White Americans

Definitions of who is "White" have changed throughout the history of the United States.

U.S. census definition

The term "white American" can encompass many different ethnic groups. Although the United States census purports to reflect a social definition of race, the social dimensions of race are more complex than Census criteria. The 2000 U.S. census states that racial categories "generally reflect a social definition of race recognized in this country. They do not conform to any biological, anthropological or genetic criteria."^[24]

The Census question on race lists the categories White or European American, Black or African American, American Indian and Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, Asian, plus "Some other race", with the respondent having the ability to mark more than one racial or ethnic category. The Census Bureau defines White people as follows:

"White" refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East or North Africa. It includes people who indicated their race(s) as "White" or reported entries such as German,Italian, Lebanese, Arab, Moroccan, or Caucasian.^[8]

In U.S. census documents, the designation White overlaps, as do all other official racial categories, with the term Hispanic or Latino, which was introduced in the 1980 census as a category of ethnicity, separate and independent of race.^[25][26] Hispanic and Latino Americans as a whole make up a racially diverse group and are the largest minority in the country.^[27][28]

Beginning in 1930, Mexican was added as a distinct race on the U.S. census with the explanation that "practically all Mexican laborers are of a racial mixture difficult to classify".^[29][30] The Mexican racial category was removed in 1940, with new direction that "Mexicans are to be regarded as white unless definitely of Indian or other nonwhite race"; this was continued in 1950.^[31] 1970 saw the creation of the Spanish Origin category, which superseded previous classifications for Latin Americans and is now represented by the Hispanic or Latino ethnic category. Hispanic or Latino was again to be raised to racial status for the 2020 census (along with Middle Eastern and North African), but this was canceled by President Donald J. Trump.^[32]

The characterization of Middle Eastern and North African Americans as white has been a matter of controversy. In the early 20th century, there were a number of cases where people of Arab descent were denied entry into the United States or deported, because they were characterized as nonwhite.^[33] In the early 21st century, MENA Americans began lobbying for the creation of their own racial group and were successful; in 2015, the US Census Bureau announced that it had responded to their requests and would add a "Middle Eastern and North African" racial category to the 2020 census.^[34][35] However, the Trump administration nullified this change after coming to power in 2016.

President Abraham Lincoln was descended from Samuel Lincoln and was of English and Welsh ancestry.

Gloria Vanderbilt, noted artist and designer, was of Dutch descent.

In cases where individuals do not self-identify, the U.S. census parameters for race give each national origin a racial value.

On some government documents, such as the 2007 SEER program's Coding and Staging Manual, people who reported Muslim (or a sect of Islam such as Shia or Sunni), Jewish, Zoroastrian, Caucasian, or a MENA or Latin American ethnicity as their race in the "Some other race" section, without noting a country of origin or Native American tribal affiliation, were automatically tallied as White. ^[36] The 1990 U.S. census Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) listed "Caucasian" or "Aryan" among other terms as subgroups of "white" in their ancestry code listing,^[37] but 2005 and proceeding years of PUMS codes do not.^[38]

Social definition

In the contemporary United States, essentially anyone of European descent is typically considered white. People of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA) descent may also be considered white. However, many of the ethnic groups classified as white by the U.S. Census, such as Arab Americans, Berber Americans, Romani Americans, Jewish Americans of European or MENA descent, and Hispanics and Latinos of European or MENA descent may not always identify as, and may not always be perceived to be, white.^{[39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46]}

Social perceptions of whiteness have evolved over the course of American history. For example, Benjamin Franklin commented that the Saxons of Germany and the English "make the principal Body of White People on the Face of the Earth".^[47] Historically, many individuals of European descent were not readily integrated into mainstream American society and found themselves caught on the "dark" side of the white/black binary, including Irish, Italians, Greeks and Slavs.^[48] In Minnesota, increasing numbers of Finnish immigrants led to a debate surrounding Finnish whiteness and whether Finns should be classified as a Mongoloid peoples.^[46]

David R. Roediger argues that the construction of the white race in the United States was an effort to mentally distance slave owners from slaves.^[49] The process of officially being defined as white by law often came about in court disputes over pursuit of citizenship.^[50]

