2020 U.S. Census Results: The Changing Demographics Of Washington

SEATTLE — The last 10 years have marked a dramatic shift in the demographic makeup of the United States, with a substantial shrinkage of the white population and rapid growth of the Hispanic community.

Those changes were reflected in Washington, though on a different scale than the rest of the country. For example, while some states saw the percentage of white residents shrink significantly — California, for example, saw the white population decrease 24 percent — Washington's white population made up just 1.3 percent less of the overall population in 2020 than it did in 2010. One of Washington's most populous counties, Pierce County, even saw the white population grow 0.9 percent more over the decade. Snohomish and King counties saw their white population shrink 2.2 and 4 percent, respectively.

Overall, however, Washington remains a predominantly white state, with 66.6 percent of residents identifying as white alone. That also makes the state more white than average: 61.6 percent of all Americans identified as white alone for the 2020 Census.

While the Hispanic or Latino population did grow in Washington — up around 40.1 percent over the past decade — other groups saw even bigger changes. Over 523,000 more Washingtonians identified as biracial for the 2020 Census, a 167.4 increase over a decade prior. That makes biracial residents one of the state's larger minority groups, making up 10.9 percent of the total population. Residents who said they had a Hispanic or Latino origin make up 13.7 percent of the populace.

Other groups saw similar gains over the past decade. 55.5 percent more Washington residents identified as Asian alone or in combination, making up 12.2 percent of the total population. For comparison, nationwide only 38.6 percent more correspondents identified as Asian.

The Black or African American population also grew at a faster rate in Washington than it did nationwide: for the 2020 Census, more than 121,000 more Washingtonians identified as Black. As a result, the Black population grew around 37.3 percent and now represents 5.8 percent of the state's total population. Nationally, Americans identifying as Black or African Americans only grew 11.7 percent over the last decade.

On the flip side, the state's Native American population did not grow at the same pace the country's did: nationwide the number of Americans identifying as American Indian or Alaska Native grew 85.2 percent. In Washington, that same group only grew 57.6 percent, and now represents 4.1 percent of the state's total population.

All of that growth combined means Washington is about 10 percent more diverse now than it was a decade ago, according to the 2020 Census' Racial and Ethnic Diversity Index. The diversity index calculates the probability that two people chosen at random would be from different racial and ethnic groups. In Washington, it grew to 55.9 percent over the last ten years. That also makes Washington the most diverse state in the Pacific Northwest, beating out Oregon's 46.1 percent and Idaho's 35.9 percent diversity indexes.