By 2060, Less Than 60% of Non-Hispanic White Population and About 65% of Non-Hispanic Multiracial Population Will Be Wor

The nation as a whole is getting older, but not all race and Hispanic origin groups are aging at the same pace, a pattern that promises to alter the makeup of the U.S. working-age population for decades to come.

About two-thirds of the total U.S. population was working age (ages 15 to 64) in 2022 and about 17% were 65 and older.

But the non-Hispanic multiracial population, for example, had the smallest share (about 6%) of its population age 65 and older and the non-Hispanic White population the largest share (about 22%) in 2022, clear evidence that while the nation as a whole is becoming older, not all race and Hispanic origin groups are aging at the same rate.

Most race and Hispanic origin groups are projected to experience a decline in the working-age share of their populations from 2022 to 2060. However, some groups are projected to experience a larger decline in the absence of high immigration.

In this article, we use population projections to examine how the age composition of the United States would change under various immigration scenarios for different race and Hispanic origin groups.

From 2010 to 2019, the U.S. working-age population grew by only 3.1% while the 65 and older population grew by 34%. Aging baby boomers, who will all be 65 or older by 2029, and declining fertility rates are expected to contribute to a continued rise in the median age of the U.S. population.

An increasing older population and a shrinking working-age population have implications for the health care system, informal caregiving, social security programs and the economy. But increases in fertility and immigration can help mitigate the impactbecause a greater share of immigrants are of working age than the native-born population, and fertility rates are higher among foreign-born women than native-born women.

Age structures and immigration levels, however, differ by race and Hispanic origin, so aging may affect some groups more than others.

Last November, the Census Bureau released the 2023 National Population Projections, which project the U.S. population to 2100 based on four immigration scenarios:

• The main series, considered the most likely immigration scenario, assumes that future international immigration trends will mirror the latest trends.
• The high immigration scenario assumes a 50% increase in international immigration.
• The low immigration scenario assumes a roughly 50% decrease in international immigration.
• The zero immigration scenario assumes no international immigration and is considered a baseline for evaluating the overall contribution of immigration to population change.

The projections include demographic characteristics. Race and Hispanic origin are projected until 2060 but other characteristics like age, sex and nativity are projected to 2100.

<div id="titlecore-6eb76bda27"

Where this page came from

This page was imported from U.S. Census Bureau. Published by the U.S. Census Bureau and, as a work of the United States government, in the public domain; material credited to others is left out.

Nobody has written it yet — it is the source material at a new address, which is why search engines are asked to skip it and why no one earns from it. It is up for grabs: take it on, and it is yours to rewrite and to earn from.