Main article: Demographics of Virginia
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1790 | 691,737 | — | |
| 1800 | 807,557 | 16.7% | |
| 1810 | 877,683 | 8.7% | |
| 1820 | 938,261 | 6.9% | |
| 1830 | 1,044,054 | 11.3% | |
| 1840 | 1,025,227 | −1.8% | |
| 1850 | 1,119,348 | 9.2% | |
| 1860 | 1,596,318 | 42.6% | |
| 1870 | 1,225,163 | −23.3% | |
| 1880 | 1,512,565 | 23.5% | |
| 1890 | 1,655,980 | 9.5% | |
| 1900 | 1,854,184 | 12.0% | |
| 1910 | 2,061,612 | 11.2% | |
| 1920 | 2,309,187 | 12.0% | |
| 1930 | 2,421,851 | 4.9% | |
| 1940 | 2,677,773 | 10.6% | |
| 1950 | 3,318,680 | 23.9% | |
| 1960 | 3,966,949 | 19.5% | |
| 1970 | 4,648,494 | 17.2% | |
| 1980 | 5,346,818 | 15.0% | |
| 1990 | 6,187,358 | 15.7% | |
| 2000 | 7,078,515 | 14.4% | |
| 2010 | 8,001,024 | 13.0% | |
| Est. 2016 | 8,411,808 | 5.1% | |
| Source: 1860[125] 1910–2010[126] 2016 estimate[2] |
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Aside from Virginia, the top birth state for Virginians is New York, having overtaken North Carolina in the 1990s, with the Northeast accounting for the largest number of migrants into the state by region.[129] As of 2015, both the state's population density and median household income are nearly identical to that of Hawaii, while Virginia's total population is closest in size to New Jersey.
Ethnicity
The state's most populous ethnic group, Non-Hispanic White, has declined from 76% in 1990 to 62.7% in 2015.[130][131] In 2011, non-Hispanic Whites were involved in 50.9% of all the births.[132] People of English heritage settled throughout the Commonwealth during the colonial period, and others of British and Irish heritage have since immigrated.[133] Those who self-identify as having "American ethnicity" are predominantly of English descent, but have ancestry that has been in North America for so long that they choose to identify simply as American.[134][135] Of the English immigrants to Virginia in the 17th century, 75% came as indentured servants.[136] The western mountains have many settlements that were founded by Scots-Irish immigrants before the American Revolution.[137][138] There are also sizable numbers of people of German descent in the northwestern mountains and Shenandoah Valley,[139] and German ancestry was the most popular response on the 2010 American Community Survey, with 11.7%.[140] 2.9% of Virginians also describe themselves as biracial.[141]The largest minority group in Virginia is African American, at 19.7% as of 2015.[131] Most African American Virginians have been descendants of enslaved Africans who worked on tobacco, cotton, and hemp plantations. These men, women and children were brought from West and West-Central Africa, primarily from Angola and the Bight of Biafra. The Igbo ethnic group of what is now southern Nigeria were the single largest African group among slaves in Virginia.[142] Though the black population was reduced by the Great Migration, since 1965 there has been a reverse migration of blacks returning south.[143] According to the Pew Research Center, the state has the highest concentration of black and white interracial marriages.[144]
More recent immigration in the late 20th century and early 21st century has fueled new communities of Hispanics and Asians. As of 2015, 9.0% of Virginians are Hispanic or Latino (of any race), and 6.5% are Asian.[131] The state's Hispanic population rose by 92% from 2000 to 2010, with two-thirds of Hispanics living in Northern Virginia.[141] Hispanic citizens in Virginia have higher median household incomes and educational attainment than the general Virginia population.[145] As far as Hispanic groups, there is a large Salvadoran population in the DC suburbs of Northern Virginia,[146] and a large Puerto Rican population in the Hampton Roads region of Southeast Virginia.[147] Northern Virginia also has a significant population of Vietnamese Americans, whose major wave of immigration followed the Vietnam War,[148] and Korean Americans, whose migration has been more recent and was induced in part by the quality school system.[149] The Filipino American community has about 45,000 in the Hampton Roads area, many of whom have ties to the U.S. Navy and armed forces.[150]
Additionally, 0.5% of Virginians are American Indian or Alaska Native, and 0.1% are Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander.[131] Virginia has extended state recognition to eight Native American tribes resident in the state, though some lack federal recognition status. Most Native American groups are located in the Tidewater region.[151]
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Languages
The Piedmont region is known for its dialect's strong influence on Southern American English. While a more homogenized American English is found in urban areas, various accents are also used, including the Tidewater accent, the Old Virginia accent, and the anachronistic Elizabethan of Tangier Island.[153][154]As of 2010, 85.87% (6,299,127) of Virginia residents age 5 and older spoke English at home as a primary language, while 6.41% (470,058) spoke Spanish, 0.77% (56,518) Korean, 0.63% (45,881) Vietnamese, 0.57% (42,418) Chinese (which includes Mandarin), and Tagalog was spoken as a main language by 0.56% (40,724) of the population over the age of five. In total, 14.13% (1,036,442) of Virginia's population age 5 and older spoke a mother language other than English.[155] English was passed as the Commonwealth's official language by statutes in 1981 and again in 1996, though the status is not mandated by the Constitution of Virginia.[156]
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