Dramatic Shift In CT Population Demographic In Census

CONNECTICUT — 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.

In Connecticut, the numbers were also notable for a significant drop in the child population, which fueled a decline in the size of the state's medium and small towns.

Connecticut's total under-18 population fell by 10 percent, with the non-Hispanic white child demographic taking the biggest hit, down 27 percent, according to an analysis by non-profit DataHaven.

"Collectively, the population of the 10 largest towns in Connecticut rose by 37,109, while Connecticut's 159 other towns combined saw a population decline of 5,262. 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," said Mark Abraham, executive director of DataHaven.

Some municipalities bucked the trend. Danbury's adult and child populations have each risen by 7 percent over the past decade. Small towns like Salisbury and Rocky Hill also saw similar percentage increases, but nothing near the population numbers of Danbury.

The prime population movers over the past ten years in Connecticut have been the Hispanics, and that stat is reflected in the growth of the under-18 Latino demographic in the state. There was a 20 percent increase in the Latino child population, and a 35 percent increase in Hispanic adults in the state over the past decade, for a 2020 total of 430,695. Overall, Connecticut's Hispanic population grew 30 percent, to 623,293.

The Black child population has also dropped, 8 percent statewide, but the number of Black adults has increased 13 percent to 279,080 statewide.

The number of Asian children remained relatively small (37,600) but has risen 12 percent since 2010. The Asian adult population grew 32 percent, to 32,373 in 2020.

Most notably, Connecticut showed a significant (131 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.

The non-Hispanic white population in the U.S. declined for the first time in the 230-year history of the U.S. Census, and Connecticut's white population followed suit, with a 10 percent loss of 267,030 residents.

Overall, the state's population grew 1 percent over the past decade, to 3,605,944.

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.