C H I L D P O P U L AT I O N
THE STATE OF AMERICA’S CHILDREN
®
2014
C h i l d P o p u l a t i o n Ta b l e s
CHILD POPULATION
2019 I
THE YEAR CHILDREN OF COLOR WILL BE THE MAJORITY.
n 2012, there were 73,728,088 children in the United States, 206,184 fewer than in 2011. After increasing steadily for decades, the child population has been dropping slightly every year since 2009.
In 2012, children were 23.5 percent of the population compared to seniors who were 13.7 percent and workingage adults (18-64) who were 62.8 percent. If current trends continue the share of seniors in the population will continue to grow, and by 2060 it is expected there will be more seniors than children.1 Children of color are increasing in the population and comprise a larger share of the population in younger age groups. In 2012, children of color were 47.2 percent of all children, up from 46.8 percent the previous year. For the first time in 2012, the majority of children under age 2 were children of color. By 2019, it is estimated that the majority of children will be children of color.2 This was already the case for children in 10 states (Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas) and the District of Columbia (see Figure and Table A-1). The number of Hispanic children has increased every year since 1980, rising from 5.3 million in 1980 to 17.6 million in 2012, while the number of White children has decreased every year since 1994. The number of Black children has remained between 10 and 11 million over the past decade. Of the 73.7 million children in the U.S. in 2012, 38.9 million (52.8 percent) were White, 17.6 million (23.9 percent) were Hispanic, 10.2 million (13.9 percent) were Black, 3.4 million (4.6 percent) were Asian, 2.8 million (3.9 percent) were two or more races, 0.6 million (0.9 percent) were American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.1 million (0.2 percent) were Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. Fifty-one percent of children in 2012 lived in nine states: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas. Fifty-three percent of children of color lived in six states: California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, New York and Texas. There were 1.65 million more boys than girls in the child population in 2012: 37,689,608 boys (51.5 percent) compared to 36,038,480 (48.9 percent) girls. Find state data in Child Population tables in Appendix.
20 • Children’s Defense Fund
WA 40.5% OR 34.7%
NV 61.7% CA 73.2%
MT 20.4% ID 23.8%
UT 24.9%
AZ 59.0%
ND 19.3%
WY 21.7%
SD 25.4%
ME VT 9.4% 10.4% MN 27.6%
NE 28.4% CO 42.7%
KS 32.2% OK 44.7%
NM 74.2%
TX 66.9%
WI 27.2%
IA 19.4%
MI 31.7%
IN IL 47.5% 26.7%
MO 25.8%
NY 49.9%
OH 26.1%
KY 19.6%
WV 10.2% VA 44.0%
LA 47.7%
AL
MS 41.1% 50.6%
GA 53.7%
48.5% HI 86.6%
NJ 49.8% DE 48.0% MD 54.4% DC 80.0%
SC 44.8%
< 20% FL 55.1%
AK
NH 13.0% MA 33.2% RI 36.8% CT 40.4%
NC 45.5%
TN 32.9% AR 35.4%
PA 29.8%
.
20-39.9% 40-49.9% ≥ 50%
Children of color were almost half (47.2%) of the total U.S. child population in 2012, and the majority in 10 states and the District of Columbia. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, 2013.
The State of America’s Children® 2014 • 21
C h i l d P o p u l a t i o n Ta b l e s
Percent of Children of Color by State, 2012