Black or some other written-in race. However, some immigrants from the continent of Africa do not identify as Black and are not socially perceived as such, such as the [[Afrikaners]] of [[South Africa]].<ref name="IOM"/> According to the 2009 American Community Survey, there were 38,093,725 Black and African Americans in the United States, representing 12.4% of the population. There were 37,144,530 non-Hispanic Blacks, which comprised 12.1% of the population.<ref name="factfinder.census.gov">[http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_DP5&-ds_name=&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format= United States((snd))ACS Demographic and Housing Estimates: 2009] ((Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20200211182353/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/ADPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_DP5&-ds_name=&-_lang=en&-redoLog=false&-format= |date=February 11, 2020 )). Factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved December 9, 2010.</ref> According to the [[2010 United States census|2010 U.S. census]], this number increased to 42 million when including [[Multiracial Americans|multiracial]] African Americans,<ref name="2010USCBAA"/> making up 13% of the total U.S. population.((efn|Of the foreign-born population from [[Africa]] (1,607 thousand), in 2010, 46% were naturalized.<ref name="fbpACS2010">((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acs-19.pdf |title=The Foreign Born Population in the United States: 2010 |last1=Grieco |first1=Elizabeth M. |last2=Acosta |first2=Yesenia D. |last3=de la Cruz |first3=G. Patricia |last4=Gamino |first4=Christina |last5=Gryn |first5=Thomas |last6=Larsen |first6=Luke J. |last7=Trevelyan |first7=Edward N. |last8=Walters |first8=Nathan P. |date=May 2012 |website=American Community Survey Reports |publisher=United States Census Bureau |access-date=January 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150209224630/http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/acs-19.pdf |archive-date=February 9, 2015 |url-status=dead ))</ref>))<ref name="NRC201029SEP11">((cite web |url=http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn185.html |title=2010 Census Shows Black Population has Highest Concentration in the South |date=September 29, 2011 |work=United States Census Bureau |publisher=United States Department of Commerce |access-date=September 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120915180008/http://2010.census.gov/news/releases/operations/cb11-cn185.html |archive-date=September 15, 2012 |url-status=dead ))</ref> African Americans make up the second largest group in the United States, but the third largest group after White Americans and Hispanic or Latino Americans of any race.<ref name="tthqvu">((cite web|url=http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_SF1_QTP3&prodType=table|title=American FactFinder – Results|first=U.S. Census|last=Bureau|website=factfinder2.census.gov))((Dead link|date=November 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes ))</ref> The majority of the population (55%) lives in the [[Southern United States|South]], and there has been a decrease of African Americans in the [[Northeastern United States|Northeast]] and [[Midwest United States|Midwest]].<ref name="NRC201029SEP11" /> The [[List of U.S. states and territories by African-American population|U.S. state/territory with the highest percentage]] of African Americans is the [[U.S. Virgin Islands]] (76% African American as of 2010).<ref name="USVI">[https://archive.today/20200214060850/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPVI_VIDP1&prodType=table] American FactFinder. 2010 U.S. Virgin Islands Demographic Profile Data. Retrieved November 29, 2019.</ref>

