People of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White

White Americans

White Americans

White Americans are <a href="/en/Americans" title="Americans" class="wl">Americans</a> who identify as <a href="/en/White_people" title="White people" class="wl">white people</a>. This group constitutes the majority of the people in the United States. According to the <a href="/en/2020_United_States_census" title="2020 United States census" class="wl">2020 census</a>, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented a national <a href="/en/White_demographic_decline" title="White demographic decline" class="wl">white demographic decline</a> from a 72.4% share of the U.S.'s population (white alone) in 2010.

<div class="shortdescription nomobile noexcerpt noprint searchaux" style="display:none" about="#mwt1">People of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White</div>
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<style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1066479718" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles mw:Transclusion">.mw-parser-output .infobox-subbox{padding:0;border:none;margin:-3px;width:auto;min-width:100%;font-size:100%;clear:none;float:none;background-color:transparent}.mw-parser-output .infobox-3cols-child{margin:auto}.mw-parser-output .infobox .navbar{font-size:100%}body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-header,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-subheader,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-above,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-title,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-image,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-full-data,body.skin-minerva .mw-parser-output .infobox-below{text-align:center}</style><div class='mobile-collapse'><header class="mobile-collapse-header mobile-collapse-btn">Quick facts: Total population, Regions with significant po... ▼</header> <table class="infobox vcard mobile-collapse-element"><caption class="infobox-title fn org">White Americans</caption><tbody><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background-color:#b0c4de;">Total population</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">71% (235.4 million) White (including White in combination with other races) 
61.6% (204.3 million) White (one race only) <a href="#cite_note-2020CensusTables-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background-color:#b0c4de;">Regions with significant populations</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><a href="/en/List_of_regions_of_the_United_States" title="List of regions of the United States" class="wl">All areas of the United States</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background-color:#b0c4de;">Languages</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data">Predominantly <a href="/en/American_English" title="American English" class="wl">English</a></td></tr><tr><th colspan="2" class="infobox-header notheme" style="background-color:#b0c4de;">Religion</th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="infobox-full-data"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1129693374" typeof="mw:Extension/templatestyles">.mw-parser-output .hlist dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul{margin:0;padding:0}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt,.mw-parser-output .hlist li{margin:0;display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist.inline ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist dl ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ol ul,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul dl,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ol,.mw-parser-output .hlist ul ul{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .hlist .mw-empty-li{display:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dt::after{content:": "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li::after{content:" · ";font-weight:bold}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li:last-child::after{content:none}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:first-child::before{content:" (";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dd li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt li:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dd:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li dt:last-child::after,.mw-parser-output .hlist li li:last-child::after{content:")";font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol{counter-reset:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li{counter-increment:listitem}.mw-parser-output .hlist ol>li::before{content:" "counter(listitem)"\a0 "}.mw-parser-output .hlist dd ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist dt ol>li:first-child::before,.mw-parser-output .hlist li ol>li:first-child::before{content:" ("counter(listitem)"\a0 "}</style><div class="hlist"><ul><li><a href="/en/Protestantism" title="Protestantism" class="wl">Protestant</a> 48%</li><li><a href="/en/Catholic_Church" title="Catholic Church" class="wl">Catholic</a> 19%</li><li><a href="/en/Mormonism" title="Mormonism" class="wl">Mormon</a> 2%</li><li><a href="/en/Judaism" title="Judaism" class="wl">Jewish</a> 3%</li><li>Other 3%</li><li><a href="/en/Irreligion" title="Irreligion" class="wl">Irreligious</a> 24%</li></ul></div><a href="#cite_note-2" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 2;">[2]</a></td></tr></tbody></table> <footer class='mobile-collapse-footer mobile-collapse-btn'>Close ▲</footer></div>

