Census 2000 showed

that the United States

population on April 1,

2000, was 281.4 million. Of the total, 

6.8 million people, or

2.4 percent, reported1

more than one race.

Census 2000 asked

separate questions on

race and Hispanic or

Latino origin.

Hispanics who reported more than one race

are included in the Two

or more races population.

This report, part of a

series that analyzes

population and housing data collected from Census 2000, provides a portrait of the Two or more races

population in the United States and discusses its distribution at both the national

and subnational levels. It is based on the

Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public

Law 94-171) Summary File, which was

among the first Census 2000 data products released and used by each state to

draw boundaries for legislative districts.2

The term “Two or more races” refers to

people who chose more than one of the

six race categories. These individuals are

referred to as the Two or more races population, or as the population that reported

more than one race.

Data on race has been collected since

the first U.S. decennial census in 1790.

Census 2000 was the first decennial

census that allowed individuals to selfidentify with more than one race.

The question on race was changed

in Census 2000.

For Census 2000, the question on race

was asked of every individual living in the

United States and responses reflect selfidentification. Respondents were asked to

report the race or races they considered

themselves and other members of their

households to be.

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued November 2001

C2KBR/01-6

The Two or More Races 

Population: 2000

Census 2000 Brief

By 

Nicholas A. Jones and 

Amy Symens Smith

Figure 1.

Reproduction of the Question on Race 

From Census 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 questionnaire.

What is this person's race? Mark one or more races to

indicate what this person considers himself/herself to be.

6.

White

Black, African Am., or Negro

American Indian or Alaska Native — Print name of enrolled or principal tribe.

Some other race — Print race.

Japanese

Korean

Vietnamese

Native Hawaiian

Guamanian or Chamorro

Samoan

Other Pacific Islander — Print race.

Asian Indian

Chinese

Filipino

Other Asian — Print race.

✗

1 In this report, the term “reported” is used to refer

to the answers provided by respondents, as well as

responses assigned during the editing and imputation

processes. 2 This report discusses data for the United States,

including the 50 states and the District of Columbia.

Data for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are shown

in Table 2 and Figure 3. The Census 2000 Redistricting

Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File was released on

a state-by-state basis in March 2001.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

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.3

The Census 2000 question on race

included 15 separate response categories and 3 areas where respondents could write in a more specific

race (see Figure 1). The response

categories and write-in answers

were combined to create the five

standard Office of Management and

Budget race categories plus the

Census Bureau category of “Some

other race.” The six race categories

include:

• White

• Black or African American

• American Indian and Alaska

Native

• Asian

• Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander

• Some other race

For a complete explanation of the

race categories used in Census 2000,

see the Census 2000 Brief, Overview

of Race and Hispanic Origin.

4

The data collected by Census

2000 on race can be divided

into two broad categories: the

race alone population and the

Two or more races population.

People who responded to the question on race by indicating only one

race are referred to as the race

alone population, or the group who

reported only one race. For example, respondents who marked only

the White category on the census

questionnaire would be included in

the White alone population.

Individuals who chose more than

one of the six race categories are

referred to as the Two or more races

population, or as the group who

reported more than one race. For

example, respondents who reported

they were “White and Black or

African American” or “White and

American Indian and Alaska Native

and Asian” 5 would be included in

the Two or more races category. 

Census 2000 provides a

snapshot of the Two or more

races population.

Table 1 shows the number and percentage of respondents to Census

2000 by number of races reported.

In the total population, 6.8 million

people, or 2.4 percent, reported

more than one race. Of the total

Two or more races population, the

overwhelming majority (93 percent)

reported exactly two races. An

additional 6 percent reported three

races, and 1 percent reported four

or more races.

THE GEOGRAPHIC

DISTRIBUTION OF THE TWO

OR MORE RACES POPULATION

The majority of the Two or

more races population lived in

the West.6

According to Census 2000, of the

total Two or more races population,

40 percent lived in the West, 

27 percent lived in the South, 

18 percent lived in the Northeast,

3 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 seven Asian response categories were

alphabetized and grouped together, as were the

four 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.4 Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin:

2000, U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000

Brief, C2KBR/01-1, March 2001, is available

on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Internet site at

www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/

briefs.html.