Most African Americans are the direct descendants of captives from [[West Africa]], who survived the [[Slavery in the United States|slavery era]] within the boundaries of the present United States.<ref>((cite web |url=http://mumford1.dyndns.org/cen2000/BlackWhite/BlackDiversityReport/black-diversity03.htm |title=The size and regional distribution of the black population |access-date=October 1, 2007 |publisher=Lewis Mumford Center |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012170004/http://mumford1.dyndns.org/cen2000/BlackWhite/BlackDiversityReport/black-diversity03.htm |archive-date=October 12, 2007 |url-status=dead ))</ref> The first West Africans were brought to [[Jamestown, Virginia]] in 1619. The English settlers treated these captives as [[Indentured servitude|indentured servants]] and released them after a number of years. This practice was gradually replaced by the system of race-based slavery used in the Caribbean.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr2.html|title=New World Exploration and English Ambition |work=The Terrible Transformation |publisher=PBS |access-date=September 11, 2011 | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070614105621/http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part1/1narr2.html| archive-date=June 14, 2007 | url-status=live))</ref> All the [[Thirteen Colonies|American colonies]] had slavery, but it was usually in the form of personal servants in the North (where 2% of the population were enslaved), and field hands in plantations in the South (where 25% were enslaved);<ref>((cite book |title=Exchanging Our Country Marks: The Transformation of African Identities in the Colonial and Antebellum South |last=Gomez |first=Michael A. |year=1998 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press |isbn=9780807846940 |pages=384 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tfHU4mOPMmMC))</ref> by the beginning of the [[American Revolutionary War]], a fifth of the total population was enslaved.<ref>((cite book |title=The American revolution: a history |last=Wood |first=Gordon S. |year=2002 |publisher=Modern Library |isbn=9780679640578 |page=[https://archive.org/details/americanrevoluti00gord/page/55 55] |url=https://archive.org/details/americanrevoluti00gord|url-access=registration ))</ref> During the revolution, some served in the [[Continental Army]] or [[Continental Navy]],<ref>[[Liberty!|Liberty! The American Revolution]] (Documentary) Episode((nbs))II:''Blows Must Decide: 1774–1776''. ©1997 [[Twin Cities Public Television, Inc.]] ((ISBN|1-4157-0217-9))</ref><ref>((cite book |title=Blacks in the American Revolution |series=Volume 55 of Contributions in American history |last=Foner |first=Philip Sheldon |year=1976 |publisher=Greenwood Press |isbn=9780837189468 |page=70 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wk92AAAAMAAJ&q=Philip+S.+Foner+Blacks+in+the+Revolution))</ref> while [[Black Loyalist|others]] fought for the [[British Empire]] in units such as [[Ethiopian Regiment|Lord Dunmore's Ethiopian Regiment]].<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/pathways/blackhistory/work_community/loyalists.htm |title=Black Loyalists |work=Black Presence |publisher=The National Archives |access-date=September 11, 2012))</ref> By 1804, the states north of the [[Mason–Dixon line]] had [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolished]] slavery.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wnet/slavery/experience/freedom/history.html |title=Freedom & Emancipation |author=Nicholas Boston |author2=Jennifer Hallam |year=2004 |work=Educational Broadcasting Corporation |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service |access-date=September 11, 2012))</ref> However, slavery would persist in the [[Southern United States|southern states]] until the end of the [[American Civil War]] and the passage of the [[Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|Thirteenth Amendment]].<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.ourdocuments.gov/doc.php?flash=true&doc=40 |title=13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution |work=ourdocuments.gov |publisher=National Archives and Records Administration |access-date=September 11, 2012))</ref> Following the end of the [[Reconstruction Era of the United States|Reconstruction Era]], which saw the first [[List of African-American officeholders during the Reconstruction|African American representation]] in [[United States Congress|Congress]],<ref>((cite web |url=http://baic.house.gov/historical-essays/essay.html?intID=3 |title=The Fifteenth Amendment in Flesh and Blood |work=Office of the Clerk |publisher=United States House of Representatives |access-date=September 11, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121211224758/http://baic.house.gov/historical-essays/essay.html?intID=3 |archive-date=December 11, 2012 |url-status=dead ))</ref> African Americans became [[Suffrage|disenfranchised]] and subject to [[Jim Crow laws]],<ref>((cite book |title=American Black History |last=Walter |first=Hazen |year=2004 |publisher=Lorenz Educational Press |isbn=9780787706036 |page=37 |access-date=September 11, 2012 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GuvsptYLFL4C&q=Jim+Crow+Laws+Reconstruction+African+Americans&pg=PA37))</ref> legislation that would persist until the passage of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964]] and [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]] due to the [[civil rights movement]].<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/prize.htm |title=The Prize |work=We Shall Overcome |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=September 11, 2012))</ref>

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, very few [[African immigration to the United States|African immigrants]] self-identify as "African-American" (as "African-American" is usually referring to Blacks with deeply rooted ancestry dating back to the U.S. slave period as discussed in the previous paragraph.) On average, less than 5% of African residents self-reported as "African-American" or "Afro-American" in the 2000 U.S. census. The overwhelming majority of African immigrants (~95%) identified instead with their own respective ethnicities. Self-designation as "African-American" or "Afro-American" was highest among individuals from West Africa (4–9%), and lowest among individuals from Cape Verde, East Africa and Southern Africa (0–4%).<ref>((cite web|last1=Kusow|first1=AM|title=African Immigrants in the United States: Implications for Affirmative Action|url=http://lib.dr.iastate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=soc_las_pubs|publisher=Iowa State University|access-date=May 10, 2016))</ref> Nonetheless, African immigrants often develop very successful professional and business working-relationships with African Americans. Immigrants from some Caribbean, Central American, and South American nations and their descendants may or may not also self-identify with the term "African American".<ref>((Cite web|url=https://mumford1.dyndns.org/cen2000/BlackWhite/BlackDiversityReport/black-diversity03.htm|title=Lewis Mumford Center Census 2000 Metropolitan Racial and Ethnic Change Series|date=October 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071012170004/https://mumford1.dyndns.org/cen2000/BlackWhite/BlackDiversityReport/black-diversity03.htm|archive-date=October 12, 2007))</ref>

Recent African immigrants in the United States come from countries such as [[Jamaica]], [[Haiti]], [[Nigeria]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Dominican Republic]], [[Ghana]], [[Trinidad and Tobago]], [[Kenya]], [[Guyana]], and [[Somalia]].<ref>((Cite web|url=https://www.pewresearch.org/race-ethnicity/2022/01/20/the-caribbean-is-the-largest-origin-source-of-black-immigrants-but-fastest-growth-is-among-african-immigrants/|title=1. The Caribbean is the largest origin source of Black immigrants, but fastest growth is among African immigrants|first=Shannon|last=Greenwood|date=January 20, 2022))</ref>

===Asian Americans===
((Main|Asian Americans))