As of July 1, 2021, <a href="/en/United_States_Census_Bureau" title="United States Census Bureau" class="wl">United States Census Bureau</a> estimates that 75.8% of the US population were white alone, while <a href="/en/Non-Hispanic_whites" title="Non-Hispanic whites" class="wl">Non-Hispanic whites</a> were 59.3% of the population.<a href="#cite_note-3" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 3;">[3]</a> <a href="/en/White_Hispanic_and_Latino_Americans" title="White Hispanic and Latino Americans" class="wl">White Hispanic and Latino Americans</a> totaled about 12,579,626, or 3.8% of the population.<a href="#cite_note-2020CensusTables-1" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 1;">[1]</a> <a href="/en/European_Americans" title="European Americans" class="wl">European Americans</a> are 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.<a href="#cite_note-:0-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a><a href="#cite_note-:1-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a> The Bureau defines "White" people to be those "having origins in any of the original peoples of <a href="/en/Europe" title="Europe" class="wl">Europe</a>, the <a href="/en/MENA" title="MENA" class="wl">Middle East or North Africa</a>."<a href="#cite_note-Census2010-6" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 6;">[6]</a> Within official census definitions, people of all racial categories may be further divided into those who identify as "<a href="/en/Non-Hispanic_whites" title="Non-Hispanic whites" class="wl">not Hispanic or Latino</a>" and those who do identify as "<a href="/en/White_Hispanic_and_Latino_Americans" title="White Hispanic and Latino Americans" class="wl">Hispanic or Latino</a>".<a href="#cite_note-Census-7" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 7;">[7]</a><a href="#cite_note-:0-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a> 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.<a href="#cite_note-:1-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a><a href="#cite_note-:0-4" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 4;">[4]</a> In 2015, the Census Bureau announced their intention to make Hispanic/Latino a racial category similar to "white" or "black," with respondents able to choose one, two, or more racial categories; this change was cancelled during the Trump administration.<a href="#cite_note-:1-5" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 5;">[5]</a><a href="#cite_note-8" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 8;">[8]</a> 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 <a href="/en/Arab_Americans" title="Arab Americans" class="wl">Arab Americans</a> and <a href="/en/American_Jews" title="American Jews" class="wl">Jewish Americans</a>.<a href="#cite_note-9" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 9;">[9]</a><a href="#cite_note-10" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 10;">[10]</a><a href="#cite_note-11" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 11;">[11]</a><a href="#cite_note-LiebersonWaters86-12" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 12;">[12]</a> In the <a href="/en/United_States" title="United States" class="wl">United States</a>, the term White people generally denotes a person of <a href="/en/Europe" title="Europe" class="wl">European</a> ancestry, but has been legally extended to people of <a href="/en/MENA" title="MENA" class="wl">West Asian and North African</a> (<a href="/en/Middle_East" title="Middle East" class="wl">Middle Eastern</a>, <a href="/en/Western_Asia" title="Western Asia" class="wl">West Asian</a>, and <a href="/en/North_Africa" title="North Africa" class="wl">North African</a>) ancestry.<a href="#cite_note-13" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 13;">[13]</a><a href="#cite_note-14" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 14;">[14]</a><a href="#cite_note-FOOTNOTEBaum20063,18-15" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 15;">[15]</a>

The most commonly reported ancestries of non-Hispanic White Americans include <a href="/en/German_Americans" title="German Americans" class="wl">German</a> (13%), <a href="/en/Irish_Americans" title="Irish Americans" class="wl">Irish</a> (12%), <a href="/en/English_Americans" title="English Americans" class="wl">English</a> (9%), <a href="/en/Italian_Americans" title="Italian Americans" class="wl">Italian</a> (6%), <a href="/en/French_Americans" title="French Americans" class="wl">French</a> (4%), <a href="/en/Polish_Americans" title="Polish Americans" class="wl">Polish</a> (3%), <a href="/en/Scottish_Americans" title="Scottish Americans" class="wl">Scottish</a> (3%), <a href="/en/Scotch-Irish_Americans" title="Scotch-Irish Americans" class="wl">Scotch-Irish</a> (2%), and <a href="/en/Dutch_Americans" title="Dutch Americans" class="wl">Dutch</a>, <a href="/en/Norwegian_Americans" title="Norwegian Americans" class="wl">Norwegian</a>, <a href="/en/Swedish_Americans" title="Swedish Americans" class="wl">Swedish</a>, and <a href="/en/Russian_Americans" title="Russian Americans" class="wl">Russian</a>, each (1%) respectively.<a href="#cite_note-16" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 16;">[16]</a><a href="#cite_note-17" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 17;">[17]</a><a href="#cite_note-18" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 18;">[18]</a><a href="#cite_note-19" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 19;">[19]</a> It is difficult to track ancestry from Spain in Whites alone since people of Spanish descent are 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.<a href="#cite_note-20" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 20;">[20]</a> The <a href="/en/British_Americans" title="British Americans" class="wl">British Americans</a>' demography is considered a serious under-count as the stock tend to self-report and identify as simply "<a href="/en/American_ancestry" title="American ancestry" class="wl">Americans</a>" (7%), due to the length of time they have inhabited the United States, particularly if their family arrived prior to the <a href="/en/American_Revolution" title="American Revolution" class="wl">American Revolution</a>.<a href="#cite_note-21" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 21;">[21]</a><a href="#cite_note-LiebersonWaters86-12" style="counter-reset: mw-Ref 12;">[12]</a> The vast majority of white Americans also have ancestry from multiple countries.

White 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, 61.6%, or 204,277,273 people, were white alone. This represented a national white demographic decline from a 72.4% share of the U.S.'s population in 2010. As of July 1, 2021, United States Census Bureau estimates that 75.8% of the US population were white alone, while Non-Hispanic whites were 59.3% of the population. European Americans are the largest panethnic group of white Americans and have constituted the majority population of the United States since the nation's founding. 