5 The race in combination categories are

denoted by quotations around the combinations with the conjunction and in bold and italicized print to indicate the separate races that

comprise the combination.

Table 1.

Total Population by Number of Races Reported:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Number of races

Number

Percent of total

population

Percent of total

Two or more

races population

Total population. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281,421,906 100.0 (X)

One race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274,595,678 97.6 (X)

Two or more races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,826,228 2.4 100.0

Two races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,368,075 2.3 93.3

Three races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 410,285 0.1 6.0

Four races. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,408 - 0.6

Five races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,637 - 0.1

Six races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 823 - -

- Percentage rounds to 0.0.

X Not applicable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)

Summary File, Table PL1.

6 The West region includes the states of

Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon,

Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. The South

region includes the states of Alabama,

Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky,

Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North

Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee,

Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, and the

District of Columbia. The Northeast region

includes the states of Connecticut, Maine,

Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey,

New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and

Vermont. The Midwest region includes the

states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,

Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North

Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
and 15 percent lived in the Midwest

(see Figure 2).

The West had the largest number

and the highest proportion of

respondents reporting more than

one race in its total population: the

Two or more races population

comprised 4.3 percent of all

respondents in the West, compared

with 2.3 percent in the Northeast, 

1.8 percent in the South, and 

1.6 percent in the Midwest.

Nearly two-thirds of all people

who reported more than one

race lived in just ten states.

The ten states with the largest Two

or more races populations in 2000

were California, New York, Texas,

Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, New Jersey,

Washington, Michigan, and Ohio

(see Table 2). Combined, these

states represented 64 percent of the

total Two or more races population.

These states contained 49 percent

of the total population. Three states

had Two or more races populations

greater than one-half million:

California was the only state with a

Two or more races population

greater than one million, followed

by New York with 590,000, and

Texas with 515,000. These three

states accounted for 40 percent of

the total Two or more races population.

There were fourteen states where

the Two or more races population

exceeded the U.S. rate of 2.4 percent, led by the western states of

Hawaii (21 percent), followed at a

distance by Alaska (5.4 percent),

and California (4.7 percent), and

the southern state of Oklahoma

(4.5 percent). The other ten states

included the western states of

Arizona, Colorado, Nevada, New

Mexico, Oregon, and Washington;

the northeastern states of New

Jersey, New York, and Rhode

Island; and the southern state of

Texas. No midwestern state had

greater than 2.4 percent of its population reporting more than one

race. Four states — California,

Hawaii, New York, and Washington

— were represented in the top ten

states for both number and percent reporting more than one race.

There were five states where the

Two or more races population

represented 1.0 percent or less of

the total population: Alabama,

Maine, Mississippi, South Carolina,

and West Virginia.

The Two or more races

population was concentrated

in counties in the West.

The Two or more races population

was generally most prevalent in the

western part of the country (see

Figure 3). The West contained four

counties (all in Hawaii) with between

19 and 29 percent reporting more

than one race, while no other county

in the United States exceeded 

12 percent. The majority of counties

in Hawaii, Alaska, and California, as

well as counties in eastern

Oklahoma, had much higher proportions reporting more than one race

than the U.S. level of 2.4 percent.

Counties along the Pacific coast in

Washington and Oregon, as well as

counties in Nevada and southern

Colorado had higher percentages of

more than one race reporting. This

general pattern of higher reporting

of more than one race extended into

the southwest, especially counties in

southern Arizona, all of New Mexico,

and across southwestern Texas.

In addition, the Two or more races

population was also concentrated in

metropolitan counties along the New

England and Mid-Atlantic coast. The

counties forming the metropolitan

corridor from Washington, DC, to

Boston, Massachusetts, were particularly noticeable for higher percentages of people reporting more than

one race, in comparison with counties in the mostly nonmetropolitan

interiors of these states.

