How Does the Public Feel about a Nonwhite Majority?

A shockingly large percentage of the American public does not look favorably on the day when Asians, Blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities will outnumber non-Hispanic Whites—a threshold we may cross in 2045, according to Census Bureau projections. When asked whether a majority nonwhite population will strengthen or weaken American culture, 38 percent of the public says it will weaken American customs and values, according to a Pew Research Center survey of the public's attitudes toward a changing America.

It gets worse. When responses are broken down by race and Hispanic origin. Nearly half of Whites (46 percent) say a majority nonwhite population will weaken American culture. A smaller 18 percent of Blacks and 25 percent of Hispanics agree.

When asked whether having a majority nonwhite population by the year 2050 will be good or bad for the country, 23 percent of total adults say it will be bad. Some are more likely to feel this way than others. Twenty-eight percent of non-Hispanic Whites think it will be bad versus 13 percent of Blacks and 12 percent of Hispanics. Twenty-nine percent of people aged 65 or older say it will be bad versus 15 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds. Thirty-seven percent of Republicans don't like the idea versus 12 percent of Democrats.

The good news in these disturbing findings is that the percentage of Americans who think a majority nonwhite population will be good for the country is larger than the percentage who think it will be bad (35 versus 23 percent). And the percentage who say it will be neither good nor bad (42 percent) is even larger.

Source: Pew Research Center, Looking to the Future, Public Sees an America in Decline on Many Fronts