White alone 1790–2020
Year	Population	% of the U.S.	% change (10 yr)	Year	Population	% of the U.S.	% change (10 yr)
1790	3,172,006	80.7		1910	81,731,957	88.9	22.3%
1800	4,306,446	81.1	35.8%	1920	94,820,915	89.7	16.0%
1810	5,862,073	81.0	36.1%	1930	110,286,740	89.8	16.3%
1820	7,866,797	81.6	34.2%	1940	118,214,870	89.8 (highest)	7.2%
1830	10,532,060	81.9	33.9%	1950	134,942,028	89.5	14.1%
1840	14,189,705	83.2	34.7%	1960	158,831,732	88.6	17.7%
1850	19,553,068	84.3	37.8%	1970	178,119,221	87.5	12.1%
1860	26,922,537	85.6	37.7%	1980	188,371,622	83.1	5.8%
1870	33,589,377	87.1	24.8%	1990	199,686,070	80.3	6.0%
1880	43,402,970	86.5	29.2%	2000	211,460,626	75.1	5.9%
1890	55,101,258	87.5	26.9%	2010	223,553,265	72.4	5.7%
1900	66,809,196	87.9	21.2%	2020	204,277,273	61.6 (lowest)	– 8.6%
Source: United States census bureau.[51][52][53][54]

The fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico as of the 2020 United States Census

White Americans constitute the majority of the 332 million people living in the United States, with 71% of the population in the 2020 United States Census, including 61.6% who identified as 'white alone.' This represented a national white demographic decline from a 72.4% share of the US's self-identified white alone population in 2010.^{[8][55][note 1]}

The largest ethnic groups (by ancestry) among White Americans were English, followed by Germans and Irish.^[57][58] In the 1980 census 49,598,035 Americans cited that they were of English ancestry, making them 26% of the country and the largest group at the time, and in fact larger than the population of England itself.^[59] Slightly more than half of these people would cite that they were of "American" ancestry on subsequent censuses and virtually everywhere that "American" ancestry predominates on the 2000 census corresponds to places where "English" predominated on the 1980 census.^[14][60]

Geographic distribution

White Americans are the majority racial group in almost all of the United States. They are not the majority in Hawaii, many American Indian reservations, parts of the South, the District of Columbia, all US territories, and in many urban areas throughout the country.

Overall the highest concentration of those referred to as "non-Hispanic whites" by the Census Bureau are found in the Midwest, New England, the northern Rocky Mountain states, Kentucky, West Virginia, and East Tennessee.^[61] The lowest concentration of whites was found in southern and mid-Atlantic states.^[9][62][63]

Although all large geographical areas are dominated by White Americans, much larger differences can be seen between specific parts of large cities.

States with the highest percentages of White Americans, either White Alone or in combination with another race as of 2020:^{[64][failed verification]}

1. Vermont 95.6%
2. Maine 95.4%
3. West Virginia 94.4%
4. New Hampshire 93.7%
5. Wyoming 92.0%
6. Montana 90.9%
7. Idaho 90.2%
8. Iowa 89.8%
9. North Dakota 88.0%
10. Kentucky 87.5%

States with the highest percentages of non-Latino/Hispanic whites, as of 2020:^{[65][failed verification]}

1. Maine 92.0%
2. Vermont 91.3%
3. New Hampshire 91.3%
4. West Virginia 90.4%
5. Wyoming 90.7%
6. Idaho 90.7%
7. Utah 88.7%
8. Iowa 88.7%
9. Montana 86.7%
10. Nebraska 86.0%

Income and educational attainment

White Americans have the second highest median household income and personal income levels in the nation, by cultural background. The median income per household member was also the highest, since White Americans had the smallest households of any racial demographic in the nation. In 2006, the median individual income of a White American age 25 or older was $33,030, with those who were full-time employed, and of age 25 to 64, earning $34,432. Since 42% of all households had two income earners, the median household income was considerably higher than the median personal income, which was $48,554 in 2005. Jewish Americans rank first in household income, personal income, and educational attainment among White Americans.^[66] In 2005, White households had a median household income of $48,977, which is 10% above the national median of $44,389. Among Cuban Americans, with 86% classified as White, those born in the US have a higher median income and educational attainment level than most other Whites.^[67]

The poverty rates for White Americans are the second-lowest of any racial group, with 11% of white individuals living below the poverty line, 3% lower than the national average.^[68] However, due to Whites' majority status, 48% of Americans living in poverty are white.^[69]

White Americans' educational attainment is the second-highest in the country, after Asian Americans'. Overall, nearly one-third of White Americans had a Bachelor's degree, with the educational attainment for Whites being higher for those born outside the United States: 38% of foreign born, and 30% of native born Whites had a college degree. Both figures are above the national average of 27%.^[70]

