According to the 2010 Census, 5.2 million people in the United States identified as American Indian and Alaska Native, either alone or in combination with one or more other races. Out of this total, 2.9 million people identified as American Indian and Alaska Native alone. Almost half of the American Indian and Alaska Native population, or 2.3 million people, reported being American Indian and Alaska Native in combination with one or more other races. The American Indian and Alaska Native in combination population experienced rapid growth, increasing by 39 percent since 2000.

This report provides a portrait of the American Indian and Alaska Native population in the United States and discusses that population’s distribution at the national level and at lower levels of geography. It is part of a series that analyzes population and housing data collected from the 2010 Census.

The data for this report are based on the 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File, which was the first 2010 Census data product released with data on race and Hispanic origin, including information on the American Indian and Alaska Native population, and was provided to each state for use in drawing boundaries for legislative districts. Data for this report also come from the 2010 Census Summary File 1, which was the first 2010 Census data product to provide information on selected detailed American Indian and Alaska Native tribal groupings, such as Navajo, Cherokee, or Inupiat.