The United States population was older and there were fewer children in 2020 when compared to a decade ago, according to new data released Thursday from the US Census.
In the Bay Area, the trend was also seen, but the data also shows some surprising changes over the past 10 years.
The median age across the county is also up two year at 39 now, largely due to the aging generation of baby boomers. Economists said that will impact local companies.
“That’s obviously troubling because our labor force is shrinking,” said Abby Raisz with the Bay Area Council Economic Institute. “We don’t have people to fill jobs in the same way that we used to. We’re seeing older folks who might already be retried, or aren’t necessarily in the labor force anymore.”
The Bay Area’s racial makeup is also shifting.
A decade ago, white people made up more than half of the region. Now, it’s at 35%.
The white and Black populations both shrunk, while the Hispanic or Latino group grew slightly. The percentage of people of Asian heritage saw the largest increase going from 23% to 28% across the nine Bay Area counties.
One of the biggest changes was in Santa Clara County, where the white population dropped by 70,000 and Asian population increased by nearly 200,000.
Joint Venture Silicon Valley CEO Russel Hancock said a lot of the change has to do with skilled immigrants coming in to work for tech companies.
“These are the best and the brightest and they come from all over the world, including Asia,” Hancock said. “But it’s not just a pocket of Asia, it’s the Asian continent and subcontinent.”
The census also breaks down homeownership, which is down by 2% in the Bay Area. Nearly 54% of homes in the region are occupied by the owner, with 46% of homes being rented.
The census also shows homeownership by race in the region:
- White homeownership lagged behind the national average
- Asian homeowners matched the national average
- Black homeownership was the lowest among racial groups at 34%
The census data will be used for years to come by government officials and economists.
The 2020 data also comes with a caveat because it was a snapshot of America before the pandemic, and it does not account for the 3% drop in the Bay Area’s population the region has seen over the last few years.
Source: NBC Bay Area
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