Gender income inequality was the greatest among Whites, with White men outearning White women by 48%. Census Bureau data for 2005 reveals that the median income of White females was lower than that of males of all races. In 2005, the median income for White American females was only slightly higher than that of African American females.^[71]

White Americans are more likely to live in suburbs and small cities than their black counterparts.^[72]

Population by state

• White American population distribution over time
• 
  1790
• 
  1800
• 
  1810
• 
  1820
• 
  1830
• 
  1840
• 
  1850
• 
  1860
• 
  1870
• 
  1880
• 
  1890
• 
  1900
• 
  1910
• 
  1920
• 
  1940
• 
  1950
• 
  1960
• 
  1970
• 
  1980
• 
  1990
• 
  2000
• 
  2010
• 
  2020

White Americans of one race or alone from 2000 to 2020

White American (of one race or alone) population as of 2000, 2010 and 2020 censuses^[53][73][74]

State	2000		2010		2020		Growth
	Pop. 2000	% 2000	Pop. 2010	% 2010	Pop. 2020	% 2020	% growth between 2000 and 2010
Alabama	3,162,808	71.1%	3,275,394	68.5%	3,220,452	64.1%	+3.6%
Alaska	434,534	69.3%	473,576	66.7%	435,392	59.4%	+9.0%
Arizona	3,873,611	75.5%	4,667,121	73.0%	4,322,337	60.4%	+20.5%
Arkansas	2,138,598	80.0%	2,245,229	77.0%	2,114,512	70.2%	+5.0%
California	20,170,059	59.5%	21,453,934	57.6%	16,296,122	41.2%	+6.4%
Colorado	3,560,005	82.8%	4,089,202	81.3%	4,082,927	70.7%	+14.9%
Connecticut	2,780,355	81.6%	2,772,410	77.6%	2,395,128	66.4%	-0.3%
Delaware	584,773	74.6%	618,617	68.9%	597,763	60.4%	+5.8%
District of Columbia	176,101	30.8%	231,471	38.5%	273,194	39.4%	+31.4%
Florida	12,465,029	78.0%	14,109,162	75.0%	12,422,961	57.7%	+13.2%
Georgia	5,327,281	65.1%	5,787,440	59.7%	5,555,483	51.9%	+8.6%
Hawaii	294,102	24.3%	336,599	24.7%	333,261	22.9%	+14.4%
Idaho	1,177,304	91.0%	1,396,487	89.1%	1,510,360	82.1%	+18.6%
Illinois	9,125,471	73.5%	9,177,877	71.5%	7,868,227	61.4%	+0.6%
Indiana	5,320,022	87.5%	5,467,906	84.3%	5,241,791	77.2%	+2.8%
Iowa	2,748,640	93.9%	2,781,561	91.3%	2,694,521	84.5%	+1.2%
Kansas	2,313,944	86.1%	2,391,044	83.8%	2,222,462	75.6%	+3.3%
Kentucky	3,640,889	90.1%	3,809,537	87.8%	3,711,254	82.4%	+4.6%