The Two or more races population

represented moderate proportions

of some southern and midwestern

counties. These counties tended to

be located in and around several

metropolitan area clusters including

an area anchored by the Huntsville,

Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee;

and Atlanta, Georgia metropolitan

U.S. Census Bureau 3

Figure 2.

Percent Distribution of the Two or More Races 

Population by Region: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table PL1.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Midwest

Northeast

South

West

15.0

40.0

27.1

18.0
4 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 2.

Two or More Races Population by Hispanic or Latino Origin for the United States,

Regions, and States, and for Puerto Rico:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Area

Total population

Two or more races

Total Hispanic or Latino Not Hispanic or Latino

Number

Percent of total

population Number

Percent of Two

or more races population Number

Percent of Two

or more races

population

United States .... 281,421,906 6,826,228 2.4 2,224,082 32.6 4,602,146 67.4

Region

Northeast ......... 53,594,378 1,228,461 2.3 401,363 32.7 827,098 67.3

Midwest........... 64,392,776 1,022,468 1.6 210,668 20.6 811,800 79.4

South ............ 100,236,820 1,847,015 1.8 588,313 31.9 1,258,702 68.1

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,197,932 2,728,284 4.3 1,023,738 37.5 1,704,546 62.5

State

Alabama .......... 4,447,100 44,179 1.0 5,093 11.5 39,086 88.5

Alaska ............ 626,932 34,146 5.4 3,692 10.8 30,454 89.2

Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . 5,130,632 146,526 2.9 70,154 47.9 76,372 52.1

Arkansas.......... 2,673,400 35,744 1.3 5,380 15.1 30,364 84.9

California. ......... 33,871,648 1,607,646 4.7 704,531 43.8 903,115 56.2

Colorado .......... 4,301,261 122,187 2.8 49,466 40.5 72,721 59.5

Connecticut ........ 3,405,565 74,848 2.2 21,952 29.3 52,896 70.7

Delaware.......... 783,600 13,033 1.7 2,811 21.6 10,222 78.4

District of Columbia. . 572,059 13,446 2.4 3,862 28.7 9,584 71.3

Florida. ........... 15,982,378 376,315 2.4 139,361 37.0 236,954 63.0

Georgia ........... 8,186,453 114,188 1.4 26,824 23.5 87,364 76.5

Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,211,537 259,343 21.4 40,643 15.7 218,700 84.3

Idaho............. 1,293,953 25,609 2.0 7,348 28.7 18,261 71.3

Illinois ............ 12,419,293 235,016 1.9 81,020 34.5 153,996 65.5

Indiana . .......... 6,080,485 75,672 1.2 14,557 19.2 61,115 80.8

Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,926,324 31,778 1.1 6,306 19.8 25,472 80.2

Kansas ........... 2,688,418 56,496 2.1 13,988 24.8 42,508 75.2

Kentucky .......... 4,041,769 42,443 1.1 4,693 11.1 37,750 88.9

Louisiana ......... 4,468,976 48,265 1.1 9,005 18.7 39,260 81.3

Maine ............ 1,274,923 12,647 1.0 916 7.2 11,731 92.8

Maryland . ......... 5,296,486 103,587 2.0 20,641 19.9 82,946 80.1

Massachusetts ..... 6,349,097 146,005 2.3 35,667 24.4 110,338 75.6

Michigan .......... 9,938,444 192,416 1.9 28,929 15.0 163,487 85.0

Minnesota ........ 4,919,479 82,742 1.7 12,438 15.0 70,304 85.0

Mississippi......... 2,844,658 20,021 0.7 2,749 13.7 17,272 86.3

Missouri. . . ........ 5,595,211 82,061 1.5 10,156 12.4 71,905 87.6

Montana .......... 902,195 15,730 1.7 1,962 12.5 13,768 87.5

Nebraska. ......... 1,711,263 23,953 1.4 6,257 26.1 17,696 73.9

Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . 1,998,257 76,428 3.8 27,197 35.6 49,231 64.4

