The number of Hispanic residents in North Carolina continued to grow last year, though not as quickly as during the final years of the presidency of Joe Biden, according to the latest estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
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North Carolina’s Hispanic population grew by an estimated 30,179, or 4.5%, in the year ending June 30, 2025. That compares to a growth rate of 6.6% the previous year and 5.1% the year before that, according to census data released Thursday.
Last year’s estimate includes the first six months of the Trump administration, which made closing the Southern border and deporting unauthorized immigrants top priorities. Census estimates don’t take into account a person’s legal status.
Nationwide, the growth in the Hispanic population also slowed, to just under 2% in the year ending last June 30 from about 3.5% the year before.
North Carolina’s growing number of Hispanic and Asian residents have helped slow the aging of the state’s population. Both are the fastest growing groups in North Carolina, and they’re also younger on average than the white and Black population that has dominated the state for most of its history.
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North Carolina’s Asian population has grown 32% since 2020, more than any other race or ethnic group.
America as a whole is getting older, as the last of the post-World War II baby boomer generation reaches retirement age and birth rates decline. The number of people age 65 and older has grown by about 8.7 million since 2020, while the number of kids under 18 has declined by 1.6 million during that time, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
But in North Carolina, the population of people under 18 has grown since 2020, by just under 53,000. That has helped slow the growth of the state’s median age in recent years, to 39.5 years old. The national median has grown more quickly to 39.4, according to the census bureau.
However, the share of those under 18 of the total population dropped a point from 22% in 2020 to 21% last year. Conversely, those age 65 and older make up 19% of the state’s population, up from 17% in 2020. The state’s median age is now 39.5.
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