New census figures released Thursday for America 's white and black populations depicted a nation where most people are white , with increasing numbers of mixed-race inhabitants . While the number of white residents increased in the past decade , the total fell as a percentage of the overall U.S. population , according to figures from the 2010 census . Meanwhile , the number of black Americans increased , with those identifying themselves as being of mixed black and white descent more than doubling in the past 10 years , Census Bureau officials said . Most blacks continue to live in Southern states , though changing population dynamics appear in other parts of the country , particularly the Pacific Northwest and the Southwest , the census figures showed . Of the total U.S. population in 2010 of just under 309 million people , 231 million were white , or almost 75 % . A decade earlier , the white population was about 217 million , or 77 % of the almost 282 million total then . In addition , the white population grew at a slower rate -- 6 % -- over the past decade than the total population , which increased by almost 10 % , according to census officials . Much of the 14 million increase in the white population -- 74 % -- involved whites of Hispanic origin , as the census distinguished Hispanic ethnicity from race . For example , respondents could identify themselves as white Hispanics , black Hispanics or as Hispanics in any of the other racial categories . Meanwhile , the number of whites not identified as Hispanics also increased in total from 195 million in 2000 to about 197 million in 2010 but decreased as a percentage of the total population , from 69 % in the previous census to 64 % in last year 's survey . `` It 's not surprising that we 're seeing that the growth of the white population is due to Hispanics identifying as whites , '' said Lindsay Hixson , a statistician for the bureau 's racial statistics branch in the population division . People identifying themselves as mixed-race whites increased by 2 million over the decade . Most of the increase was people who reported their race as both black and white , a group that rose to 1.8 million last year , compared with 785,000 in the 2000 census . The 130 % increase was the largest by percentage among any group or subgroup in the white or black populations , the census information showed . A total of 42 million identified themselves as black alone or in a combination with other races , comprising 14 % of the total U.S. population . According to the latest census , white Hispanic populations showed the greatest increase in the Pacific Northwest , parts of California , the Southwest , Texas , Florida and the Northeast . Black populations also increased in the Pacific Northwest , California , the Southwest , Florida and the Northeast but decreased in many Southern states . Despite those decreases , more than half of the black population still lived in the South , the 2010 survey showed .
The U.S. Census Bureau releases more figures from the 2010 survey . Hispanic increase fuels growth in the white population . Comment: