Article

Understanding Race and Hispanic Origin Data from Census 2000
Hispanic Origin in Census 2000
Discussion of Specific Race Groups in Census 2000
Hispanic Origin by Race in Census 2000
How are the race categories used in Census 2000 defined?

The question on race for Census 2000 was different from the one for the 1990 census in several ways. Most significantly, respondents were given the option of selecting one or more race categories to indicate their racial identities.² Because of these changes, the Census 2000 data on race are not directly comparable with data from the 1990 census or earlier censuses. Caution must be used when interpreting changes in the racial composition of the U.S. population over time.

Census 2000 used established Federal guidelines to collect and present data on race and Hispanic origin.

How are the race categories used in Census 2000 defined?

"White" refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa. It includes people who indicated their race or races as "White" or wrote in entries such as Irish, German, Italian, Lebanese, Near Easterner, Arab, or Polish.

"Black or African American" refers to people having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa. It 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.

"American Indian and Alaska Native" refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of North and South America (including Central America), and who maintain tribal affiliation or community attachment. It includes people who indicated their race or races by marking this category or writing in their principal or enrolled tribe, such as Rosebud Sioux, Chippewa, or Navajo.

"Asian" refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent. It includes people who indicated their race or races as "Asian Indian," "Chinese," "Filipino," "Korean," "Japanese," "Vietnamese," or "Other Asian," or wrote in entries such as Burmese, Hmong, Pakistani, or Thai.

"Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander" refers to people having origins in any of the original peoples of Hawaii, Guam, Samoa, or other Pacific Islands. It includes people who indicated their race or races as "Native Hawaiian," "Guamanian or Chamorro," "Samoan," or "Other Pacific Islander," or wrote in entries such as Tahitian, Mariana Islander, or Chuukese.

"Some other race" was included in Census 2000 for respondents who were unable to identify with the five Office of Management and Budget race categories. Respondents who provided write-in entries such as Moroccan, South African, Belizean, or a Hispanic origin (for example, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or Cuban) are included in the Some other race category.Census 2000 adheres to the Federal standards for collecting and presenting data on race and Hispanic origin as established by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in October 1997.

The OMB defines Hispanic or Latino as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race." In data collection and presentation, Federal agencies are required to use a minimum of two ethnicities: "Hispanic or Latino" and "Not Hispanic or Latino."

Starting with Census 2000, the OMB requires Federal agencies to use a minimum of five race categories:

• White;
• Black or African American;
• American Indian or Alaska Native;
• Asian; and
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander.

For respondents unable to identify with any of these five race categories, the OMB approved including a sixth category — "Some other race" — on the Census 2000 questionnaire. The category Some other race is used in Census 2000 and a few other Federal data collection activities. As discussed later, most respondents who reported Some other race are Hispanic.

According to Census 2000, 281.4 million people resided in the United States, and 35.3 million, or about 13 percent, were Latino (see Table 1). The remaining 246.1 million people, or 87 percent, were not Hispanic.

The overwhelming majority of the U.S. population reported only one race.

In Census 2000, nearly 98 percent of all respondents reported only one race (see Table 1). The largest group reported White alone, accounting for 75 percent of all people living in the United States. The Black or African American alone population represented 12 percent of the total. Just under 1 percent of all respondents indicated only American Indian and Alaska Native. Approximately 4 percent of all respondents indicated only Asian. The smallest race group was the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone population, representing 0.1 percent of the total population. The remainder of the "one race" respondents — 5.5 percent of all respondents — indicated only Some other race.³

Only 2.4 percent of all respondents reported two or more races.

The Two or more races category represents all respondents who reported more than one race. The six race categories of Census 2000 can be put together in 57 possible combinations of two, three, four, five, or six races (see Table 2). Less than 3 percent of the total population reported more than one race. Of the 6.8 million respondents who reported two or more races, 93 percent reported exactly two. The most common combination was "White and Some other race," representing 32 percent of the Two or more races population.⁴ This was followed by "White and American Indian and Alaska Native," representing 16 percent, "White and Asian," representing 13 percent, and "White and Black or African American," representing 11 percent. Of all respondents reporting exactly two races, 47 percent included Some other race as one of the two. Of all respondents who reported more than one race, 7 percent indicated three or more. Most of these (90 percent) reported three races.

With the exception of the section on the Some other race population, each of the following discussions is restricted to the five race categories defined by the Office of Management and Budget. Within the tables presented in these five sections, combinations of the OMB race categories with the Some other race category are not shown separately but are included in the "All other combinations" category. Because the Some other race category is not a standard OMB race, the data for the Some other race category, including combinations with the five standard OMB groups, are presented and discussed in a separate section.

The White Population
Table 4 shows the number and percentage of respondents to Census 2000 who reported only White, as well as those who reported White and at least one other race.

Approximately 211.5 million people, or 75 percent of the total population, reported only White. An additional 5.5 million people reported White and at least one other race. Within this group, the most common OMB combinations were "White and American Indian and Alaska Native" (20 percent of the population reporting White and one or more other races), followed by "White and Asian" (16 percent), and "White and Black or African American" (14 percent). Approximately 216.9 million people, or 77 percent of the population, reported White alone or in combination with one or more other races.

The Black or African American Population
Table 5 shows the number and percentage of respondents to Census 2000 who reported only Black or African American, as well as those who reported Black or African American and at least one other race.

Approximately 34.7 million people, or 12 percent of the total population, reported only Black or African American. An additional 1.8 million people reported Black or African American and at least one other race. Within this group, the most common OMB combinations were "Black or African American and White" (45 percent of the population reporting Black or African American and one or more other races), followed by "Black or African American and American Indian and Alaska Native" (10 percent), and "Black or African American and White and American Indian and Alaska Native" (6 percent). Approximately 36.4 million people, or 13 percent of the population, reported Black or African American alone or in combination with one or more other races.

