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North America

United States is home to 8 documented ethnic groups in North America — led by White American (~58%), Hispanic American (~19%), African American (~14%), Asian American (~6%). This page blends their phenotype and demographic data into one weighted reference: skin tone, facial features, hair texture and build, drawn from published census and ancestry sources.

Demographic Composition

Composition weights are derived from self-identification in published census and demographic surveys. Each row links to the source ethnic-group atlas page.

Ethnic groupWeightSource
White AmericanWhite American58.1%US Census Bureau 2020 Census; White (non-Hispanic) (~58.1%, ~190M+ of ~331M+ total). Predominantly European-descended source ancestry with substantial inter-individual variation. Largest single-ancestry self-identifications: German-American (~17%, ~50M+), Irish-American (~10%, ~32M+), English-American (~8%, ~25M+), Italian-American (~5%, ~17M+), Polish-American (~3%, ~9M+), French-American (~2.5%), Scottish-American (~2%), Norwegian-American (~1.5%), Swedish-American (~1.4%), Russian-American (~1%), plus broader European-American sub-populations
Hispanic AmericanHispanic American18.7%US Census Bureau 2020 Census; Hispanic or Latino of any race (~18.7%, ~62M+); the OMB-defined ethnic category. Largest source-country sub-populations: Mexican-American (~62% of Hispanic-American, ~37M+), Puerto-Rican-American (~10%), Cuban-American (~4%), Salvadoran-American (~4%), Dominican-American (~4%), Guatemalan-American (~2.5%), Colombian-American (~2%), plus broader Latin American source populations
African AmericanAfrican American13.7%US Census Bureau 2020 Census; Black or African American (~13.7%, ~46M+); the largest single-ancestry-with-deep-American-history group. Predominantly descended from the historic Atlantic-slave-trade-period populations brought to the British North American colonies and the antebellum US South (~1619-1865). Plus growing African-American populations from post-1965 Caribbean (Haitian-American, Jamaican-American, Trinidadian-American) and African (Nigerian-American, Ethiopian-American, Somali-American, Ghanaian-American) source-population migration
Asian AmericanAsian American6.2%US Census Bureau 2020 Census; Asian American (~6.2%, ~20M+). Largest source-country sub-populations: Chinese-American (~24% of Asian-American, ~5M+), Indian-American (~21%, ~4.5M+), Filipino-American (~19%, ~4.2M+), Vietnamese-American (~10%, ~2.2M+), Korean-American (~9%, ~1.9M+), Japanese-American (~7%, ~1.5M+), plus broader Asian source populations. Substantial post-1965 growth following the Hart-Celler Immigration Act
Multiracial AmericanMultiracial American2.9%US Census Bureau 2020 Census; Two or more races (~2.9%, ~9.5M+ — substantially expanded from 2010 partly due to revised question wording, plus reflecting increasing actual multiracial identification)
US OtherUS Other1.8%US Census Bureau 2020 Census; Some other race alone (non-Hispanic) (~1.8%, ~5.3M+); typically includes Middle Eastern / North African (MENA) self-identifications that the 2020 Census did not have a dedicated category for, plus other smaller groups. The OMB has been considering adding a MENA category to the 2030 Census
Native AmericanNative American1.3%US Census Bureau 2020 Census; American Indian and Alaska Native alone (~1.3%, ~3.7M+). Includes ~570 federally recognized Native American tribes plus state-recognized tribes plus broader Native American populations. Genome-wide studies (Reich et al. 2012, Skoglund et al. 2015) document Native American populations as carrying source ancestry connected to the broader Beringian source populations approximately 15,000-20,000 years ago
Native Hawaiian Pacific IslanderNative Hawaiian Pacific Islander0.3%US Census Bureau 2020 Census; Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone (~0.3%, ~700,000+); includes Native Hawaiian (the historic Indigenous Polynesian population of the Hawaiian archipelago, predominantly Hawaii state), Samoan-American (predominantly American Samoa plus mainland), Chamorro (predominantly Guam plus the Northern Mariana Islands), Tongan-American, plus other Pacific Islander source populations

United States Phenotype Profile

United States has the most demographically heterogeneous structure globally — White (non-Hispanic) (~58.1%), Hispanic / Latino (~18.7%), Black / African American (~13.7%), Asian American (~6.2%), Native American (~1.3%), Multiracial (~2.9%), Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander (~0.3%), plus residual MENA-American and other smaller groups. The country's distinctive demographic profile reflects the convergence of European colonial-period settlement, Atlantic-slave-trade-period populations, post-1848 Mexican-American populations, post-1898 Filipino-American and Puerto-Rican-American colonial populations, post-1965 Hart-Celler-Act migration from globally, and the deeply-rooted Native American populations.

A descriptive view, not a claim about individuals

This page shows a weighted aggregate of phenotype observations across the United States population, based on demographic composition from published census and ancestry sources. Phenotypes within any country are far more varied than the aggregate suggests; this is a descriptive reference, not a deterministic claim about any individual. For source-level detail on individual ethnic groups, see the constituent atlas pages linked below.

Methodology Notes

Composition weights derived from US Census Bureau 2020 Census. Caveats: (1) Hispanic / Latino is an OMB-defined ethnic category overlaid on the racial categories — Hispanic-Americans can be of any race per Census methodology (most commonly White-Hispanic or Some-Other-Race-Hispanic); (2) the 2020 Census revised the race-question wording allowing more nuanced multi-race self-identification, producing substantial increases in Multiracial and Some-Other-Race responses compared to 2010; (3) MENA populations are not separately enumerated in the 2020 Census (OMB has been considering adding a MENA category for 2030); (4) the historic 'one-drop rule' antebellum and Jim Crow framing of African-American identity continues to shape contemporary self-identification patterns.

See full project methodology →

Primary Sources

  1. 1.US Census Bureau. 2020 Census of Population and Housing. Washington DC: USCB; 2021.
  2. 2.Bryc K, Durand EY, Macpherson JM, et al. The Genetic Ancestry of African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans across the United States. Am J Hum Genet. 2015;96(1):37-53.
  3. 3.Reich D, Patterson N, Campbell D, et al. Reconstructing Native American population history. Nature. 2012;488(7411):370-374.
  4. 4.Daniels R. Coming to America: A History of Immigration and Ethnicity in American Life. 2nd ed. HarperCollins; 2002.
  5. 5.Lemann N. The Promised Land: The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America. Knopf; 1991.

Other countries in North America

Aggregate phenotype references for neighbouring North America nations, weighted by demographic composition.

Browse all North Americaethnic groups & countries →