New Hampshire . . . . 1,235,786 13,214 1.1 1,608 12.2 11,606 87.8

New Jersey ........ 8,414,350 213,755 2.5 80,066 37.5 133,689 62.5

New Mexico ....... 1,819,046 66,327 3.6 40,534 61.1 25,793 38.9

New York. . . . . . . . . . 18,976,457 590,182 3.1 224,066 38.0 366,116 62.0

North Carolina. ..... 8,049,313 103,260 1.3 23,295 22.6 79,965 77.4

North Dakota. . . . . . . 642,200 7,398 1.2 732 9.9 6,666 90.1

Ohio ............. 11,353,140 157,885 1.4 20,115 12.7 137,770 87.3

Oklahoma ......... 3,450,654 155,985 4.5 15,736 10.1 140,249 89.9

Oregon ........... 3,421,399 104,745 3.1 22,012 21.0 82,733 79.0

Pennsylvania ...... 12,281,054 142,224 1.2 29,127 20.5 113,097 79.5

Rhode Island....... 1,048,319 28,251 2.7 7,435 26.3 20,816 73.7

South Carolina ..... 4,012,012 39,950 1.0 6,660 16.7 33,290 83.3

South Dakota . ..... 754,844 10,156 1.3 1,196 11.8 8,960 88.2

Tennessee......... 5,689,283 63,109 1.1 8,285 13.1 54,824 86.9

Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,851,820 514,633 2.5 284,066 55.2 230,567 44.8

Utah ............. 2,233,169 47,195 2.1 15,887 33.7 31,308 66.3

Vermont .......... 608,827 7,335 1.2 526 7.2 6,809 92.8

Virginia ........... 7,078,515 143,069 2.0 29,047 20.3 114,022 79.7

Washington ........ 5,894,121 213,519 3.6 37,593 17.6 175,926 82.4

West Virginia....... 1,808,344 15,788 0.9 805 5.1 14,983 94.9

Wisconsin . ........ 5,363,675 66,895 1.2 14,974 22.4 51,921 77.6

Wyoming .......... 493,782 8,883 1.8 2,719 30.6 6,164 69.4

Puerto Rico ......... 3,808,610 158,415 4.2 155,769 98.3 2,646 1.7

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables PL1 and PL2.
U.S. Census Bureau

5

U.S. p

Percent Two or More Races: 2000

U.S. p

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 RedistrictingData (P.L. 94-171) Summary File. American FactFinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mappingtools.

Figure 3.

0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 

0 100 Miles
areas. Other areas included the

metropolitan Gulf Coast of

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and

Florida; central North Carolina; and

the Atlantic coast of Florida.

Similarly, some clusters of metropolitan counties across the Upper

Midwest, around Chicago, Detroit,

and Minneapolis; as well as nonmetropolitan counties in northern

Michigan had moderate percentages

of more than one race reporting.

Counties with percentages of more

than one race reporting lower than

the percentage for the country,

were likely to be in nonmetropolitan

counties in the Midwest and South.

This was especially true in the lowland South counties extending from

Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia,

through the inland portions of

South Carolina, and into Tennessee,

Kentucky, and West Virginia. 

Additional concentrations of counties with lower percentages of

people reporting more than one race

were in Midwestern counties in

Iowa, Wisconsin, Nebraska, and the

eastern half of the Dakotas.

The places with the largest 

Two or more races populations

were New York and Los Angeles.

Census 2000 showed that, of all

places7 in the United States with

populations of 100,000 or more,

New York with nearly 400,000, and

Los Angeles with nearly 200,000,

had the largest Two or more races

populations (see Table 3). These

places were also the two largest

places in the United States. Four

other places (Chicago, Houston, San

Diego, and Honolulu) had Two or

more races populations greater than

50,000. Although Dallas and Detroit were

among the ten largest places in the

United States, they did not place

among the ten largest places with

Two or more races populations.

Honolulu and San Jose had the sixth

and seventh largest Two or more

races populations.

None of the ten largest places in

total population ranked among the

ten largest places by percent reporting more than one race. Los

Angeles (ranked 30th by percent),

New York (ranked 42nd), and San

Diego (ranked 45th) came closest,

6 U.S. Census Bureau

7 Census 2000 showed 245 places in the

United States with 100,000 or more population.

