Understanding Who Reported Multiple Races in the U.S. Decennial Census: Results From Census 2000 and the 2010 Census

The United States's collection of race data in Census 2000 and the 2010 Census provides a historical and landmark opportunity to compare results from two decennial censuses on the distributions of people reporting multiple races in response to the census. This research provides insights on the number of people who reported more than one race and details on various multiple-race combinations (e.g., White and Black or African American; White and Asian; White and American Indian and Alaska Native). This article presents analyses of the Two or More Races population and the largest multiple-race groups at the national and state level. The results inform data users and the public about an evolving portrait of the multiple-race population in the United States.Key Words: 2010 Census, multiple race, two or more races.Increasing numbers of Americans identify with a combination of multiple race groups. The ability to self-identify with more than one race on the U.S. Census was enacted about a decade ago, with Census 2000 being the first decennial census to allow individuals to self-identify with more than one race, and, as such, this census marked a significant milestone for people of multiple-race backgrounds in this country. Ten years later, the 2010 Census offered a second opportunity for people who identify with multiple racial heritages to wholly identify on the United States Census, and this provides researchers and the public with a unique occasion for analyzing and understanding data from both censuses on the multiple-race population as two major data points for the first time in U.S. Census history.One of the most effective ways to compare the 2000 and 20 1 0 data is to examine changes in specific race combination groups, such as people who reported White as well as Black or African American. This population grew by over one million people, increasing by 134%. Also, people who reported White as well as Asian grew by about three quarters of a million people, with an increase of 87%. These two groups exhibited some of the most significant growth in size and proportion since 2000 and exemplify the important changes that have occurred among people who reported more than one race over the last decade.This article provides an overview of the numbers and geographic distribution of people who reported more than one race as well as details on the largest multiple-race combinations. Analyses are presented for the national level and geographic comparisons across states. In the Findings, we discuss the size and growth of multiple-race combinations in the context of what the Census Bureau learned in Census 2000 about the population reporting more than one race and how the results from the 2010 Census inform data users and the public about an evolving portrait of the multiple-race population in the United States. The new census findings shed light on the changing racial and ethnic diversity we are experiencing in the United States.Understanding Race Data from the 2010 CensusThe 2010 Census used established federal standards to collect and present data on race. Specifically, the U.S. Census Bureau collected information on race following the guidance of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget's (OMB; 1997) Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity. For the 2010 Census, individuals living in the United States were asked to specify their race based on their own selfidentification. By definition, self-identification refers to the provision that the Census Bureau not tell individuals which boxes to mark or what heritage to write in. In accordance with OMB standards, race categories included in the census questionnaire generally reflected a social definition of race recognized in this country and were not an attempt to define race biologically, anthropologically, or genetically. With the 1997 revisions, OMB required federal agencies to use a minimum of five race categories: White, Black or African American, American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander. …