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

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

These changes were reflected in Danbury, where the share of the non-Hispanic white population fell by 18 percent while the Hispanic population grew by 42 percent.

Most notably, Danbury showed a significant (191 percent) increase in the number of people who identified themselves as multiracial, although the reasons are complex. Experts say the spike reflects changes in the way people identify themselves as well the number of children born to parents of mixed races or ethnicities, along with changes in the wording of census forms themselves.

Danbury's child population grew by 7 percent, which matched exactly the city's overall growth. The statistic cut against the statewide trend, according to an analysis by non-profit DataHaven.

"Generally speaking, this was due to a far steeper drop in the child populations of these 159 smaller towns, combined with relatively slower increases in their adult populations. Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and New Haven saw particularly large increases in their adult populations, while Danbury saw a relatively large increase in its child population," said Mark Abraham, executive director of DataHaven.

In addition to the drop in the white population, Danbury also saw a drop-off among its non-Hispanic American Indian, Alaska Native, Hawaiian and Pacific islands demographic groups.

Overall, the population of Hat City grew from 80,893 to 86,518. The Hispanic community grew from 20,185 in 2010 to 28,690, a decade later.

See Also: 5 Takeaways From The Release Of 2020 Census Data: AP Explainer

• U.S. Is Diversifying, White Population Shrinking: Census Data
• Census Data Sets Up Redistricting Fight Over Growing Suburbs

Census data is only as strong as residents' interest in filling out the surveys, but Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz, who chaired the state's Complete Count Committee vouched for the data's accuracy. The state's 99.9 percent overall response rate exceeded the national average and its 70.6 percent self-response rate exceeded Connecticut's 2010 self-response rate of 69.5 percent, according to Bysiewicz.