Abstract
In this brief, author Kenneth Johnson reports that New Hampshire’s population grew by a modest 4.6 percent during the past decade to 1,377,500 in April 2020. In contrast, the number of minority residents, defined as those who were other than non-Hispanic Whites, increased by 74.4 percent to 176,900 in 2020. Minority residents now represent 12.8 percent of the state’s population compared to 7.5 percent (101,400) in 2010. Though the minority population grew, a substantial majority of the state’s population remains non-Hispanic White.
Hispanics are the largest minority population in New Hampshire with 59,500 residents, or 4.3 percent of the population. Non-Hispanics of two or more races now number 54,600 (4.0 percent), the non-Hispanic Asian population is 35,600 (2.6 percent), and the non-Hispanic Black population number 18,700 (1.4 percent). Each of these groups had a significant population gain between 2010 and 2020.
Children are at the leading edge of the state’s growing diversity. In all, 20.2 percent of New Hampshire’s under age 18 population belonged to a minority group in 2020, with Hispanics, Asians, and those of two or more races representing the largest shares.
New Hampshire’s growing racial-ethnic diversity, especially among those under age 18, means that youth centered institutions, such as schools and health care providers, have been the first to serve a diverse population. The growing diversity of the state’s youngest residents gives them a greater opportunity to grow up in multiracial and multiethnic communities that will enhance interracial relations, widen friendship networks, and prepare them for life in an increasingly diverse state and nation.
Department
Carsey School of Public Policy
Publication Date
Summer 8-30-2021
Series
Regional Issue Brief No. 66
Publisher
Durham, N.H. : Carsey School of Public Policy
Document Type
Article
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Kenneth M., "Modest Population Gains, but Growing Diversity in New Hampshire with Children in the Vanguard" (2021). Carsey School of Public Policy. 438.
https://scholars.unh.edu/carsey/438
Rights
Copyright 2021. Carsey School of Public Policy. These materials may be used for the purposes of research, teaching, and private study. For all other uses, contact the copyright holder.
DOI
https://dx.doi.org/10.34051/p/2021.37