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Population across the region grew across all age groups between 2020 and 2025. But it was the only region with growing numbers of people under 18.
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Data: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates; Chart: Russell Contreras/Axios America's child population fell by 1.8 million from 2020 to 2025 — with the under-18 population shrinking in every region but the South . Why it matters: Most of America is preparing for fewer students and young families, while the South faces the opposite problem: crowded classrooms, new housing pressure and rising political stakes. The big picture: The South had 303,969 more children in 2025 than in 2020, according to new Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates reviewed by Axios. - The West had the largest under-18 decline: down 1,015,068, or 5.7%. - Overall, the South's total population grew 6% from 2020 to 2025 — nearly double the nation's…
Data: U.S. Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population estimates; Chart: Russell Contreras/Axios America's child population fell by 1.8 million from 2020 to 2025 — with the under-18 population shrinking in every region but the South . Why it matters: Most of America is preparing for fewer students and young families, while the South faces the opposite problem: crowded classrooms, new housing pressure and rising political stakes. The big picture: The South had 303,969 more children in 2025 than in 2020, according to new Census Bureau Vintage 2025 estimates reviewed by Axios. - The West had the largest under-18 decline: down 1,015,068, or 5.7%. - Overall, the South's total population grew 6% from 2020 to 2025 — nearly double the nation's…Open
The next great civil rights battle may be whether America's old racial categories can keep up with its future. Why it matters: The U.S. is heading toward a more Latino, Asian, Black immigrant and multiracial future — and the rules for counting race will help decide who gets political power, civil rights protections and public resources. Zoom in: Two massive generational shifts will redefine the nation... - Multiracial dominance: Multiracial Americans are on track to likely dominate the population over the next two centuries. - Trade with Latin America could blur lines of migration and citizenship. State of play: For decades, federal racial categories have been the foundation for enforcing anti-discrimination laws, drawing political…
The next great civil rights battle may be whether America's old racial categories can keep up with its future. Why it matters: The U.S. is heading toward a more Latino, Asian, Black immigrant and multiracial future — and the rules for counting race will help decide who gets political power, civil rights protections and public resources. Zoom in: Two massive generational shifts will redefine the nation... - Multiracial dominance: Multiracial Americans are on track to likely dominate the population over the next two centuries. - Trade with Latin America could blur lines of migration and citizenship. State of play: For decades, federal racial categories have been the foundation for enforcing anti-discrimination laws, drawing political…Open
New public data for redistricting and other uses may be reduced as Trump officials limit the ways the Census Bureau can protect people's privacy when it releases statistics.
Democrats are taking the fight over future House maps down ballot, with the super PAC Forward Majority planning to spend $30 million on two dozen state legislative races this year. Why it matters: They're betting that as few as eight statehouse races could help determine who controls redistricting for six U.S. House seats ahead of 2028. - "We're in the Wild West now," said Leslie Martes, the chief executive officer of Forward Majority. - "There are 7,000 legislative districts across the country. Not all of them are up this year, but you've got to make sure that you're playing in the right places with the resources that you have," she said. - The group is eyeing seats such as the Arizona State Senate's 17th District, currently held…
Democrats are taking the fight over future House maps down ballot, with the super PAC Forward Majority planning to spend $30 million on two dozen state legislative races this year. Why it matters: They're betting that as few as eight statehouse races could help determine who controls redistricting for six U.S. House seats ahead of 2028. - "We're in the Wild West now," said Leslie Martes, the chief executive officer of Forward Majority. - "There are 7,000 legislative districts across the country. Not all of them are up this year, but you've got to make sure that you're playing in the right places with the resources that you have," she said. - The group is eyeing seats such as the Arizona State Senate's 17th District, currently held…Open
I confess that I am a political junkie. Not the kind who watches election returns every four years and suddenly becomes an expert because he once retweeted a poll. I have spent more than half a century immersed in campaigns, elections, voter behavior, political history, and the perpetual chess match that determines who governs America. […] The post The Real Election Happens Before Election Day appeared first on StoneZone .