A third significant minority is the [[Asian Americans|Asian American]] population, which comprised 19.36 million people, or 5.9% of the U.S. population, in 2019.<ref name="US2019"/> In 2019, 6.12 million Asian Americans lived in [[California]].<ref name="CA1"/> As of 2019, approximately 532,300 Asians live in [[Hawaii]], forming 37.6% of the islands' people.<ref name="HI"/> This makes Hawaii the state with the highest percentage of Asian Americans.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=B02001. RACE – Universe: TOTAL POPULATION regions and states |access-date=April 25, 2010 |work=2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] ))</ref> Although they were historically first concentrated in Hawaii and the [[West Coast of the United States|West Coast]], Asian Americans now live across the country, living and working in large numbers in [[New York City]], [[Chicago]], [[Boston]], [[Houston]], and other major urban centers. There are also many Asians living in two [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] [[Territories of the United States|U.S. territories]] ([[Guam]] and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]])((snd))as of 2010, [[Guam]]'s population was 32.2% Asian, and the population of the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] was 49.9% Asian.<ref name="Guam_CNMI">((cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPGU_GUDP1&prodType=table |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413071617/http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPGU_GUDP1&prodType=table |archive-date=April 13, 2016 |title=American FactFinder |publisher=United States Census Bureau)) <br /> ((Cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPMP_MPDP1&prodType=table |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106145130/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPMP_MPDP1&prodType=table |archive-date=November 6, 2018 |work=American FactFinder |title=Guam / Northern Mariana Islands Demographic Profile Data |date=2010 |access-date=November 29, 2019))</ref>

Filipinos have been in the territories that would become the United States since the 16th century. In 1635, an "East Indian" is listed in Jamestown, Virginia; preceding wider settlement of Indian immigrants on the East Coast in the 1790s and the West Coast in the 1800s. In 1763, Filipinos established the small settlement of Saint Malo, Louisiana, after fleeing mistreatment aboard Spanish ships. Since there were no Filipino women with them, these "Manilamen", as they were known, married Cajun and indigenous women. The first Japanese person to come to the United States, and stay any significant period of time was Nakahama Manjirō who reached the East Coast in 1841, and Joseph Heco became the first Japanese American naturalized U.S. citizen in 1858. As with the new immigration from central and eastern Europe to the East Coast from the mid-19th century on, [[Asian immigration to the United States|Asians started immigrating to the United States]] in large numbers in the 19th century. This first major wave of immigration consisted predominantly of [[Chinese American|Chinese]] and [[Japanese American|Japanese]] laborers, but also included [[Korean Americans|Korean]] and [[South Asian Americans|South Asian]] immigrants. Many immigrants also came during and after this period from the [[Philippines]], which was a [[History of the Philippines (1898–1946)|U.S. colony]] from 1898 to 1946. Exclusion laws and policies largely prohibited and curtailed Asian immigration until the 1940s. After the US changed its immigration laws during the 1940s to 1960s to make entry easier, a much larger new wave of immigration from Asia began. Today, the largest self-identified Asian American sub-groups, according to census data, are [[Chinese Americans]], [[Filipino Americans]], [[Indian Americans]], [[Vietnamese Americans]], [[Korean Americans]], and [[Japanese Americans]], [[Demographics of Asian Americans|among other groups]].<ref>((Cite web|url=http://www.pewsocialtrends.org/asianamericans-graphics/|title=Asian Americans|date=June 18, 2012|website=Pew Research Center's Social & Demographic Trends Project|access-date=June 7, 2016))</ref>

Not all of Asian Americans' ancestors directly migrated from their country of origin to the US. For example, more than 270,000 people from Guyana, a South American country, reside in the U.S., but a predominant number of Guyanese people are [[Indo-Guyanese|of Indian descent]].<ref>((Cite web |date=May 9, 2016 |title=10 Facts about Guyanese Immigrants in the US You Should Know |url=https://www.newsamericasnow.com/10-fast-facts-about-guyanese-immigrants-in-the-us-you-should-know/))</ref>

===Native Americans and Alaska Natives===
((Main|Native Americans in the United States|Alaska Natives))

[[Indigenous peoples of the Americas]], particularly [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], made up 2.9% of the population in 2020, numbering 3.7 million. An additional 5.9 million persons declared part-[[Native Americans in the United States|American Indian]] or [[Alaska Native]] ancestry.<ref>((cite web|url=https://www.ncai.org/policy-research-center/research-data/prc-publications/Overview_of_2020_AIAN_Redistricting_Data_FINAL_8_13_2021.pdf |title=Overview of 2020 AIAN Redistricting Data: 2020 |access-date=January 16, 2022))</ref>
Levels of [[Native American ancestry]] (distinct from [[Native American identity]]) differ. The genomes of self-reported [[African American]]s averaged to 0.8% Native American ancestry, those of [[European American]]s averaged to 0.18%, and those of [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Latino]]s averaged to 18.0%.<ref>((Cite journal |last1=Bryc |first1=Katarzyna |last2=Durand |first2=Eric Y. |last3=Macpherson |first3=J. Michael |last4=Reich |first4=David |last5=Mountain |first5=Joanna L. |date=January 2015 |title=The Genetic Ancestry of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans across the United States |journal=The American Journal of Human Genetics |volume=96 |issue=1 |pages=37–53 |doi=10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.11.010 |pmid=25529636 |pmc=4289685 |issn=0002-9297))</ref><ref>((cite news |last1=Carl Zimmer |title=White? Black? A Murky Distinction Grows Still Murkier |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/25/science/23andme-genetic-ethnicity-study.html |access-date=October 21, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=December 24, 2014 |quote=The researchers found that European-Americans had genomes that were on average 98.6 percent European, .19 percent African, and .18 percent Native American.))</ref>

