Public Schools in the United States Projected to Be Majority-Minority in 2014 Actual and projected share of enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by race/ethnicity
A milestone is expected to be reached this fall when minorities outnumber whites among the nation’s public school students for the first time, U.S. Department of Education projections show. This is due largely to fast growth in the number of Hispanic and Asian school-age children born in the U.S., according to a Pew Research Center analysis of Census Bureau data.
A steady demographic change over the years has resulted in a decline in the number of whites in classrooms even as the total number of public school students has increased. In 1997, the U.S. had 46.1 million public school students, of which 63.4% were white. While whites will still outnumber any single racial or ethnic group this fall, their overall share of the nation’s 50 million public school students is projected to drop to 49.7%. Since 1997, the number of white students has declined by 15%, falling from 29.2 million to 24.9 million in 2014.
While the number of white students has declined, there have been large enrollment increases of Hispanics and Asians, two groups that have seen overall population growth. Since 1997, the number of Hispanic students nearly doubled to 12.9 million, and the number of Asians jumped 46% to 2.6 million. The number of black students expected in schools this fall, 7.7 million, has been relatively steady during this time.
Public Schools in the United States Projected to Be Majority-Minority in 2014  | Actual and projected share of enrollment in public elementary and secondary schools, by race/ethnicity  | Percent white enrollment  | Percent total minority enrollment  | ASIAN/PACIFIC  | WHITE  | BLACK HISPANIC  | ISLANDER  | 1997  | 63, .4% 36. 66  | AMERICAN  | 62.8  | 37.2  | 1998  | INDIAN/  | 2000  | 61.2  | 38.8  | ALASKA  | NATIVE  | 59.4  | 40.6  | 2002  | 57.8  | 42.2  | 2004  | 56.4  | 43.6  | 2006  | 54.9  | 45.1  | 2008  | 52.4  | 47.6  | 2010  | 51.0  | 49.0  | 2012  | 2014  | 2014  | 50.3  | 49.7  | First year minority of  | I  | majority minority  | 2016  | 48.4  | 51.6  | 2018  | 47.3  | 52.7  | 53.8  | 2020  | 46.2  | 54.7  | 2022  | 45.3  | TWO OR  | MORE RACES  | Note: Whites blacks Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian/Alaska Native include only non-Hispanics Hispanics are of  | any race Prior to 2008, two or more races was not an ava ailable category. In 2008 and 2009, some students of both Asian  | origin and Hawaiian or Other Pacific Island origin were included in the two or more races category. In 2010 and 2011. all  | students of both Asian origin and Hawa iian or Other Pacific Islander origin were included in category. the two or more races cate gory. In  | 2008 five states reported enrollment counts for students of two or more races. In 2009, 14 states reported enrollment  | counts for stude nts of two or more races  | Source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S Depa rtment of Education  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 