OCT. 20, 2022 — Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released a demographic profile of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) from the 2020 Island Areas Censuses. The demographic profile provides basic demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics for the Northern Mariana Islands and lower levels of geography. 

In 2020, CNMI’s population was 47,329. The profile released today provides demographic characteristics about the population, including information on racial and ethnic composition.

• The Asian population was the largest race group, with 22,054 people identifying as Asian alone. Overall, 25,011 people reported Asian alone or in combination with another race group, such as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.
  • The Filipino population was the largest detailed Asian group.
    • In 2020, 15,456 people identified as Filipino alone with no additional detailed Asian group or race group.
    • In 2020, 17,719 people identified as Filipino alone or in any combination with another detailed Asian group or race group, such as Korean or Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander.
• The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander population was the second-largest race group, with 20,665 people identifying as Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone. Overall, 23,795 people reported Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone or in combination with another race group, such as Asian.
  • The Chamorro population was the largest detailed Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander group.
    • In 2020, 12,001 people identified as Chamorro alone with no additional detailed Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander group or race group.
    • In 2020, 17,163 people identified as Chamorro alone or in any combination with another detailed Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander group or race group, such as Palauan or Asian.
• The next largest race groups were White alone, Black or African American alone, Some Other Race alone, and American Indian and Alaska Native alone.
• The Multiracial population (also referred to as the Two or More Races population) was 3,453.
• The Hispanic or Latino (of any race) population was 554.

It is important to note that comparisons between the 2020 and 2010 race and ethnicity data should be made with caution. This decade, the Census Bureau improved the Hispanic origin and race questions and how it codes responses. The differences in the overall racial distributions relative to the 2010 data are largely because of these questionnaire and data processing improvements as well as some demographic changes. More information is available in the subject definitions for race and Hispanic origin in the technical documentation.

Among the social characteristics, the 2020 Island Areas Censuses collected information about school enrollment, educational attainment, place of birth, and language spoken at home.

The 2020 Island Areas Censuses provides a variety of economic characteristics for CNMI, including statistics on income and poverty. Income questions on the census asked about income for the prior calendar year.

• Median household income in CNMI increased from $23,839 (in 2019 inflation-adjusted dollars) in 2009 to $31,362 in 2019.
• The percentage of families in poverty in CNMI declined from 44.4% in 2009 to 33.7% in 2019.

Among the housing characteristics, the 2020 Island Areas Censuses provide information on homeownership and household size.

• The homeownership rate in CNMI was 29.0% in 2020, up slightly from 28.3% in 2010.
• The average household size in CNMI increased from 3.22 in 2010 to 4.15 in 2020.

The 2020 Island Areas Censuses also collected information about computer and internet use, including type of computer devices, internet subscription status, and type of internet service.

• Among all households in CNMI, 96.7% had at least one type of computer and 84.0% had a broadband internet subscription.

More information about computer and internet use is available in the “America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers” article 2020 Island Areas Censuses: Computer and Internet Use.

While the 2020 Island Areas Censuses operation was successful, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the quality of the detailed social, economic and housing characteristic data for American Samoa, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands. To ensure the Census Bureau's high data quality standards are met, adjustments were made to some Island Areas data products, but no adjustments were made to CNMI data products. Additional guidance for data users using the Island Area characteristics data is available in the Guidance on Using Data from the 2020 Island Areas Censuses fact sheet.

The 2020 Island Areas Censuses provide a wide range of demographic, social, economic and housing information to meet the U.S. Island Areas’ data needs. Other surveys, such as the American Community Survey (ACS), are not conducted in the Island Areas. Therefore, the Census Bureau used a long-form census questionnaire similar to the ACS questionnaire used in the 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. 

The Census Bureau previously released population and housing counts for CNMI from the 2020 Island Areas Censuses and plans to release additional demographic, social, economic and housing characteristics in July 2023. More information is available on the 2020 Island Areas Censuses Data Products webpage.