Louisiana	2,856,161	63.9%	2,836,192	62.6%	2,675,652	57.1%	-0.7%
Maine	1,236,014	96.9%	1,264,971	95.2%	1,237,041	90.8%	+2.3%
Maryland	3,391,308	64.0%	3,359,284	58.2%	3,007,874	48.7%	-0.9%
Massachusetts	5,367,286	84.5%	5,265,236	80.4%	4,896,037	69.6%	-1.9%
Michigan	7,966,053	80.2%	7,803,120	78.9%	7,444,974	73.9%	-2.0%
Minnesota	4,400,282	89.4%	4,524,062	85.3%	4,423,146	77.5%	+2.8%
Mississippi	1,746,099	61.4%	1,754,684	59.1%	1,658,893	56%	+0.5%
Missouri	4,748,083	84.9%	4,958,770	82.8%	4,740,335	77%	+4.4%
Montana	817,229	90.6%	884,961	89.4%	916,524	84.5%	+8.3%
Nebraska	1,533,261	89.6%	1,572,838	86.1%	1,538,052	78.4%	+2.6%
Nevada	1,501,886	75.2%	1,786,688	66.2%	1,588,463	51.2%	+19.0%
New Hampshire	1,186,851	96.0%	1,236,050	92.3%	1,216,203	88.3%	+4.1%
New Jersey	6,104,705	72.6%	6,029,248	68.6%	5,112,280	55%	-1.2%
New Mexico	1,214,253	66.8%	1,407,876	68.4%	1,078,927	51%	+15.9%
New York	12,893,689	67.9%	12,740,974	65.7%	11,143,349	55.2%	-1.2%
North Carolina	5,804,656	72.1%	6,528,950	68.5%	6,448,459	62.2%	+12.5%
North Dakota	593,181	92.4%	605,449	90.0%	645,938	82.9%	+2.1%
Ohio	9,645,453	85.0%	9,539,437	82.7%	9,080,688	77%	-1.1%
Oklahoma	2,628,434	76.2%	2,706,845	72.2%	2,514,884	63.5%	+3.0%
Oregon	2,961,623	86.6%	3,204,614	83.6%	3,169,096	74.8%	+8.2%
Pennsylvania	10,484,203	85.4%	10,406,288	81.9%	9,750,687	75%	-0.7%
Rhode Island	891,191	85.0%	856,869	81.4%	782,920	71.3%	-3.8%
South Carolina	2,695,560	67.2%	3,060,000	66.2%	3,243,442	63.4%	+13.5%
South Dakota	669,404	88.7%	699,392	85.9%	715,336	80.7%	+4.5%
Tennessee	4,563,310	80.2%	4,921,948	77.6%	4,990,938	72.2%	+7.9%
Texas	14,799,505	71.0%	17,701,552	70.4%	14,609,365	50.1%	+19.6%
Utah	1,992,975	89.2%	2,379,560	86.1%	2,573,413	78.7%	+19.4%
Vermont	589,208	96.8%	596,292	95.3%	577,751	89.8%	+1.2%
Virginia	5,120,110	72.3%	5,486,852	68.6%	5,208,856	60.3%	+7.2%
Washington	4,821,823	81.8%	5,196,362	77.3%	5,130,920	66.6%	+7.8%
West Virginia	1,718,777	95.0%	1,739,988	93.9%	1,610,749	89.8%	+1.2%
Wisconsin	4,769,857	88.9%	4,902,067	86.2%	4,737,545	80.4%	+2.8%
Wyoming	454,670	92.1%	511,279	90.7%	488,374	84.7%	+12.4%
United States of America	211,460,626	75.1%	223,553,265	72.4%	204,277,273	61.6%	+5.7%

