US census data shows how Middle Eastern and Hispanic residents differ in racial identity
While the US Census Bureau receives public feedback on how to classify people new race and ethnicity groupsthe agency released new research reflecting how American residents from diverse backgrounds view their racial and ethnic identities.
Earlier this year, the US government changed how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity to more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African descent. Before this year, the categories had not changed in 27 years.
Under the revisions, questions about race and ethnicity that were previously asked separately on forms will be combined into one question. This gives respondents the option to choose multiple categories at once, such as ‘Black’, ‘American Indian’ and ‘Hispanic’. Research has shown that large numbers of Spanish-speaking people are unsure how to answer the race question when that question is asked in isolation because they understand that race and ethnicity are similar and they often choose “a different race” or do not answer the question.
A Middle East and North Africa category has also been added to the available choices for race and ethnicity questions. People descended from places like Lebanon, Iran, Egypt and Syria were encouraged to identify as white, but will now have the option to identify themselves in the new group.
Results from the 2020 Census, which asked respondents to write their background on the form, show that more than 3.1 million U.S. residents identify as Middle Eastern and North African, also known as MENA.
New research released this month by the Census Bureau found that more than 2.4 million people, or about 80%, who wrote that their background was MENA did so under the white category in the question about their race on the census questionnaire of 2020.
Nearly 500,000 people, or more than 16%, who wrote that they were MENA identified themselves as “some other race,” and nearly 139,000 MENA people, or 4.5%, identified as Asian. Nearly 50,000 MENA entries, or 1.6%, did so under the Black race category.
Among MENA subgroups, people with Lebanese and Syrian backgrounds had the highest percentages of people identifying their race as white, and people identifying as North African, Berber, and Moroccan had the highest percentages of identifying their race as black. People from Omani, Emirati and Saudi backgrounds identify as Asian in the highest percentage, the report said.
In a separate report also released this month, the Census Bureau said there was noticeable variation regarding racial identity among different U.S. Hispanic groups in the 2020 census.
Reactions to “another race” and American Indians and Alaska Natives were most common among people from Central America. White and “other race” responses were most common among residents of South America. Black-only responses and “black and other race” responses were most common among people from the Caribbean, the report said.
There was also variation by region and state.
The Northeast and West – especially California, Maryland and New York – had the highest percentage of Hispanic respondents reporting that they were only “some other race.” Identifying as white only or “white and some other race” was most common among Hispanic respondents in the South. The Northeast had the highest percentage of Hispanic residents reporting as black only or “black and some other race.” The Midwest had the largest number of Hispanic residents who identified as American Indian and Alaska Native, especially in South Dakota, the report said.
The new race and ethnicity categories will be used by the Census Bureau starting with the 2027 American Community Survey — the most comprehensive look at life in the U.S. — and the 2030 Census, which determines how many congressional seats and Electoral College votes each state gets.
The Census Bureau looks for feedback from the public until mid-February. The statistics agency wants to hear from groups who believe they have been misclassified, or that groups should be added to the list of codes used to count people by race and ethnicity.
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