The American Indian and Alaska Native Population
Table 6 shows the number and percentage of respondents to Census 2000 who reported only American Indian and Alaska Native, as well as those who reported American Indian and Alaska Native and at least one other race.

Approximately 2.5 million people, or 0.9 percent of the total population, reported only American Indian and Alaska Native. An additional 1.6 million people reported American Indian and Alaska Native and at least one other race. Within this group, the most common OMB combinations were "American Indian and Alaska Native and White" (66 percent of the population reporting American Indian and Alaska Native and one or more other races), followed by "American Indian and Alaska Native and Black or African American" (11 percent), and "American Indian and Alaska Native and White and Black or African American" (7 percent). Approximately 4.1 million people, or 1.5 percent of the population, reported American Indian and Alaska Native alone or in combination with one or more other races.⁵

The Asian Population
Table 7 shows the number and percentage of respondents to Census 2000 who reported only Asian, as well as those who reported Asian and at least one other race.

Approximately 10.2 million people, or 3.6 percent of the total population, reported only Asian. An additional 1.7 million people reported Asian and at least one other race. Within this group, the most common OMB combinations were "Asian and White" (52 percent of the population reporting Asian and one or more other races), followed by "Asian and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander" (8 percent), and "Asian and Black or African American" (6 percent). Approximately 11.9 million people, or 4.2 percent of the population, reported Asian alone or in combination with one or more other races.⁶

The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population
Table 8 shows the number and percentage of respondents to Census 2000 who reported only Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, as well as those who reported Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and at least one other race.

Approximately 399,000 people, or 0.1 percent of the total population, reported only Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. An additional 476,000 people reported Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and at least one other race.⁷ Within this group, the most common combinations were "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and Asian" (29 percent of the population reporting Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and one or more other races), followed by "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and White" (24 percent), and "Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander and Asian and White" (19 percent). Approximately 874,000 people, or 0.3 percent of the population, reported Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination with one or more other races.

The Some Other Race Population
Table 9 shows the number and percentage of respondents to Census 2000 who reported only Some other race, as well as those who reported Some other race and at least one other race.

Approximately 15.4 million people, or about 5 percent of the total population, reported only Some other race. An additional 3.2 million people reported Some other race and at least one other race. Within this group, the most common combinations were "Some other race and White" (70 percent of the population reporting Some other race and one or more other races), followed by "Some other race and Black or African American" (13 percent), and "Some other race and Asian" (8 percent). Approximately 18.5 million people, or 7 percent of the total population, reported Some other race alone or in combination with one or more other races.

Nine out of ten Hispanics reported White alone or Some other race alone. Nearly half (48 percent) of Hispanics reported only White, while approximately 42 percent reported only Some other race, when responding to the question on race (see Table 10). Less than 4 percent of Latinos reported Black or African American alone, American Indian and Alaska Native alone, Asian alone, or Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone. In contrast, 79 percent of the non-Hispanic population reported only White and 0.2 percent reported only Some other race. About 19 percent of all non-Hispanics reported only one of the remaining race categories. Of all race and Hispanic origin combinations, the group reporting as only White and non-Hispanic was the largest, representing 69 percent of the total population.

Approximately 6 percent of all Hispanics reported two or more races, compared with just under 2 percent of non-Hispanics. Among the 2.2 million Latinos who reported more than one race, 1.8 million (81 percent) reported only two races, one of which was Some other race. Of the 6.8 million respondents reporting two or more races, nearly one-third (2.2 million or 33 percent) were Hispanic.

The overwhelming majority (97 percent) of the 15.4 million people who reported Some other race alone were Latino, while the remaining 3 percent were not Hispanic (see Table 11). However, of all combinations of two or more races that included Some other race, only 59 percent were Hispanic. A large majority (90 percent) of the Some other race alone or in combination population was also Hispanic.

Endnotes
¹Hispanics may be of any race. The terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" are used interchangeably in this report.

² Other changes included terminology and formatting changes, such as spelling out "American" instead of "Amer." for the American Indian and Alaska Native category and adding "Native" to the Hawaiian response category. In the layout of the Census 2000 questionnaire, the Asian response categories were alphabetized and grouped together, as were the Pacific Islander categories after the Native Hawaiian category. The three separate American Indian and Alaska Native identifiers in the 1990 census (i.e., Indian (Amer.), Eskimo, and Aleut) were combined into a single identifier in Census 2000. Also, American Indians and Alaska Natives could report more than one tribe.

³ The Some other race alone category consists predominantly (97.0 percent) of people of Hispanic origin, and is not a standard OMB race category.

⁴ The Two or more races categories are denoted by quotations around the combinations with the conjunction and in bold and italicized print to indicate the separate race groups that comprise the particular combination.

⁵ The size of the American Indian and Alaska Native population – alone or in combination – is just one dimension of this population covered by Census 2000. The wide diversity of the specific American Indian and Alaska Native populations delineated by Census 2000 will be discussed in a future report.

⁶ The size of the Asian population — alone or in combination — is just one dimension of this population covered by Census 2000. The wide diversity of the specific Asian populations delineated by Census 2000 will be discussed in a future report.

⁷ The size of the Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population — alone or in combination — is just one dimension of this population covered by Census 2000. The wide diversity of the specific Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander populations delineated by Census 2000 will be discussed in a future report.

Adapted from U.S. Census Bureau, Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin, by Elizabeth M. Grieco and Rachel C. Cassidy, Census 2000 Brief Series.