White population by state (includes Hispanics who identify as white)^[75]

State	Pop. 2016	% 2016	Pop. 2017	% 2017	percentage growth	numeric growth
Alabama	3,371,066	69.35%	3,374,131	69.22%	-0.13%	+3,065
Alaska	490,864	66.20%	486,724	65.79%	-0.41%	-4,140
Arizona	5,753,506	83.28%	5,827,866	83.06%	-0.22%	+74,360
Arkansas	2,372,843	79.41%	2,381,662	79.27%	-0.14%	+3,740
California	28,560,032	72.68%	28,611,160	72.37%	-0.31%	+51,128
Colorado	4,837,197	87.47%	4,894,372	87.29%	-0.18%	+57,175
Connecticut	2,891,943	80.60%	2,879,759	80.26%	-0.34%	-12,184
Delaware	667,076	70.02%	670,512	69.70%	-0.32%	+3,436
District of Columbia	305,232	44.60%	313,234	45.14%	+0.54%	+8,002
Florida	16,022,497	77.56%	16,247,613	77.43%	-0.13%	+225,116
Georgia	6,310,426	61.18%	6,341,768	60.81%	-0.37%	+31,342
Hawaii	370,362	25.92%	366,546	25.67%	-0.25%	-3,816
Idaho	1,567,868	93.32%	1,599,814	93.18%	-0.2%	+31,946
Illinois	9,909,184	77.20%	9,864,942	77.06%	-0.14%	-44,242
Indiana	5,679,252	85.61%	5,690,929	85.36%	-0.25%	+11,677
Iowa	2,860,136	91.35%	2,864,664	91.06%	-0.29%	+4,528
Kansas	2,519,340	86.64%	2,519,176	86.47%	-0.17%	-164
Kentucky	3,901,878	87.96%	3,908,964	87.76%	-0.20%	+7,086
Louisiana	2,958,471	63.13%	2,951,003	63.00%	-0.13%	-7,468
Maine	1,261,247	94.81%	1,264,744	94.67%	-0.14%	+3,497
Maryland	3,572,673	59.30%	3,568,679	58.96%	-0.34%	-3,994
Massachusetts	5,575,622	81.71%	5,576,725	81.29%	-0.42%	+1,103
Michigan	7,906,913	79.60%	7,914,418	79.44%	-0.16%	+7,505
Minnesota	4,687,397	84.84%	4,708,215	84.43%	-0.41%	+20,818
Mississippi	1,771,276	59.33%	1,766,950	59.21%	-0.12%	-4,326
Missouri	5,069,869	83.23%	5,080,444	83.10%	-0.13%	+10,575
Montana	926,475	89.20%	935,792	89.08%	-0.12%	+9,317
Nebraska	1,693,622	88.78%	1,700,881	88.58%	-0.20%	+7,259
Nevada	2,208,915	75.15%	2,235,657	74.57%	-0.58%	+26,742
New Hampshire	1,251,836	93.77%	1,256,807	93.59%	-0.18%	+4,971
New Jersey	6,499,057	72.38%	6,489,409	72.06%	-0.32%	-9,648
New Mexico	1,716,662	82.31%	1,715,623	82.16%	-0.15%	-1,039
New York	13,856,651	69.85%	13,807,127	69.56%	-0.29%	-49,524
North Carolina	7,212,423	71.01%	7,276,995	70.83%	-0.18%	+64,572
North Dakota	663,424	87.81%	661,217	87.53%	-0.28%	-2,207
Ohio	9,578,424	82.41%	9,579,207	82.16%	-0.25%	+783
Oklahoma	2,923,751	74.56%	2,921,390	74.32%	-0.24%	-2,361
Oregon	3,569,538	87.29%	3,607,515	87.08%	-0.21%	+37,977
Pennsylvania	10,525,562	82.31%	10,507,780	82.06%	-0.25%	-17,782
Rhode Island	892,287	84.37%	890,883	84.07%	-0.30%	-1,404
South Carolina	3,393,346	68.2%	3,440,141	68.47%	+0.27%	+46,795
South Dakota	733,199	85.10%	738,554	84.92%	-0.18%	+5,355
Tennessee	5,231,987	78.68%	5,276,748	78.57%	-0.11%	+44,761
Texas	22,166,782	79.44%	22,404,118	79.15%	-0.29%	+237,336
Utah	2,774,606	91.14%	2,820,387	90.93%	-0.21%	+45,781
Vermont	589,836	94.62%	589,163	94.47%	-0.15%	-673
Virginia	5,891,174	70.01%	5,904,472	69.71%	-0.30%	+13,298
Washington	5,820,007	79.93%	5,887,060	79.49%	-0.44%	+67,053
West Virginia	1,712,647	93.66%	1,699,266	93.58%	-0.08%	-13,381
Wisconsin	5,049,698	87.47%	5,060,891	87.32%	-0.15%	+11,193
Wyoming	543,224	92.87%	537,396	92.76%	-0.11%	-5,828
United States	248,619,303	76.87%	249,619,493	76.64%	-0.23%	+1,000,190

Non-Hispanic population

Non-Hispanic white population by state^[75]

