Population measures such as the age distribution within each racial and ethnic group provide insight on the changing size and face of communities. Community leaders, planners and advocates can use this information to assess the strengths, needs and challenges of specific groups within the community.

While overall the population is declining in younger age groups, Asian and Hispanic residents under 25 and between 25 and 44 grew between 2000 and 2016-20. Fastest growing was the Hispanic population with increases of 57% in people under 25 and 64% in people 25 to 44. The comparable figures for Asian residents were 41% and 34%. By contrast, the comparable figures for white residents were -19% and - 22%, and for African Americans, -9% and -1%.

The composition of the U.S. population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse as people of color grow in representation and will be a majority within the next two decades. Latino, Asian and multiracial groups are experiencing the largest growth with Latino's rapid increase caused largely by immigration. Latino immigrants who enter the U.S. tend to be younger and of child-bearing age. Latinas in the U.S. have higher fertility rates than Black and white women. Black, Latino and multiracial populations are also experiencing higher rates of births relative to deaths, while whites are experiencing the opposite.

The multi-year figures are from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey. The bureau combined five years of responses to the survey to provide estimates for smaller geographic areas and increase the precision of its estimates. However, because the information came from a survey, the samples responding to the survey were not always large enough to produce reliable results, especially in small geographic areas. CGR has noted on data tables the estimates with relatively large margins of error. Estimates with three asterisks have the largest margins, plus or minus 50% or more of the estimate. Two asterisks mean plus or minus 35%-50%, and one asterisk means plus or minus 20%-35%. For all estimates, the confidence level is 90%, meaning there is 90% probability the true value (if the whole population were surveyed) would be within the margin of error (or confidence interval).