Census: County population shrinks while diversity increases

While overall population is declining across Yadkin County, diversity among its residents is increasing, according to recently released 2020 Census data.

Yadkin County’s total population declined by 1,192 people from 2010 t0 2020, with the 2020 Census reporting 37,214 people in 2020. The decade-long decline accounts for a change of 3.1%. Neighboring Surry, Stokes and Wilkes counties also saw declines in population counts in 2020 Census figures. Despite the population decline, Yadkin County’s rank among the state’s 100 counties in terms of overall population held steady as the 64th largest county in the state.

Comparatively, Surry ranked 37th, Wilkes ranked 40th and Stokes ranked 57th.

Area counties were not alone in seeing their resident rosters dwindle. More than half of counties nationwide were smaller in 2020 compared to 2010, Census researchers concluded in a recently published data analysis.

Still, many other counties in North Carolina saw their population on the rise. Statewide, the number of residents increased by 9.5% since the 2010 Census. The statewide population is 10.4 million people, with the Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford and Forsyth topping the list for most populated, respectively.

The 2020 Census showed Yadkin County mirrored the nationwide trend of increasing diversity among its population. While the majority of Americans still identify as white, the U.S. Census reports that the white population decreased 8.6% since 2010. Meanwhile, the proportion of Americans identifying as multiracial has increased 129% and now is the second largest racial group in the country, a position held in 2010 by African Americans.

In Yadkin County, 83% of people counted in the 2020 Census were white, compared to 89% in 2010. In 2020, 3.1% of people in Yadkin County identified as African American and 5.5% identified as multiracial. While the percentage of residents identifying as African American held steady at 3.1% from 2010, people with multiracial ethnicity only accounted for 1.2% of residents in 2010 — an increase of 326% over a decade, which mirrors a nationwide trend. Out of the state’s 100 counties, Yadkin ranked 16th in terms of the largest increase of residents reporting as multiracial since 2010. Neighboring Surry County ranked 20th in terms of increase in the multiracial population since 2010.