State	Pop. 2016	% 2016	Pop. 2017	% 2017	percentage growth	numeric growth
Alabama	3,198,381	65.80%	3,196,852	65.58%	-0.22%	-1,529
Alaska	454,651	61.31%	449,776	60.80%	-0.51%	-4,875
Arizona	3,819,881	55.29%	3,849,130	54.86%	-0.43%	+29,249
Arkansas	2,175,521	72.80%	2,177,809	72.49%	-0.31%	+2,288
California	14,797,971	37.66%	14,696,754	37.17%	-0.49%	-101,217
Colorado	3,791,612	68.56%	3,827,750	68.26%	-0.30%	+36,135
Connecticut	2,428,332	67.68%	2,404,792	67.02%	-0.66%	-23,540
Delaware	597,728	62.74%	599,260	62.30%	-0.44%	+1,532
District of Columbia	249,141	36.40%	255,387	36.80%	+0.40%	+6,246
Florida	11,273,388	54.57%	11,343,977	54.06%	-0.51%	+70,589
Georgia	5,499,055	53.32%	5,507,334	52.81%	-0.51%	+8,279
Hawaii	317,026	22.19%	312,492	21.89%	-0.30%	-4,534
Idaho	1,382,934	82.32%	1,408,294	82.02%	-0.30%	+25,360
Illinois	7,915,013	61.65%	7,849,887	61.32%	-0.33%	-65,126
Indiana	5,280,029	79.59%	5,280,420	79.20%	-0.39%	+391
Iowa	2,696,686	86.13%	2,695,962	85.70%	-0.43%	-724
Kansas	2,215,920	76.21%	2,209,748	75.86%	-0.35%	-6,172
Kentucky	3,767,092	84.92%	3,768,891	84.61%	-0.31%	+1,799
Louisiana	2,760,416	58.91%	2,747,730	58.66%	-0.25%	-12,686
Maine	1,243,741	93.50%	1,246,478	93.30%	-0.20%	+2,737
Maryland	3,098,543	51.43%	3,077,907	50.86%	-0.57%	-20,636
Massachusetts	4,972,010	72.86%	4,953,695	72.21%	-0.65%	-18,315
Michigan	7,489,609	75.40%	7,488,326	75.17%	-0.23%	-1,283
Minnesota	4,442,684	80.41%	4,455,605	79.89%	-0.52%	+12,921
Mississippi	1,697,562	56.86%	1,691,566	56.69%	-0.17%	-5,996
Missouri	4,855,156	79.71%	4,859,227	79.48%	-0.23%	+4,071
Montana	897,790	86.44%	905,811	86.23%	-0.21%	+8,021
Nebraska	1,515,494	79.44%	1,516,962	79.00%	-0.44%	+1,468
Nevada	1,465,888	49.87%	1,470,855	49.06%	-0.81%	+4,967
New Hampshire	1,212,377	90.81%	1,215,447	90.52%	-0.29%	+3,070
New Jersey	5,002,866	55.72%	4,962,470	55.10%	-0.62%	-40,396
New Mexico	789,869	38.31%	783,064	37.50%	-0.81%	-6,805
New York	11,047,456	55.69%	10,972,959	55.28%	-0.41%	-74,497
North Carolina	6,447,852	63.48%	6,486,100	63.13%	-0.35%	+38,248
North Dakota	641,945	84.96%	639,029	84.59%	-0.37%	-2,916
Ohio	9,229,932	79.41%	9,219,577	79.08%	-0.33%	-10,355
Oklahoma	2,592,571	66.12%	2,581,568	65.67%	-0.45%	-11,003
Oregon	3,115,656	76.25%	3,139,685	75.79%	-0.46%	+24,029
Pennsylvania	9,841,619	76.96%	9,796,510	76.50%	-0.44%	-45,109
Rhode Island	773,405	73.13%	768,229	72.50%	-0.63%	-5,176
South Carolina	3,165,176	63.82%	3,203,045	63.75%	-0.07%	+37,869
South Dakota	710,509	82.47%	714,881	82.20%	-0.27%	+4,372
Tennessee	4,931,609	74.17%	4,963,780	73.91%	-0.26%	+32,171
Texas	11,862,697	42.51%	11,886,381	42.00%	-0.51%	+23,684
Utah	2,400,885	78.86%	2,434,785	78.49%	-0.37%	+33,900
Vermont	580,238	93.08%	579,149	92.86%	-0.22%	-1,089
Virginia	5,247,231	62.36%	5,241,262	61.88%	-0.48%	-5,969
Washington	5,049,817	69.36%	5,091,370	68.75%	-0.61%	+41,553
West Virginia	1,688,472	92.33%	1,674,557	92.22%	-0.11%	-13,915
Wisconsin	4,710,928	81.60%	4,713,993	81.34%	-0.26%	+3,065
Wyoming	492,235	84.16%	486,565	83.99%	-0.17%	-5,670
United States	197,834,599	61.17%	197,803,083	60.73%	-0.44%	-31,516

A majority of White Americans have voted for the Republican Party since the 1968 United States presidential election, with the 1964 United States presidential election being the last election when the Democratic Party won a majority of White voters.

