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  • Press Release

NDRC: Census Data Highlights Widening Representation Gap for Voters of Color

Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Census Bureau’s updated population estimates released this week show that communities of color continue to drive population growth across the country. The latest census estimates show demographic population shifts broken down by age, sex, race and Hispanic origin. It revealed that while the non-Hispanic White population declined in 34 states, the Hispanic population increased in every state. The data also shows growth concentrating in the country’s most urban areas — which grew nearly three times faster than rural America — even as communities of color became the engine of growth in rural counties too. The new data provides the clearest picture yet: The country is becoming more and more diverse, while the maps are becoming less representative. 

“The gap between the American people and their representation is widening, moving us further from the principle of one person, one vote, as a country,” said John Bisognano, President of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC).  “The Census Bureau data consistently shows the country is becoming more diverse and more urban, but self-interested politicians – emboldened by the Supreme Court’s disastrous Callais decision – are drawing egregiously gerrymandered maps that preserve their own power at the people’s expense. There’s only one end to this gerrymandering crisis: Congress must ban partisan and racial gerrymandering as well as other forms of voter suppression and reform the Supreme Court.” 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in many of the nation’s fastest-growing states, communities of color accounted for the overwhelming majority—or all—of population growth, trends that are mirrored in the metropolitan areas where most population gains are occurring. These communities were also the primary driver of population increases in the fastest-growing states, which also happen to be states where mid-decade gerrymanders were pushed this year,  including Texas, North Carolina, Missouri, Alabama, Tennessee, and Louisiana. Metropolitan areas within these states—where a majority of statewide population growth is occurring—also reflect these trends. Nationally, the most urban counties captured the overwhelming majority of population growth, while in the most rural counties—where overall growth was minimal—communities of color were often the only source of population gains, offsetting a declining White population.

This round of census data shows the following growth patterns in these states: 

Texas: Nearly all of Texas’ statewide population growth was driven by communities of color, while the Hispanic population alone accounted for 59 percent of total growth. The Lone Star State’s fastest-growing metropolitan areas, including Harris County, home to Houston, and Dallas County, mirrored these statewide trends. 

Communities of color accounted for 100 percent of population growth in both counties, while the White population declined. The overwhelming majority of new residents in both counties were Latino.

North Carolina: Seventy-six percent of North Carolina’s statewide population growth occurred in communities of color, with Latino communities accounting for nearly 40 percent of all growth. 

In Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, communities of color accounted for 84 percent of population growth, the majority of which occurred within the Latino population. A similar trend emerged in Wake County, home to Raleigh, where communities of color accounted for 73 percent of population growth. In Wake County, the Asian community alone accounted for nearly one-third of all population growth.

Missouri: All of Missouri’s statewide population growth occurred in communities of color, while the non-Hispanic White population declined. Latino communities accounted for 59 percent of the state’s total growth. 

Alabama: More than 75 percent of Alabama’s population growth occurred in communities of color. The largest increases came from the Latino and Black populations, which added nearly 72,000 and more than 22,000 residents, respectively.

Tennessee: Nearly 60 percent of Tennessee’s population growth occurred in communities of color. Latino communities led that growth, adding more than 152,000 residents, while the Asian population increased by nearly 35,000 people and the Black population grew by approximately 16,000. 

In Davidson County, home to Nashville, nearly 85 percent of population growth came from communities of color, with Latino residents accounting for nearly 60 percent of the county’s total population increase.

Louisiana: While Louisiana’s non-Hispanic White population declined by more than 100,000 people between 2020 and 2025, communities of color grew by more than 61,000 residents. 

Note on the Data: Population estimates in this report are drawn from the Census Bureau’s Vintage 2025 County Characteristics file, which uses the 2020 Modified Age and Race Census (MARC) as its baseline. This is the first release with the new  MARC methodology that redistributes all “Some Other Race” (SOR) responses from the 2020 Census into the standard racial categories (White, Black, Asian, etc.) prior to generating estimates. As a result, race-specific counts in this file are not directly comparable to prior ACS estimates. This comparison therefore directly compares the April 1, 2020 MARC baseline counts against the July 1, 2025 Vintage 2025 Population Estimates — a five-year span — rather than against prior ACS estimates, which were built on a different 2020 baseline and would not be methodologically comparable.

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