They included 238 incorporated places (including 4 city-county consolidations) and 7 census

designated places that were not legally incorporated. For a list of these places by state, see

www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/

phc-t6.html.

Table 3.

Ten Largest Places in Total Population and in Two or More

Races Population:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Place

Total population Two or more races population

Rank Number Rank Number Percent

New York, NY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8,008,278 1 393,959 4.9

Los Angeles, CA . . . . . . . . . . . 2 3,694,820 2 191,288 5.2

Chicago, IL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 2,896,016 3 84,437 2.9

Houston, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 1,953,631 4 61,478 3.1

Philadelphia, PA. . . . . . . . . . . . 5 1,517,550 10 33,574 2.2

Phoenix, AZ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 1,321,045 8 43,276 3.3

San Diego, CA. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 1,223,400 5 59,081 4.8

Dallas, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 1,188,580 12 32,351 2.7

San Antonio, TX. . . . . . . . . . . . 9 1,144,646 9 41,871 3.7

Detroit, MI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 951,270 18 22,041 2.3

Honolulu, HI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 371,657 6 55,474 14.9

San Jose, CA. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 894,943 7 45,062 5.0

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)

Summary File, Table PL1.

Figure 4.

Ten Places of 100,000 or More Population With the 

Highest Percentage of Two or More Races: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table PL1. 

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Providence, RI

Paterson, NJ

Daly City, CA

Tacoma, WA

Sacramento, CA

Vallejo, CA

Stockton, CA

Hayward, CA

Glendale, CA

Honolulu, HI

6.1

14.9

10.1

7.5

6.8

6.6

6.4

6.3

6.2

6.2
with about 5 percent of all respondents reporting more than one race.

Among places of 100,000 or more

population, the highest proportion of

more than one race reporting was in

Honolulu, with 15 percent (see Figure

4). But places with populations

between 100,000 and 200,000 tended to have higher proportions of Two

or more races populations than

places with greater than 200,000

population. All ten places with the

highest proportion of Two or more

races had over 6 percent of their

population reporting more than one

race. Eight of the places were in the

West, and two were in the Northeast.

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS ON

THE TWO OR MORE RACES

POPULATION

What proportion of respondents

reporting more than one race

also reported a Hispanic origin?

The Office of Management and

Budget 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

use two ethnicities: “Hispanic or

Latino” and “Not Hispanic or Latino.”

Race and ethnicity are considered

two separate and distinct concepts

by the federal system. Hispanics

may be of any race, and people in

the Two or more races population

can be Hispanic or not Hispanic.

According to Census 2000, about

one in three people in the Two or

more races population also reported

as Hispanic (see Table 4). About 

6 percent of Hispanics reported 

more than one race, in contrast to 

2 percent of non-Hispanics.

Which race was most likely to

be in combination with one or

more other races?

The total Two or more races population in Census 2000 was 6.8 million,

or about 2.4 percent of the total

population. But the percent reporting

more than one race varied by race

(see Table 5).

U.S. Census Bureau 7

Table 4.

Total Population by Number of Races Reported and Hispanic or Latino Origin:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Hispanic or Latino origin

Total One race Two or more races

Number

Percent

of total

population Number

Percent

of total

population

Percent

of one

race Number

Percent

of total

population

Percent of

Two or

more

races

Total population . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281,421,906 100.0 274,595,678 97.6 100.0 6,826,228 2.4 100.0

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,305,818 100.0 33,081,736 93.7 12.0 2,224,082 6.3 32.6

Not Hispanic or Latino. . . . . . . . . . . 246,116,088 100.0 241,513,942 98.1 88.0 4,602,146 1.9 67.4

X Not applicable.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables PL1 and PL2.

Table 5.

Percent Reporting Two or More Races by Specified Race:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Specified race Alone or in

combination1 Alone2 In combination3

Percent in

combination4

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216,930,975 211,460,626 5,470,349 2.5

Black or African American . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,419,434 34,658,190 1,761,244 4.8

American Indian and Alaska Native . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,119,301 2,475,956 1,643,345 39.9

Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,898,828 10,242,998 1,655,830 13.9

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 874,414 398,835 475,579 54.4

Some other race . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,521,486 15,359,073 3,162,413 17.1

1

People who reported only one race, together with those who reported that same race plus one or more other races, are combined to

create the race alone or in combination categories. 2

People who reported only one race create the race alone categories. 3

People who reported more than one of the six race categories create the race in combination categories. 4

The ‘‘percent in combination’’ is the proportion that the ‘‘in combination’’ population represented of the ‘‘alone or in combination’’ population. This is the equivalent of the percent of people reporting a specified race who reported Two or more races.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table PL1.
The White population, and the

Black or African American population had the lowest percentages

reporting more than one race. Of

the 216.9 million respondents who

reported White alone or in combination, 2.5 percent, or 5.5 million,

reported White as well as at least

one other race. Similarly, of the

36.4 million individuals who

reported Black or African American

alone or in combination, 4.8 percent, or 1.8 million, reported Black

or African American as well as at

least one other race.

The Asian population, and the Some

other race population had somewhat higher percentages reporting

more than one race. Of the 

11.9 million individuals who reported Asian alone or in combination,

13.9 percent, or 1.6 million, reported Asian as well as at least one

other race. Similarly, of the 

18.5 million individuals who reported Some other race alone or in combination, 17.1 percent, or 3.2 million, reported Some other race as

well as at least one other race.

The American Indian and Alaska

Native population, and the Native

Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander

population had the highest percentages reporting more than one race.

Of the 4.1 million individuals who

reported American Indian and Alaska

Native alone or in combination, 

39.9 percent, or 1.6 million, reported

American Indian and Alaska Native as

well as at least one other race.

Similarly, of the 874,000 individuals

who reported Native Hawaiian and

Other Pacific Islander alone or in

combination, 54.4 percent, or

476,000, reported Native Hawaiian

and Other Pacific Islander as well as

at least one other race.

How was the Two or more

races population distributed

across each race group?

In Census 2000, respondents were

able to report more than one race,

meaning that a combination of two,

three, four, five, or six races could

be reported. The races reported by

individuals who identified with

more than one race varied (see

Figure 5). About four-fifths of these

responses included “White” as one

of the reported races. About half

included “Some other race.” “Black

or African American,” “American

Indian and Alaska Native,” and

“Asian” were reported in about onefourth of all responses. “Native

8 U.S. Census Bureau

Figure 5.

Race Reported as a Proportion of the Two 

or More Races Population: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Table PL1.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Some other race

Native Hawaiian and

Other Pacific Islander

Asian

American Indian

and Alaska Native

Black or

African American

White 80.1

25.8

24.1

24.3

7.0

46.3

Figure 6.

Percent Under Age 18 by Number of Races Reported

and Hispanic or Latino Origin: 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, 

Tables PL3 and PL4.

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

41.9 42.7 41.4

25.3

34.4

24.0

Not Hispanic or Latino,

under 18

Hispanic or Latino,

under 18

Total, under 18

One race Two or more races
Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander”

was reported in less than one-tenth

of all responses.

Were there differences in the

age distribution between

people who reported only one

race and people who reported

more than one race?

People who reported more than one

race were more likely to be under

age 18 than those reporting only

one race (see Figure 6). Of the 

6.8 million people in the Two or

more races population, 42 percent

were under 18. This is higher than

the one race population. Of the 

274.6 million people who reported

only one race, 25 percent were

under 18.

When race is crosstabulated by

Hispanic origin, this pattern persists (see Table 6). For both

Hispanics and non-Hispanics, a

higher proportion of those reporting more than one race was under

18 when compared with those

reporting one race. Among the 

2.2 million Hispanics who reported

more than one race, 43 percent

were under 18. Of the 33.1 million Hispanics who reported one

race, 34 percent were under 18.

