Population Projections Now Provide Age Detail for Hispanic/Non-Hispanic Groups

Dr. Michael Cline is the state demographer for North Carolina at the Office of State Budget and Management and has given us permission to re-post his content here.

In 2012 our office began preparing population estimates and projections of North Carolina’s Hispanic population because the demographic had grown exponentially since 1990 to become a significant part of the overall North Carolina population. These data included annual estimates and projections for Hispanic and Non-Hispanic population groups by sex but with no age detail.

We are now, for the first time, providing age-specific population estimates and projections for Hispanic/Non-Hispanic populations in North Carolina and North Carolina counties. These age-detailed data will now be included within the suite of data products included in our annually produced population projections.

This data set includes 1) state and county-specific population estimates from 2010 to the latest population estimate year (currently 2021) and 2) population projections through 2050 (currently 2022 through 2050) by sex and 5-year age groups through age 85+ for the following population segments:

• the Hispanic population,
• the Non-Hispanic White population,
• and the Non-Hispanic Non-White Population (which includes American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black, Some Other Race, and Multi-Racial populations).

Users can access summaries of these data for the state or for one or more counties and estimate/projected year.

To commemorate the availability of this new dataset, over the next several blog posts, we will provide a summary of the growth and changing characteristics of North Carolina’s Hispanic population.

How to Access the Hispanic by Age Population Projections

These data are available on the State Demographer’s data platform at Demography.osbm.nc.gov. Search for the “Hispanic Origin by Age” dataset. Data users can explore these data by selecting specific counties, age groups, or other characteristics. Selected data or the full dataset can be downloaded from the data platform as well. These data can also be downloaded directly as a comma-delimited text file from County/State Population Projections. Go to the last dataset titled: Hispanic Origin/Race by Sex and Age (2010-2050).

Who is Hispanic

Hispanic is a term used to refer to people who trace their heritage to Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries – mostly Latin America. This pan-ethnic term is used in official statistics including those reported by the United States Census Bureau. Latino/a, LatinX, and Chicano are other terms often used, though most people categorized as Hispanic are more likely to identify with their ethnic heritage such as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, etc.