How Seattle-area demographics have changed since 2000

The Seattle metro area's Hispanic, Asian and multiracial populations saw the biggest percentage increases between 2000 and 2022, per a new analysis from Axios' Kavya Beheraj and Alex Fitzpatrick.

Why it matters: Such demographic data is a vital snapshot of how the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area's racial and ethnic makeup is changing over time, helping to inform policies and programs across the region.

By the numbers: The region's number of Hispanic residents grew 174%, to 451,948.

• The Asian population grew about 155%, to 682,086.
• And the population that identified as being two or more races grew about 147%, to 246,495.

Plus: The region's Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander population also more than doubled, from 17,699 to 42,805.

Driving the news: Demographic trends are driven by a combination of factors, including varied birth, mortality and immigration rates (both internal and external) among different socioeconomic groups.

The big picture: Nationwide, the country's Pacific Islander, Asian and Hispanic populations similarly saw the biggest percentage increases between 2000 and 2022.

• The number of Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders grew about 120%, to nearly 879,000, while the Asian population grew about 105%, to 21 million.

• The Hispanic population grew about 80%, to nearly 64 million.
• The Black population grew 31%, to 45.4 million.

Of note: The U.S. is still predominantly white, with growth of 19% between 2000 and 2022, to nearly 252 million.

• In the Seattle metro area, about 60% of the population was non-Hispanic white in 2022.

Meanwhile: The country is also rapidly aging, Axios' Emily Peck recently reported, with the median age reaching a record 38.9 last year.