Massachusetts Population by Race/Ethnicity

How racially diverse are residents in Massachusetts? This topic shows the demographic breakdown of residents by race/ethnicity and the increases in the Non-white population since 2010.

About this Data Story

Over centuries, discriminatory and exclusionary policies and practices — from colonization and enslavement to those that continue to influence immigration practices, housing, and employment—have shaped where people live and work.^1,2,3,4,5 These factors are part of the social determinants of health and directly impact residents' health as well as their access to opportunities that promote health.

Additional Information and Footnotes

Hispanic is used to reflect current data collection practices. We acknowledge this may not be the preferred term. Throughout this report, NH refers to Non-Hispanic. People of color refers to individuals identifying as Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Hispanic, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander, and Other. Unless otherwise noted, adults are ages 18+. Data are most recently available for the specified data source.

1 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (2010). A new way to talk about the social determinants of health. Retrieved from http://www.rwjf.org/content/da...

2 Pew Research Center. (2015). Modern Immigration Wave Brings 59 Million to U.S., Driving Population Growth and Change Through 2065. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/hi...

3 Burstein, P. (1998) Discrimination, jobs, and politics: The struggle for equal employment opportunity in the United States since the New Deal. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press

4 Pager, D. & Hana, S. (2008). The sociology of discrimination: Racial discrimination in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets. Annual Review of Sociolology, 34, 181-209. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.soc.33.040406.131740

⁵ Bertrand, M. & Sendhil, M. (2003). Are Emily and Greg More Employable than Lakisha and Jamal? A Field Experiment on Labor Market Discrimination. National Bureau of Economic Research. NBER Working Paper No. 9873. Retrieved from https://www.nber.org/system/fi...

 

Additional Resources

Technical notes for this data story

Data Download: Massachusetts Population PHIT Data Story

As a publicly available tool, we highly encourage the use of data included in PHIT. Below is an example of how you can cite this webpage to reference any information you find helpful.

[Insert Title of Webpage Here] (n.d.). Population Health Information Tool, Massachusetts Department of Public Health. [Insert URL]