2020 Census: 8.2% of Virginians Classify Themselves as Multiracial

Percent change in Virginia multiracial population. Source: Virginia Public Access Project

The share of Virginians who identify as more than one race nearly tripled during the 2010s to 8.2% of the population, reports the Virginia Public Access Project. Some of the surge was driven by demographic trends, but some might be attributed to modifications of the Census reform, which was designed to capture more nuance in ethnic identity. Whatever the case, the numbers demonstrate that racial barriers are dissolving for the most fundamental of all human relationships — sexual union, childbearing and family formation.

So, what do we conclude from the fact that about one out of twelve Virginians considers themselves multiracial? That fact that Americans care so little about racial identity that they form unions with people of other races lasting enough to have children does not square with the dogma that the Unites States and Virginia are racist. Indeed, the data suggests quite the opposite: that the U.S. is the most pluralistic, least racist country on the planet.

The national average for individuals identifying by two or more races is 10.2%, according to the U.S. Census. Virginia at 8.2% was somewhat lower than the national average. But the Old Dominion is marginally higher than Washington D.C. at 8.1% and Maryland at 7.8%.

The states with the most multiracial individuals in the country is Hawaii at 25.3%, followed by New Mexico at 19.9%. The states with the fewest are Mississippi at 3.7%, West Virginia at 4.7%, and North Carolina at 6.8%.

Percent two or more races by state, 2020. Source: U.S. Census

— JAB