I confess that I am a political junkie. Not the kind who watches election returns every four years and suddenly becomes an expert because he once retweeted a poll. I have spent more than half a century immersed in campaigns, elections, voter behavior, political history, and the perpetual chess match that determines who governs America. I have studied elections the way medieval monks studied scripture. I have watched candidates rise and fall, parties reinvent themselves, and political fortunes disappear faster than a free lunch at a congressional hearing. Yet even after all these years, I remain amazed by how many Americans believe the most important political battle occurs on Election Day. It does not. Americans are taught that elections…Open
Missouri Republicans followed the law to the letter, while Virginia Democrats ignored their state’s constitution.
Texas has gained more than 2.5 million new residents since 2020 — roughly the entire population of New Mexico — reshaping the electorate and injecting new uncertainty into this year's marquee Senate race. Why it matters: Republican Ken Paxton is favored to defeat Democrat James Talarico in November, but the influx of new arrivals — along with fading Latino support for President Trump and booming exurban counties — has scrambled the political math in typically red Texas. By the numbers: Texas added nearly 400,000 residents in 2025, the most of any state, bringing its population to 31.7 million, according to an Axios review of U.S. Census data analyzed by Mendoza Law Firm . - Since 2020, Texas has seen about 2.6 million new…
Texas has gained more than 2.5 million new residents since 2020 — roughly the entire population of New Mexico — reshaping the electorate and injecting new uncertainty into this year's marquee Senate race. Why it matters: Republican Ken Paxton is favored to defeat Democrat James Talarico in November, but the influx of new arrivals — along with fading Latino support for President Trump and booming exurban counties — has scrambled the political math in typically red Texas. By the numbers: Texas added nearly 400,000 residents in 2025, the most of any state, bringing its population to 31.7 million, according to an Axios review of U.S. Census data analyzed by Mendoza Law Firm . - Since 2020, Texas has seen about 2.6 million new…Open
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates ; Chart: Russell Contreras/Axios As exurban cities near booming metro areas explode in growth, hundreds of U.S. communities are losing residents at a pace that signals deep structural decline. Why it matters: The shrinking cities are a crisis in plain sight. - They concentrate poverty and tend to have aging infrastructure and limited job growth. - They struggle to attract doctors and teachers and have few of the amenities drawing younger Americans to boomtowns like Celina, Texas or Apex, N.C. Zoom in: An Axios analysis of census estimates found more than 600 incorporated places of 20,000 or more lost population between April 2020 and July 2025. - Many of the fastest-declining…
Data: U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 Population Estimates ; Chart: Russell Contreras/Axios As exurban cities near booming metro areas explode in growth, hundreds of U.S. communities are losing residents at a pace that signals deep structural decline. Why it matters: The shrinking cities are a crisis in plain sight. - They concentrate poverty and tend to have aging infrastructure and limited job growth. - They struggle to attract doctors and teachers and have few of the amenities drawing younger Americans to boomtowns like Celina, Texas or Apex, N.C. Zoom in: An Axios analysis of census estimates found more than 600 incorporated places of 20,000 or more lost population between April 2020 and July 2025. - Many of the fastest-declining…Open
Census data highlights a significant demographic shift in the United States, with white Americans expected to become a minority by 2050.
PULSE POINTS WHAT HAPPENED: White Americans are projected to become a minority in the United States by 2050, according to census data. DETAIL: U.S. Census Bureau data has revealed that white Americans are projected to become a minority by 2050. Specifically, the white American share of the population is projected to drop to 47 percent by 2050, down from 80 percent in 1980. By 2060, White Americans are projected to be only 44 percent of the population. The demographic shift is being driven by mass migration and declining birth rates among white Americans. Currently, there are six states where White Americans are less than 50 percent of the population: California, Hawaii, Maryland, Nevada, New Mexico, and Texas. By 2050, 10 more states…Open