Connecticut: Slowly Growing and Slightly More Diverse

As we are exploring the Census 2020 Redistricting data, we decided to share a preview of some of what we’re finding when we look at Connecticut compared to other states in the nation. This is brief highlights from a post we will be sharing soon.

Population

The greatest increase in population from 2010-2020 was Utah, which grew by 19.4%. The greatest decrease was in West Virginia, with a 3.2% decrease.

  • Connecticut Ranks 48th out of 51 (including Washington, DC) at a 0.9% increase.

Nationally, more counties shrunk in population than increased in population. Of the 3,138 counties nationally, 1,478 increased population by at least 0.1%, while 1,660 decreased.

Housing Unites

The greatest increase in housing units from 2010-2020 was DC at 18.1%, followed by Utah (+18%). West Virginia was the only state to decrease the number of housing units, decreasing by 3%.

  • Connecticut’s had one of the smallest changes in housing units with an increase of only 2.8%, putting us 45th nationally.

Vacant Units

  • While Maine’s housing units increased by 2%, their vacancy rate is the highest nationally at 21%. The lowest housing vacancy rates are in California (6%), Washington (7%) and Connecticut (7%).

Population by Age

The states with the highest percentage of people 18 and over (voting age), all with over 80% of their population in that age range, are Washington DC, Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire.

  • Connecticut is one of the oldest states, with 80% of our population being age 18 or over, putting us 11 out of the 51 states.

  • However, Connecticut saw only a modest, 4% increase in the population aged 18 or over, ranking 47 out of 50. The states with the greatest increase in population age 18 and over were Utah and Idaho, with a 20% or more increase.

Population by Race

Read more about diversity from CTData: “How Diverse is Connecticut?”

There are many changes in specific populations related to race and ethnicity. According to the US Census Bureau, these changes may be due in part to improvements to the form itself, “giving a more accurate depiction of how people self-identify.” We will be exploring this further, but here are some of the interesting observations we have made:

Hawaii had the highest percentage of people who identified as Two or More Races (25%), and was the state with the smallest increase of in the percentage of people who identified as being of Two or More Races (+15%).

Texas had the highest increase in the number of people who identified as Two or More Races at 656%, which means that 7.5 times the number of people identified as Two or More Races in 2020 compared to 2010. Texas also ranked 3rd in the percent of people who identified as Two or More Races (18%).

  • In Connecticut, 3.5 times the number of people identified as two or more races in 2020 compared to 2010. Connecticut ranks 16th out of 51 in the percentage of people who identify as being Two or More Races (9%) and 17th in the increase in the percent of people who identify as being of Two or More Races.

Maine had the highest percent of population that is White alone, not Hispanic or Latino (92%), and Hawaii had the least (24%). The greatest increase in the percent of people identifying as White alone, not Hispanic or Latino was in Washington, DC (+25%), and the greatest decrease was in Connecticut (-11%).

  • Seventy-six percent (76%) of Connecticut identified as white alone, not Hispanic or Latino, ranking 27 out of 51.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Visit our 2020 Census Hub for more information about the 2020 Census and to keep up-to-date with data releases and analyses. Be sure to check back as we plan to update the hub often with new data and analyses.

If you are interested to learn more about CTData, check out what we do and the services we provide. For training and tips on how to use data to inform your personal and professional life, register for one of our CTData Academy workshops or browse our blog. You can keep up with us by subscribing to the CTData newsletter and following us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

Census & ACS, Demographics & PopulationSarah Eisele-Dyrli