The legal and official designation of who is Native American has aroused controversy by demographers, tribal nations, and government officials for many decades. [[Federally recognized tribes]] and [[state recognized tribes]] set their own membership requirements; tribal enrollment may require residency on a reservation, documented [[lineal descent]] from recognized records, such as the [[Dawes Rolls]], and other criteria. Some tribes have adopted the use of blood quantum, requiring members to have a certain percentage. The federal government requires individuals to certify documented blood quantum of ancestry for certain federal programs, such as education benefits, available to members of recognized tribes. Census takers accept any respondent's identification. [[Genetics|Genetic]] scientists estimated that more than fifteen million other Americans, including African and Hispanic Americans (specifically those of Mexican heritage), may have up to one quarter of Native ancestry.((citation needed|date=June 2013))

Once thought to face extinction as a race or culture, Native Americans of numerous tribes have achieved revival of aspects of their cultures, and have fought to retain sovereignty and control of their own affairs for centuries. In recent years, many have started language programs to revive use of traditional languages, established [[Tribal colleges and universities|tribally controlled colleges]] and other schools on their reservations, and developed [[Native American gaming|gaming casinos]] on their sovereign land to raise revenues for economic development, as well as to promote the education and welfare of their people through health care and construction of improved housing.

Today, more than 800,000 to one million persons claim Cherokee descent in part or as full-bloods; of these, an estimated 300,000 live in California, 160,000 in [[Oklahoma]] (of which a majority are [[Cherokee Nation]] citizens), and 15,000 in [[North Carolina]], living in ancestral homelands as members of the [[Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians]].<ref>((Cite web|url=https://research.dom.edu/c.php?g=1098125&p=8021131#:~:text=Today%2C%20the%20Cherokee%20Nation%20is,reservation%20boundaries%20in%20northeastern%20Oklahoma.|title = Research Guides and Class Pages: Native American & Indigenous Studies: Cherokee))</ref>

The second largest tribal group is the [[Navajo people|Navajo]], who call themselves Diné and live on a 16((nbh))million-acre((efn|25 thousand square miles, 65 thousand square kilomters)) [[Indian reservation]] covering northeast [[Arizona]], northwest [[New Mexico]], and southeast [[Utah]]. It is home to half of the 450,000 members of the [[Navajo Nation]].((citation needed|date=June 2013)) The third largest group are the [[Lakota people|Lakota]] ([[Sioux]]) Nation, with distinct federally recognized tribes located in the states of [[Minnesota]], [[Nebraska]], [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]]; and [[North Dakota|North]] and [[South Dakota]].((citation needed|date=August 2012))((clarify|official tribal figures or Census self-identifiers?|date=April 2021))

As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the largest self-identified Native American group not combined with another race is [[Aztecs|Aztec]], numbering 378,122 individuals. Though Aztecs are indigenous to [[Mexico]] and not the United States, they are nevertheless considered Native American people per census guidelines, which includes any indigenous people from the [[Americas]].<ref>((Cite web |last=Bureau |first=US Census |title=Census Bureau Releases 2020 Census Data for Nearly 1,500 Detailed Race and Ethnicity Groups, Tribes and Villages |url=https://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2023/2020-census-detailed-dhc-file-a.html |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=Census.gov))</ref><ref>((Cite web |date=2023-10-27 |title=Analysis ((!)) The Native American population exploded, the census shows. Here’s why. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2023/10/27/native-americans-2020-census/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=Washington Post |language=en))</ref>

===Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders Americans===
((Main|Native Hawaiians|Pacific Islander Americans))

[[Native Hawaiians]] and other [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islanders]] numbered approximately 656,400 in 2019, or 0.2% of the population.<ref name="US2019"/> Additionally, nearly as many individuals identify themselves as having partial Native Hawaiian ancestry, for a total of 829,949 people of full or part Native Hawaiian ancestry.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov |title=B02012. NATIVE HAWAIIAN AND OTHER PACIFIC ISLANDER ALONE OR IN COMBINATION WITH ONE OR MORE OTHER RACES |access-date=May 11, 2010 |work=2008 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] ))</ref> This group constitutes the smallest minority in the United States. More than half identify as "full-blooded", but historically most Native Hawaiians on the island chain of [[Hawaii]] are believed to have some Asian and European ancestry.((citation needed|date=January 2014)) 

Some demographers believe that by 2025, the last full-blooded Native Hawaiian will die off, leaving a culturally distinct but racially mixed population.((citation needed|date=November 2019)) However, throughout Hawaii, they are working to preserve and assert adaptation of Native Hawaiian customs and the [[Hawaiian language]] by establishing cultural schools solely for legally Native Hawaiian students and more. 

