Natural Increase Vs. Net Foreign Immigration
May 25,
2018 by Laurie Northington in General 
Since the turn of the century, diversity in America has continued to grow – impacting the political climate, education and the economy. One common thread in the home furnishings industry is that all Americans need and purchase home furnishings, regardless of ethnicity. However, understanding the components of diversity adds perspective to our retail landscape. This is the third factoid in a series of five factoids detailing the changes in population between 2010 and 2016. *see factoid one of this series for The Census Bureau race classifications.
A resident population grows by two methods: (1) Natural Increase, which is the net result of births minus deaths, and (2) Net Foreign Immigration. Of the 14.4 million additional residents over the six-year period since 2010, 59.3 percent of the growth can be attributed to Natural Increase and 40.7 percent to Foreign Immigration.
Natural Increase
For the White (Non Hispanic) population, Natural Increase (births minus deaths) has been negative since the early 2000s meaning more have died than were born. Between 2010 and 2016, Whites (Non Hispanic) experienced a net natural decrease of 397,697 residents. As the aging Baby Boomers continue to die in record numbers and younger Millennials delay childbirth, this decline is expected to escalate.
By far, the much younger White Hispanic population has the greatest net result of births minus deaths accounting for over half of the Natural Increase of the total population occurring between 2010 and 2016.