By Victoria Johnson, Chatham News + Record Staff
Chatham County’s population increased by about 20% from 2010 to 2020, according to 2020 U.S. Census data — and much like the majority of the U.S., most of that growth came from Chatham’s minority populations.
The U.S. Census Bureau first began to release in-depth demographic statistics in mid-August; by mid-September, most of that data had become more easily accessible on the bureau’s website, data.census.gov. Using that data, plus data from past censuses dating back to 1990, the News + Record compiled five key takeaways about Chatham County’s 2020 demographic trends:
Chatham is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse.
In 1990, Chatham County’s population was about 75.3% white, 22.7% Black and 1.4% Hispanic (any race). Other races made up less than 1% of the county’s population. The 1990 census didn’t identify individuals of two or more races.
In 2020, however, Chatham’s population was 69.6% white, 10.2% Black, 13.6% Hispanic (any race), 2.1% Asian and 3.9% multiracial. Collectively, other races — American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander, plus “some other race” — make up less than 1% of the county’s population.
Chatham’s white population isn’t shrinking, but its share of the county’s population is.
For the first time on record, America’s non-Hispanic white population shrank in 2020, dropping from 196 million in 2010 to 191 million last year. Its overall share of America’s population decreased, too, from 63.7% in 2010 to 57.8% in 2020.
In Chatham, however, things look a bit different. The county’s non-Hispanic white population grew by about 17%, though its share of Chatham’s population dropped from 71.2% to 69.6% in the last decade.
Across North Carolina, the non-Hispanic white population grew by about 1.4%. In 2020, about 60% of the state’s population identified as white.
Chatham’s Hispanic population grew by a quarter from 2010 to 2020. Now it’s the county’s largest minority population.
Chatham County’s Hispanic population grew by about 26% from 2010 to 2020, according to 2020 U.S. Census data, surpassing Chatham’s Black population as the county’s largest minority group.
In 2010, the U.S. decennial census found that 8,228 Chatham residents, or 13%, identified as Hispanic/Latino — a 73.5% population increase from 2000, when the county’s overall Hispanic population had numbered just over 4,700.
In 2020, the census counted 10,372 Hispanic residents in Chatham County out of 76,285 people, or about 13.6% of the county’s population. In Siler City, nearly 51% of residents identified as Hispanic/Latino, while about 10.7% of Pittsboro’s residents are Hispanic.
Chatham’s growth rate falls well short of the state’s Hispanic population growth rate (40%). Today, nearly 11%, or 1.1 million, of North Carolina’s residents identify as Hispanic, according to 2020 census data.
Chatham’s non-Hispanic Black population has been incrementally decreasing for the past 30 years.
For 30 years, the U.S. decennial census found that Chatham’s non-Hispanic Black population has been falling, although only slightly. In 1990, the census counted 8,794 non-Hispanic Black residents. In 2000, that number dropped by a few hundred to 8,355 — and then another hundred in 2010 to 8,272.
In 2020, Chatham’s non-Hispanic Black population numbered 7,768 people — a 7% decrease in overall population from 2010 to 2020. In contrast, North Carolina’s non-Hispanic Black population increased by nearly 88,000 people (4.3%) between 2010 and 2020.
Chatham’s multiracial population had the highest growth rate between 2010 and 2020.
In 2010, the U.S. Census identified 819 non-Hispanic multiracial Chatham residents. In 2020, the number climbed to 2,937 residents — a 258.6% increase. From 2000 to 2020, that growth rate is even higher at 741.5%. Many multiracial residents also identified as Hispanic/Latino; combined, 5,462 Chatham residents — Hispanic and non-Hispanic — identified as multiracial.
Chatham’s non-Hispanic Asian population held the next highest growth rate — an increase of 132.9% from 2010 to 2020.
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The Chatham News + Record is Chatham County’s source for local news and journalism. The Chatham News, established in 1924, and the Chatham Record, founded in 1878, have come together to better serve the Chatham community as the Chatham News + Record. Covering news, business, sports and more, the News + Record is working to strengthen community ties through compelling coverage of life in Chatham County.
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