There are significant [[Pacific Islander Americans|Pacific Islander]] populations living in three [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]] [[Territories of the United States|U.S. territories]] ([[American Samoa]], [[Guam]], and the [[Northern Mariana Islands]]). As of 2010, [[American Samoa]]'s population was 92.6% Pacific Islander (mostly [[Samoan people|Samoan]]), [[Guam]]'s population was 49.3% Pacific Islander (mostly [[Chamorro people|Chamorro]]), and the population of the [[Northern Mariana Islands]] was 34.9% Pacific Islander.<ref name="ASAmericanFactFinder">((cite web |url=https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPAS_ASDP1&prodType=table |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170503200517/https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?pid=DEC_10_DPAS_ASDP1&prodType=table |archive-date=May 3, 2017 |work=American FactFinder |title=American Samoa 2010 Demographic Profile |access-date=November 29, 2019))</ref><ref name="Guam_CNMI"/> Out of all U.S. states/territories, American Samoa has the highest percentage of Pacific Islanders.<ref name="ASAmericanFactFinder"/>

===Two or more races===
((Main|Multiracial Americans))

Self-identified [[multiracial Americans]] numbered 7.0 million in 2008, or 2.3% of the population.<ref name=b02001 /> They have identified as any combination of races (White, Black or African American, Asian, American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and "some other race") and ethnicities.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-6.pdf |title=The Two or More Races Population: 2000. Census 2000 Brief |access-date=May 8, 2008 |last=Jones |first=Nicholas A. |author2=Amy Symens Smith |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]))</ref> The U.S. has a growing multiracial identity movement.

While the colonies and southern states protected White fathers by making all children born to slave mothers be classified as slaves, regardless of paternity, they also banned [[miscegenation]] or [[interracial marriage]], most notably between Whites and Blacks. However, this did little to stop interracial relationships. Demographers state that, due to new waves of immigration, the American people through the early 20th century were mostly multi-ethnic descendants of various immigrant nationalities, who maintained cultural distinctiveness until, over time, [[Cultural assimilation|assimilation]], migration and [[Racial integration|integration]] took place.((Citation needed|date=April 2010)) The [[civil rights movement]] through the 20th century gained passage of important legislation to enforce constitutional rights of minorities, including multiracial Americans.

The multiracial population that is part White is the largest percentage of the multiracial population. As of the 2000 census, 7,015,017 people self-identified as White/American Indian and Alaskan Native, 737,492 as White/Black, 727,197 as White/Asian, and 125,628 as White/Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander.<ref>((cite web |url=http://www.csupomona.edu/~mreibel/2000_Census_Files/Allen-Turner.doc |title=Allen Turner |access-date=November 9, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081002234040/http://www.csupomona.edu/~mreibel/2000_Census_Files/Allen-Turner.doc |archive-date=October 2, 2008 ))</ref>

====Genetic admixture====
A 2002 study found an average of 18.6% European genetic contribution and 2.7% Native American genetic contribution (with standard errors of 1.5% and 1.4% respectively) in a sample of 232 [[African Americans]].((Citation needed|date=March 2022)) Meanwhile, in a sample of 187 [[European Americans]] from [[State College, Pennsylvania]], there was an average of 0.7% West African genetic contribution and 3.2% Native American genetic contribution (with standard errors of 0.9% and 1.6% respectively). Most of the non-European admixture was concentrated in 30% of the sample, with West African admixture ranging from 2 to 20% with an average of 2.3%.<ref name="Shriver03">((cite journal|author=[[Mark D. Shriver]]|display-authors=etal|title=Skin pigmentation, biogeographical ancestry and admixture mapping|journal=Human Genetics|date=2003|volume=112|issue=4|pages=387–399|doi=10.1007/s00439-002-0896-y|pmid=12579416|s2cid=7877572|url=https://homepages.uc.edu/~nortonhr/MoCHA/Publications_files/Shriver%20et%20el%202003.pdf|access-date=August 24, 2017))</ref>

In 1958, Robert Stuckert produced a statistical analysis using historical census data and immigration statistics. He concluded that the growth in the White population could not be attributed solely to births in the White population and immigration from Europe, but was also due to people identifying as White who were partly Black. He concluded that 21% of White Americans had some recent African-American ancestors and that the majority of Americans of known African descent were partly European and not entirely sub-Saharan African.<ref>((cite web|url=https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/1811/4532/1/V58N03_155.pdf |title=Robert Stuckert, "African Ancestry Of The White American Population" |access-date=May 16, 2013))</ref>

More recently, many different DNA studies have shown that many African Americans have European admixture, reflecting the long history in this country of the various populations. Proportions of European admixture in African-American DNA have been found in studies to be 17%<ref>((cite journal | last1 = Collins-Schramm | first1 = Heather E. | year = 2002 | title = Markers that Discriminate Between European and African Ancestry Show Limited Variation Within Africa | journal = Human Genetics | volume = 111 | issue = 6| pages = 566–569 | doi=10.1007/s00439-002-0818-z | pmid=12436248| s2cid = 30319228 ))</ref> and between 10.6% and 22.5%.<ref>((cite journal | last1 = Parra | first1 = Esteban J. | author-link11 = Mark D. Shriver | last2 = Marcini | first2 = Amy | last3 = Akey | first3 = Joshua | last4 = Martinson | first4 = Jeremy | last5 = Batzer | first5 = Mark A. | last6 = Cooper | first6 = Richard | last7 = Forrester | first7 = Terrence | last8 = Allison | first8 = David B. | last9 = Deka | first9 = Ranjan | last10 = Ferrell | first10 = Robert E. | last11 = Shriver | first11 = Mark D. | year = 1998 | title = Estimating African American Admixture Proportions by Use of Population- Specific Alleles | url = http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/ParraAJHG1998.pdf | journal = American Journal of Human Genetics | volume = 63 | issue = 6 | pages = 1839–1851 | doi = 10.1086/302148 | pmid = 9837836 | pmc = 1377655 | access-date = May 16, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090304020232/http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/ParraAJHG1998.pdf | archive-date = March 4, 2009 | url-status=dead | df = mdy-all ))</ref> Another recent study found the average to be 21.2%, with a [[standard error]] of 1.2%.<ref name="Shriver03" />

The Race, Ethnicity, and Genetics Working Group of the [[National Human Genome Research Institute]] notes that "although genetic analyses of large numbers of loci can produce estimates of the percentage of a person's ancestors coming from various continental populations, these estimates may assume a false distinctiveness of the parental populations, since human groups have exchanged mates from local to continental scales throughout history."<ref name="REGWG">((Cite journal |pmc = 1275602|year = 2005|author=((Race, Ethnicity, and Genetics Working Group)) |title = The Use of Racial, Ethnic, and Ancestral Categories in Human Genetics Research|journal = American Journal of Human Genetics|volume = 77|issue = 4|pages = 519–532|pmid = 16175499|doi = 10.1086/491747))</ref>

===Members of other races===
((Expand section||small=no|date=January 2022))

In the 2000 census, the non-standard category of "Other"<ref name="Overview" /> was especially intended to capture responses such as [[Mestizo]] and [[Mulatto]],<ref name="racefactcb" /> two large multiracial groups in most of the countries of origin of Hispanic and Latino Americans. However, many other responses are captured by the category.

In 2008, 15 million people, nearly five percent of the total U.S. population, were estimated to be "some other race",<ref name=b02001 /> with 95% of them being Hispanic or Latino.<ref name=b03002regions />

Due to this category's non-standard status, statistics from government agencies other than the Census Bureau (for example, the [[Centers for Disease Control]]'s data on [[vital statistics (government records)|vital statistics]], or the [[FBI]]'s crime statistics), but also the Bureau's own official Population Estimates, omit the "some other race" category and include most of the people in this group in the White population, thus including the vast majority (about 90%) of Hispanic and Latino Americans in the White population.<ref>((cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/ |title=The World Factbook – United States |access-date=May 8, 2008 |publisher=[[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]))</ref>

==Ancestry==
The ancestry of the people of the United States is widely varied and includes descendants of [[population]]s from around the [[world]]. In addition to its variation, the ancestry of people in the United States is also marked by varying amounts of intermarriage between ethnic and racial groups.

While some Americans can trace their ancestry back to a single ethnic group or population in [[Europe]], [[Africa]], or [[Asia]], these are often first, second and third-generation Americans. Generally, the degree of mixed heritage increases the longer people's ancestors have lived in the United States (see [[melting pot]]). There are several means available to discover the ancestry of the people living in the United States, including [[genealogy]], [[genetics]], [[Oral history|oral]] and [[History|written history]], and analysis of [[United States Census|Federal Population Census]] schedules; in practice, only few of these have been used for a larger part of the population.
[[File:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.svg|upright=1.35|thumb|right|The [[wikt:plurality|plurality]] (not [[majority]]) ethnic background in each [[county (United States)|county in the US]] in 2000:<br />
<span style="background:#c3d9e7">[[German American|German]]</span>
<span style="background:#ccafcd">[[English American|English]]</span>
<span style="background:#dbe7b7">[[Norwegian American|Norwegian]]</span>
<span style="background:#008c4d">[[Dutch American|<span style="color:white;">Dutch</span>]]</span>
<span style="background:#7bc296">[[Finnish American|<span style="color:white;">Finnish</span>]]</span>
<span style="background:#9781b2">[[Irish American|<span style="color:white;">Irish</span>]]</span>
<span style="background:#5ab3dd">[[French American|<span style="color:white;">French</span>]]</span>
<span style="background:#0072b1">[[Italian American|<span style="color:white;">Italian</span>]]</span><br />
<span style="background:#f0aeba">[[Mexican American|Mexican]]</span>
<span style="background:#f8ce7c">[[Native Americans in the United States|Native]]</span>
<span style="background:#f1dfdd">[[Spanish American|Spanish]]</span>
<span style="background:#f6f2c2">[[American ethnicity|American]]</span>
<span style="background:#982d71">[[African American|<span style="color:white;">African American</span>]]</span>
<span style="background:#d93190">[[Puerto Rican American|<span style="color:white;">Puerto Rican</span>]]</span>
]]
[[File:Ancestry map of the United States, 2016.png|thumb|The largest ethnic backgrounds in each county in the U.S. in 2016.]]
[[File:Most common ancestries in the United States.svg|upright=1.35|thumb|right|Plurality ancestry in each [[U.S. state|state]], ranging from 11.8% (FL) to 43.9 % (ND). ((Legend0|#0075ff|[[German Americans|German]])) ((Legend0|#ff0000|[[Americans|American]])) ((Legend0|#ff7600|[[Mexican Americans|Mexican]])) ((Legend0|#007500|[[Irish Americans|Irish]])) ((Legend0|#00ffff|[[African Americans|African]])) ((Legend0|#7500ff|[[Italian Americans|Italian]])) ((Legend0|#750075|[[English Americans|English]])) ((Legend0|#ffff00|[[Japanese Americans|Japanese]])) ((Legend0|#d93190|[[Puerto Ricans in the United States|Puerto Rican]]))]]

