A 2020 Census Portrait of America’s Largest Metro Areas: Population growth, diversity, segregation, and youth

The nation’s major metropolitan areas—those with populations exceeding 1 million, which are home to nearly six in 10 Americans—have been a focal point of the nation’s economic vibrancy, politics, and racial and ethnic diversity. The 2020 census provides an opportunity to see how they fared in the 2010-2020 decade. Unlike the previous decade, major metro areas grew more sharply than their smaller-sized counterparts, and their cities showed growth surges even in a decade when the nation’s population registered historically low growth. Moreover, the increased racial and ethnic diversity that characterized the nation is especially concentrated in major metro areas and, in particular, among their youth populations. This report examines 2020 census results to provide an overview of the nation’s 56 major metro areas to better understand their growth, city and suburb population shifts, racial and ethnic diversity, neighborhood segregation, and youth populations. A final section focuses on major metros areas located in the Mountain West region of the country