In 2012, 88% of Romney voters were white while 56% of Obama voters were white.^[76] In the 2008 presidential election, John McCain won 55% of white votes.^[77] In the 2010 House election, Republicans won 60% of the white votes.^[78]

Some academics and commentators have argued that Donald Trump's presidential election victory in 2016 is an example of "White backlash".^[79][80][81]

From their earliest presence in North America, White Americans have contributed literature, art, cinema, religion, agricultural skills, foods, science and technology, fashion and clothing styles, music, language, legal system, political system, and social and technological innovation to American culture. White American culture derived its earliest influences from English, Scottish, Welsh, and Irish settlers and is quantitatively the largest proportion of American culture.^[82] The overall American culture reflects White American culture. The culture has been developing since long before the United States formed a separate country. Much of White American culture shows influences from British culture. Colonial ties to Great Britain spread the English language, legal system and other cultural attributes.^[83]

Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America

In his 1989 book Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America, David Hackett Fischer explores the details of the folkways of four groups of settlers from the British Isles that moved to the American colonies during the 17th and 18th centuries from distinct regions of Britain and Ireland. His thesis is that the culture of each group persisted (albeit in modified form), providing the basis for the modern United States.^[84]

According to Fischer, the foundation of America's four regional cultures was formed from four mass migrations from four regions of the British Isles by four distinct ethno-cultural groups. New England's formative period occurred between 1629 and 1640 when Puritans, mostly from East Anglia, settled there, thus forming the basis for the New England regional culture.^[85] The next mass migration was of southern English Cavaliers and their working class English servants to the Chesapeake Bay region between 1640 and 1675. This spawned the creation of the American Southern culture.^[86]

Then, between 1675 and 1725, thousands of Irish, Cornish, English and Welsh Quakers plus many Germans sympathetic to Quaker ideas, led by William Penn, settled the Delaware Valley. This resulted in the formation of the General American culture, although, according to Fischer, this is really a "regional culture", even if it does today encompass most of the U.S. from the mid-Atlantic states to the Pacific Coast.^[87] Finally, a huge number of settlers from the borderlands between England and Scotland, sometimes by way of northern Ireland, migrated to Appalachia between 1717 and 1775. This resulted in the formation of the Upland South regional culture, which has since expanded to the west to West Texas and parts of the American Southwest.^[88]

In his book, Fischer brings up several points. He states that the U.S. is not a country with one "general" culture and several "regional" cultures, as is commonly thought. Rather, there are only four regional cultures as described above, and understanding this helps one to more clearly understand American history as well as contemporary American life. Fischer asserts that it is not only important to understand where different groups came from, but when. All population groups have, at different times, their own unique set of beliefs, fears, hopes and prejudices. When different groups moved to America and brought certain beliefs and values with them, these ideas became, according to Fischer, more or less frozen in time, even if they eventually changed in their original place of origin.^[89]

Admixture in non-Hispanic whites

White Americans have a mean of 98.6% European, 0.19% sub-Saharan African, and 0.18% Native American ancestry.^[90] However, non-European ancestry in White Americans is highly variable; for example, Black ancestry (2% or greater) is found in over five percent of European Americans in Louisiana and South Carolina, and Native American ancestry (2% or greater) is found in over three percent of European Americans in Louisiana and North Dakota. African ancestry is most common in the South and least common in the Midwest; Native American ancestry is more common in Western states than Eastern states.^[91]

Older studies have also been performed. DNA analysis on White Americans by geneticist Mark D. Shriver showed an average of 0.7% sub-Saharan African admixture and 3.2% Native American admixture.^[92] The same author, in another study, claimed that about 30% of all White Americans, approximately 66 million people, have a median of 2.3% of Black African admixture.^[93] Shriver discovered his ancestry is 10 percent African, and Shriver's partner in DNA Print Genomics, J.T. Frudacas, contradicted him two years later stating "Five percent of European Americans exhibit some detectable level of African ancestry."^[94]

In a 2007 study, Gonçalves et al. reported sub-Saharan and Amerindian mtDNA lineages at a frequency of 3.1% (respectively 0.9% and 2.2%) in a sample of 1387 American Caucasians as compared to 62% in white Brazilians (respectively 29% and 33%), 98% for white Colombians (respectively 8% and 90%) and similarly high levels for Argentines, Chileans, and Costa Ricans.^[95] A 2003 study on Y-chromosomes and mtDNA found African admixture in European Americans to be "below the limits of detection".^[96]

Admixture in Hispanic whites

In contrast to non-Hispanic or Latino whites, whose average European ancestry is 98.6%,^[97][98] genetic research has found that the average European admixture among White Hispanic and Latino Americans is 73%, while the average European admixture for Hispanic Americans overall (regardless of their self-identified race) is 65.1%.

• White Population 2000 from the US Census