===2020 American Community Survey===
((section update|2020 census ethnic origins recently released|date=November 2023))
According to the 2015–2020 [[American Community Survey]], the thirty largest ancestry groups in the United States were as follows.<ref>((Cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?t=Race+and+Ethnicity&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B02001|title=Explore Census Data|website=data.census.gov))</ref><ref>((Cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?t=Ancestry&d=ACS+5-Year+Estimates+Detailed+Tables&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B04006|title=Explore Census Data|website=data.census.gov))</ref><ref>((Cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?t=Race+and+Ethnicity&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B02015|title=Explore Census Data|website=data.census.gov))</ref><ref>((Cite web|url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?t=Race+and+Ethnicity&tid=ACSDT5Y2020.B03001|title=Explore Census Data|website=data.census.gov))</ref>

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Rank||Ancestry||Population||Percent of total population
|-
|1||[[German Americans|German]]||42,589,571||13.04%
|-
|2||[[African Americans|Black or African American]] (non-Hispanic)||39,994,653|| 12.22%
|-
|3||[[Mexican Americans|Mexican]]||36,537,028||11.19%
|-
|4||[[Irish Americans|Irish]]||31,518,129||9.65%
|-
|5||[[English Americans|English]]||25,213,619||7.72%
|-
|6||[[American ancestry|American]]||19,364,103||5.93%
|-
|7||[[Italian Americans|Italian]]||16,549,022||5.07%
|-
|8||[[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]]||9,666,058||2.9%
|-
|9||[[French Americans|French]] (including [[French Canadians|French Canadian]])||9,372,988||2.87%
|-
|10||[[Polish Americans|Polish]]||8,936,002||2.74%
|-
|11||[[Puerto Ricans|Puerto Rican]]||5,699,150||1.75%
|-
|12||[[Scottish Americans|Scottish]]||5,298,861||1.62%
|-
|13||[[Norwegian Americans|Norwegian]]||4,289,825||1.31%
|-
|14||[[Chinese Americans|Chinese]]||4,151,009||1.27%
|-
|15||[[Indian Americans|Asian Indian]]||4,143,134||1.27%
|-
|16||[[Dutch Americans|Dutch]]||3,692,889||1.13%
|-
|17||[[Swedish Americans|Swedish]]||3,627,796||1.11%
|-
|18||[[West Indian Americans|West Indian/Caribbean]] (non-Hispanic)||3,008,035||0.92%
|-
|19||[[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch-Irish]]||2,937,156||0.9%
|-
|20||[[Filipino Americans|Filipino]]||2,884,210||0.88%
|-
|21||[[Russian Americans|Russian]]||2,538,436||0.78%
|-
|22||[[Cuban Americans|Cuban]]||2,332,584||0.71%
|-
|23||[[Salvadoran Americans|Salvadoran]]||2,244,914||0.68%
|-
|24||[[Arab Americans|Arab]]||2,056,594||0.62%
|-
|25||[[Dominican Americans|Dominican]]||2,042,360||0.62%
|-
|26||[[Vietnamese Americans|Vietnamese]]||1,852,906||0.56%
|-
|27||[[Welsh Americans|Welsh]]||1,851,256||0.56%
|-
|28||[[Guatemalan Americans|Guatemalan]]||1,484,005||0.45%
|-
|29||[[Korean Americans|Korean]]||1,477,325||0.45%
|-
|30||[[Portuguese Americans|Portuguese]]||1,363,964||0.41%
|}

However, [[Demography|demographers]] regard the reported number of English Americans as a statistical error, as the index of inconsistency is high and many, if not most, Americans from English stock have a tendency to identify simply as Americans,<ref>((cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SVoAXh-dNuYC&q=Sharing+the+dream:+white+males+in+multicultural+America++english+ancestry&pg=PA57|title=Sharing the Dream: White Males in Multicultural America|first=Dominic|last=Pulera|date=October 20, 2004|publisher=A&C Black|access-date=August 21, 2017|via=Google Books|isbn=9780826416438))</ref><ref>Reynolds Farley, 'The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?', ''Demography'', Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.</ref><ref>Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns', ''Social Science Research'', Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44-46.</ref><ref>Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, "Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites", ''Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science'', Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82-86.</ref> or, if of mixed European ancestry, with a different European ethnic group.<ref name="waters1990" />

===Ancestry maps===
<!--These maps are self-generated by Wikipedia user User:Stevey7788 at the [U.S. Census Bureau's American Factfinder site http://factfinder.census.gov]-->

====Major ancestries====
These images display frequencies of self-reported ancestries, as of the [[2000 United States census|2000 U.S. census]]. Regional African ancestries are not listed, though an African American map has been added from another source.

