White Americans

White Americans

White Americans (alone/one race only) in 2020
Total population
235,411,507 (71.02%) White alone and in combination 204,277,273 (61.63%) White alone 31,134,234 (9.39%) White in combination [1]
Regions with significant populations
All areas of the United States
Languages
Predominantly English
Religion
Protestant 48% Catholic 19% Mormon 2% Jewish 3% Other 3% Irreligious 24% [2] (Among non-Hispanic whites only)

White Americans (also referred to as European Americans) are Americans who identify as white people. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. According to the 2020 census, 71%, or 235,411,507 people, were White alone or in combination, and 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were White alone. This represented a national white demographic decline from a 72.4% white alone share of the U.S. population in 2010.

As of the latest American Community Survey in 2022, United States Census Bureau estimates that 60.9% of the US population were White alone, while Non-Hispanic Whites were 57.7% of the population. Overall, 72.5% of Americans identified as White alone or in combination.^{[3] [4]} European Americans are by far the largest panethnic group of white Americans and have constituted the majority population of the United States since the nation's founding.

The U.S. Census Bureau uses a particular definition of "white" that differs from some colloquial uses of the term.^[5][6] The Bureau defines "White" people to be those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa".^[7] Within official census definitions, people of all racial categories may be further divided into those who identify as "not Hispanic or Latino" and those who do identify as "Hispanic or Latino".^[8][5] The term "non-Hispanic white", rather than just "white", may be the census group corresponding most closely to those persons who identify as and are perceived to be white in common usage; similarly not all Hispanic/Latino people identify as "white", "black", or any other listed racial category.^[5][6] In 2015, the Census Bureau announced their intention to make Hispanic/Latino and Middle Eastern/North African racial categories similar to "white" or "black", with respondents able to choose one, two, or more racial categories; this change was canceled during the Trump administration.^[6][9] Other persons who are classified as "white" by the U.S. census but may or may not identify as or be perceived as white include Arab Americans and Jewish Americans of European or MENA descent.^{[10][11][12][13]} In the United States, the term White people generally denotes a person of European ancestry, but has been legally extended to people of West Asian and North African (Middle Eastern, West Asian, and North African) ancestry.^[14][15][16] However, in 2024, the Office of Managment and Budget announced that the race categories used by the federal government would be updated, and that Middle Eastern and North African Americans will no longer be classified as white in the upcoming 2030 Census.^[17]

The most commonly reported ancestries of White Americans include English (12.5%), German (7.6%), Irish (5.3%), Italian (3.2%) and Polish (1.3%).^[18] It is difficult to track full or partial ancestry from Spain in White Hispanics or Mestizos since people of direct Spanish descent are also classified as Hispanic, and though the census does track Hispanics' national origin, it does not classify it by race. In 2021, 995,583 people of any race claimed ancestry from Spain, 0.3% of the total population.^[19] However, genetic studies have found that the vast majority of Hispanics in the US have varying amounts of European ancestry, with the largest component being Spanish or Iberian.^[20][21][22] The British Americans' demography is also considered a serious under-count, as the stock tend to self-report and identify as simply "Americans" (7%), due to the length of time they have inhabited the United States, particularly if their family arrived prior to the American Revolution.^[23][13] A 2015 genetic study found that British ancestry is the most common European ancestry among white Americans, with this component comprising over 20% of European ancestry in all 50 states, and over 50% in at least three states, primarily those where the largest number of people identified with "American" ancestry on the census.^[24] The majority of white Americans also have ancestry from multiple countries. According to the 2022 American Community Survey, 76,678,228 Americans identified with multiple European, Middle Eastern, or African ancestry groups, with the large majority of these identifying with various European groups.^[25]