Race and Ethnicity
Every 10 years as of April 1, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a census of the nation’s population. The 2010 census reports categorize race into white, black, American Indian, Asian, Pacific Islander, and other. The racial group figures are reported in total and by ethnicity (Hispanic versus non-Hispanic).
Respondents to the 2010 census could specify that an individual had more than one race, as in the 2000 census. Because of the reporting of multiple races for an individual, the Census Bureau presents race in two ways: “race alone” and “race in combination.” In the race alone tabulations, a category for two or more races without specifying those races is included; the sum of the categories equals the population total. In the race in combination tabulations, individuals of more than one race are included in each of the races specified—thus the race in combination categories sum to more than the population count.
Combined figures by ethnicity and race, using the race alone categorization, are presented on Arizona Indicators for the United States, Arizona, and the 15 Arizona counties for 2010. The change from 2000 to 2010 also is provided. The sum of the non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic black, non-Hispanic American Indian, non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic other, non-Hispanic two or more races, and Hispanic categories equals the population count. (The non-Hispanic other race category is only 0.1 percent of the population and is omitted from the charts.) Additional data, for example for smaller geographic areas and for earlier censuses, are available from the Census Bureau, but race data prior to 2000 are not directly comparable to later figures.
U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau. For 2010 data: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. For 2000 data: http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html.
The decennial census is intended to be a count of all residents. However, some people—primarily minorities, especially undocumented immigrants—are missed while some people are double counted, particularly those owning more than one home. Thus, the race/ethnicity figures may have a small bias. The magnitude of the under- and over- counts varies by decennial census.
Race and Ethnic Distribution in Arizona as a Share of the Total, 2010
Visualization Notes:
* Not Hispanic
More than half (57.8 percent) of Arizonans identified themselves as non-Hispanic whites in 2010. The Hispanic share was 29.6 percent. None of the other racial/ethnic groups accounted for more than 4 percent of the state’s residents in 2010.
Race and Ethnic Distribution in Arizona as a Share of the Total, Change, 2000 to 2010
Visualization Notes:
* Not Hispanic
The non-Hispanic white share of the Arizona population dropped 6 percentage points between 2000 and 2010. The Hispanic share rose during the decade by 4.4 percentage points. This shift in the distribution from non-Hispanic white to Hispanic was not as large as during the 1990s, likely due to anti-immigrant legislation that began to be passed in Arizona in 2007. Unless legislation like the employer sanctions law is overturned, it is unlikely that the Hispanic share will rise nearly as much between 2010 and 2020.
The share increased between 2000 and 2010 for non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic Asians and Pacific Islanders, and non-Hispanics having two or more races, but the share decreased for non-Hispanic Native Americans.
Race and Ethnicity as a Share of the Total, 2010
Visualization Notes:
Hispanics and non-Hispanic American Indians made up larger shares of Arizona’s population than the national average in 2010. Each of the other racial/ethnic groups, particularly non-Hispanic blacks, made up a lesser share in Arizona.
The racial/ethnic distribution varies widely across Arizona’s counties. More than half of the residents of Santa Cruz and Yuma counties were Hispanic in 2010, but the Hispanic share was only 6 percent in Apache County. Non-Hispanic Native Americans were the majority in Apache County and accounted for more than 40 percent of the population in Navajo County, but had shares of less than 2 percent in several counties. Approximately 80 percent of the residents of Mohave and Yavapai counties were non-Hispanic whites, but the non-Hispanic white share was 20 percent or less in Apache and Santa Cruz counties.
Race and Ethnicity as a Share of the Total, Change, 2000 to 2010
Visualization Notes:
Between 2000 and 2010, the non-Hispanic white share of the population fell nationally and in Arizona, though the share rose in Apache and Navajo counties. In contrast, the Hispanic share increased nationally and in all Arizona counties except Pinal. The non-Hispanic Native American share fell by more than 1 percentage point in several counties, but it rose in Gila County. In each of the other racial/ethnic groups, the largest increase in share occurred in Pinal County. The rapid suburbanization of Pinal County caused in-migration of most groups; the population growth of these groups was greater than that of American Indians, which primarily results from net natural increase.
Data Source
U. S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau. For 2010 data: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml. For 2000 data: http://www.census.gov/main/www/cen2000.html.
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