For non-Hispanics, the difference

was even more striking. Among

the 4.6 million non-Hispanics who

reported more than one race, 

41 percent were under 18. Of the 

241.5 million non-Hispanics who

reported only one race, 24 percent

were under 18.

ABOUT CENSUS 2000

Why did Census 2000 ask the

question on race?

The Census Bureau is required by

federal directive to collect data on

race. For additional information on

the legal basis for the question on

race included in Census 2000, see

Revisions to the Standards for the

Classification of Federal Data on

Race and Ethnicity, Federal Register

Notice, October 30, 1997, Volume

62, Number 210. This document is

available on the U.S. Census

Bureau’s Internet site at 

www.census.gov/population/www/

socdemo/race/Ombdir15.html.

How do data from the

question on race benefit me,

my family, and my

community?

All levels of government need information on race to implement and

evaluate programs, or enforce laws.

Examples include: the Native

American Programs Act, the Equal

Employment Opportunity Act, the

Civil Rights Act, the Voting Rights

Act, the Public Health Act, the

Healthcare Improvement Act, the

Job Partnership Training Act, the

Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the

Fair Housing Act, and the Census

Redistricting Data Program.

Both public and private organizations use race information to find

areas where groups may need

special services and to plan and

implement education, housing,

health, and other programs that

address these needs. For example, a school system might use

this information to design cultural

activities that reflect the diversity

in their community. Or a business

could use it to select the mix of

merchandise it will sell in a new

store. Census information also

helps identify areas where

residents might need services of

particular importance to certain

racial or ethnic groups, such as

screening for hypertension or

diabetes.

U.S. Census Bureau 9

Table 6.

Total Population by Number of Races Reported, Age, and Hispanic or Latino Origin:2000

(For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/pl94-171.pdf)

Age and Hispanic or Latino origin

Total

population

One race Two or more races

Number

Percent of

total

population Number

Percent of

total

population

Percent of

Two or more

races

population

Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281,421,906 274,595,678 97.6 6,826,228 2.4 100.0

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,305,818 33,081,736 93.7 2,224,082 6.3 32.6

Not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246,116,088 241,513,942 98.1 4,602,146 1.9 67.4

Under 18. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,293,812 69,436,926 96.0 2,856,886 4.0 41.9

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,342,259 11,391,565 92.3 950,694 7.7 13.9

Not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,951,553 58,045,361 96.8 1,906,192 3.2 27.9

18 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209,128,094 205,158,752 98.1 3,969,342 1.9 58.1

Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,963,559 21,690,171 94.5 1,273,388 5.5 18.7

Not Hispanic or Latino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186,164,535 183,468,581 98.6 2,695,954 1.4 39.5

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, Tables PL1, PL2, PL3, and PL4.
FOR MORE INFORMATION

For more information on race in

the United States, visit the U.S.

Census Bureau’s Internet site at

www.census.gov/population/www/

socdemo/race.html.

Race data from the Census 2000

Redistricting Data (Public Law 

94-171) Summary File were released

on a state-by-state basis during

March 2001. The Census 2000

Redistricting data are available on

the Internet via factfinder.census.gov

and for purchase on CD-ROM and

DVD.

For information on confidentiality

protection, nonsampling error, and

definitions, also see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/

doc/pl94-171.pdf or contact our

Customer Services Center at 

301-763-INFO (4636).

For more information on specific

races in the United States, go to

www.census.gov and click on

“Minority Links.” This Web page

includes information about Census

2000 and provides links to reports

based on past censuses and

surveys focusing on the social and

economic characteristics of the

Black or African American, American

Indian and Alaska Native, Asian,

and Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander populations.

Information on other population and

housing topics is presented in the

Census 2000 Brief series, located on

the U.S. Census Bureau’s Web site at

www.census.gov/population/www/

cen2000/briefs.html. This series

presents information about race,

Hispanic origin, age, sex, household

type, housing tenure, and other

social, economic, and housing

characteristics.

For more information about Census

2000, including data products, call

our Customer Services Center at

301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail

webmaster@census.gov.

10 U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Washington, DC 20233

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