<gallery class="center">
File:American1346.gif|Frequency of [[American ancestry]]
File:New 2000 asian density.gif|Density of [[Asian Americans]]
File:New 2000 asian percent.gif|Percent of [[Asian Americans]]
File:New 2000 black density.gif|Density of [[African Americans]]
File:New 2000 black percent.gif|Percent of [[African Americans]]
File:New 2000 hawaiian density.gif|Density of [[Pacific Islander Americans]]
File:New 2000 hawaiian percent.gif|Percent of [[Pacific Islander Americans]]
File:New 2000 indian density.gif|Density of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]
File:New 2000 indian percent.gif|Percent of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]]
File:New 2000 white density.gif|Density of [[White Americans]]
File:New 2000 white percent.gif|Percent of [[White Americans]]
File:USA 2000 black density.png|[[African Americans|African]] ancestry
File:Arab1346.png|[[Arab Americans|Arab]] ancestry
File:New 2000 hispanic density.gif|Density of [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] ancestry
File:New 2000 hispanic percent.gif|Percent of [[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic]] ancestry
File:Census Bureau Westindians in the United States.png|[[West Indian Americans|West Indian]] ancestry
</gallery>

==== European American ancestries ====
These images display frequencies of self-reported [[European Americans|European American]] ancestries as of the 2000 U.S. census.

<gallery class="center">
File:Czech1346.gif|[[Czech Americans|Czech ancestry]]
File:Distribution of Danish Americans according to 2000.gif|[[Danish Americans|Danish ancestry]]
File:Dutch1346.gif|[[Dutch Americans|Dutch ancestry]]
File:Census Bureau English Ancestry in the United States.gif|[[English Americans|English ancestry]]
File:Pct finnish4.png|[[Finnish Americans|Finnish ancestry]]
File:French1346.gif|[[French Americans|French ancestry]]
File:Census Bureau French Canadians in the United States.gif|[[French Canadians|French Canadian]] ancestry
Distribution of Americans claiming German Ancestry by county in 2018.png|[[German Americans|German ancestry]]
File:Greek1346.gif|[[Greek Americans|Greek ancestry]]
Distribution of Americans claiming Hungarian Ancestry by county in 2018.png|[[Hungarian Americans|Hungarian ancestry]]
File:Census Bureau 2000, Icelandic Americans in the United States.png|[[Icelandic Americans|Icelandic ancestry]]
File:Irish1346.gif|[[Irish Americans|Irish ancestry]]
File:Lithuanian1346.gif|[[Lithuanian Americans|Lithuanian ancestry]]
File:Norwegian1346.gif|[[Norwegian Americans|Norwegian ancestry]]
Distribution of Americans claiming Polish Ancestry by county in 2018.png|[[Polish Americans|Polish ancestry]]
File:Portuguese1346.gif|[[Portuguese Americans|Portuguese ancestry]]
File:Romanian1346.gif|[[Romanian Americans|Romanian ancestry]]
File:Russian1346.gif|[[Russian Americans|Russian ancestry]]
File:Census Bureau Scotch-Irish Ancestry in the United States.gif|[[Scotch-Irish Americans|Scotch-Irish ancestry]]
File:Census Bureau Scottish Americans in the United States.gif|[[Scottish Americans|Scottish ancestry]]
File:Slovak1346.gif|[[Slovak Americans|Slovak ancestry]]
File:Swedish Americans 2000 Census.svg|[[Swedish Americans|Swedish ancestry]]
File:Census Bureau Ukrainians in the United States.gif|[[Ukrainian Americans|Ukrainian ancestry]]
File:Census Bureau Welsh Ancestry in the United States.gif|[[Welsh Americans|Welsh ancestry]]
</gallery>

==See also==
((Portal|United States))
* [[Culture of the United States]]
* [[Culture of the Southern United States]]
* [[Demographics of the United States]]
* [[Discrimination in the United States]]
* [[Ethnocultural politics in the United States]]
* [[Historical racial and ethnic demographics of the United States]]
* [[History of the United States]]
* [[History of the Southern United States]]
* [[Immigration to the United States]]
* [[Language Spoken at Home]]
* [[Nativism in United States politics]]
* [[Person of color]]
* [[Politics of the United States]]
* [[Politics of the Southern United States]]
* [[Race and crime in the United States]]
* [[Racism against African Americans]]
* [[Racism in the United States]]
* [[Religion in the United States]]
* [[Slavery in the United States]]
* [[Xenophobia in the United States]]

==Notes==
((notelist))

==References==
((Reflist))

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20111124121450/http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/AdvSearchByKeywordServlet?_command=getResults&_keyword=Ancestry&_method=select&_programYear=restrictDataset.mostRecent&_synonyms=no&_lang=en American Factfinder; keyword search for "Ancestry", all programs]; [[United States Census Bureau]]
* For additional county-level U.S. maps on a wide range of ethnic and nationality groups, visit the [http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo200/usa_maps.html ''Map Gallery of Ethnic Groups in the United States''] ((Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130310053804/http://www.valpo.edu/geomet/geo/courses/geo200/usa_maps.html |date=March 10, 2013 )), part of the course materials for American Ethnic Geography at [[Valparaiso University]].
* [https://www.ssc.wisc.edu/soc/racepoliticsjustice/2017/09/16/race-names/ American terminology for different racial groups] by sociologist [[Pamela E. Oliver]]

((Demographics of the United States))
((Ethnicity))

[[Category:Demographics of the United States]]
[[Category:Ethnic groups in the United States]]
[[Category:Race in the United States]]
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