Latinos are not the fastest growing demographic in Texas; Asian Americans are

The Asian American population is the fastest growing demographic in the state of Texas, according to new data released by the U.S. Census Bureau on Thursday.

Concretely, the group grew by 5.5% between 2022 and 2023, outpacing the state's overall population, 1.6%. The figure could have to do with the group's relatively small size compared to others, as it added 91,921 people during the period. Asian Americans make up some 5.8% of the state's entire population.

Whites were the group with the slowest growth, increasing its population by just 0.2%. Hispanics grew by 2% and Blacks by 2.4%, the data showed. Latinos added almost a quarter million people in the state during the past year.

"We're continuing the trend we have seen from the last decade," said Xiuhong "Helen" You, associate director and senior demographer with the Texas Demographic Center, after sifting through the data.

The Asian American population grew the most in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, adding over 44,000 people during the past year. Percentage-wise, it did so in Austin-Round Sock-San Marcos, which saw a 10.5% increase.

Overall, the state saw large population increases during the past year in all of its metro areas. Houston added the most Hispanic residents, and Dallas the most Asians and Blacks. It also had the largest general increase, with 473,000 people.

"Whether it's people who are looking for job opportunities or whether it's people who are beginning to establish families and are looking for affordable homes," "Helen" You added.

At the national level, Latinos boosted the country's population growth, accounting for three quarters of all gains. "The Hispanic population is expanding at a substantially faster rate than the non-Hispanic population," said Kristie Wilder, a Census Bureau demographer.

Concretely, there were 1.2 million more Latinos in 2023 than the year prior. The country-wide figure was 1.6 million. There are now 65.2 million Latinos in the country, getting closer to reaching the 20% threshold.

Non-Hispanic Whites now represent 58% of the population, with the demographic being the only one to experience a drop in population, a little over 461,000 people, as deaths outpaced births. Whites are also the oldest demographic group.