The Steadily Changing America

The Census estimates the US population as of July 1st of each year. For July 1, 2021, the numbers are:

• Total population: 331,893,745
• Of that number, 22.3% are under 18 years of age. Do the math and that’s approximately 74.012,300 children.(1)

An update from August 1, 2021, revises the percentage of children downward to 22.1%, and points out that the percentage of children has been declining in the US since 2007. In Census speak, fertility is down, which simply means that adults either cannot or are opting not to have kids.

For that matter, total population growth in the US is basically non-existant. The population grew by 0.1% in 2021, the slowest rate since the founding of the country.

We’ve argued that children are expensive in the absence of affordable daycare and other services provided by other countries to their citizens.

What’s particularly striking about these numbers is that just over one-quarter of these children (26.3%) have at least one foreign-born parent.(3) Regardless of immigration trends, the change among children will dramatically change US society in our lifetimes.

The Census also points out that these children tend to live in less affluent homes.

Change is inevitable, it’s coming, get used to it.

Amusingly, by fighting against spending to help families, conservatives are bringing about changes that they in fact don’t want.

The law of unintended consequences strikes again.

Sources:

1. https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/AGE775219
2. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2021/08/united-states-adult-population-grew-faster-than-nations-total-population-from-2010-to-2020.html
3. https://www.census.gov/library/stories/2022/02/over-quarter-of-children-lived-with-at-least-one-foreign-born-parent.html?utm_campaign=20220203msacos1ccstors&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery