Data shows the county—one of 27 counties with an increase in its white population—saw a 1.6% increase in people identifying as “white alone.” There are 254 counties in Texas.
However, white people make up a smaller total percentage of the population than they did in 2010: 72.5% of the county’s population was white as identified in the 2010 census, compared to 61.2% in 2020. The percentage of county residents identifying as multiracial—two or more races—increased by nearly sixfold: another nearly 40,000 people identified as multiracial in 2020 compared to 2010.
Galveston County overall saw a population growth of nearly 60,000 people in the last decade, with a total of 350,682 people in 2020 compared to 291,309 in 2010.
More county residents identified as Black or African American, Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, and American Indian or Alaska Native in 2020, per Census data. Asian residents still make up less than 5% of the population in Galveston County, as was the case in 2010, but the county is 16th statewide in terms of percentage of Asian residents. An additional 10.3% of residents identified as Black or African American alone in 2020. The county ranks in the top 50 counties statewide in terms of percentage of Black or African American people, per Census data.
While their representation in the county nearly doubled from 2010 to 2020, Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders make up less than 0.25% of the county’s population. Another 54.6% of residents identified as American Indians or Alaska Natives, but this subgroup makes up less than 1% of the population.
Statewide, major metropolitan areas across Texas were among the fastest growing in the nation over the past decade, with five of the 14 cities that grew by more than 100,000 in the last 10 years coming from Texas, according to Census data.
See more data breakdowns at this link.
