Maps show how demographics are expected to drastically change in U.S. by 2030

The American population is growing at a rapid rate, and it's expected to increase by 49 million people by 2030, says The Urban Institute, Emily Badger reports for The Washington Post. The increase in population, coupled with Baby Boomers retiring, "will dramatically alter the age demographics of many communities, leaving some with larger burdens on social services and fewer workers to help fund them." The Urban Institute has created a series of interactive maps to show expected population changes. (Click on maps for larger versions)

"And nearly every corner of the country will grow more diverse—from rural Wisconsin, where small minority populations could double in size, to metropolitan Houston, which could have more than one million new Hispanic residents by 2030," Badger writes. "These changes will be simultaneous and swift, and they'll affect everything from how we use resources, to where we build new communities, to how we educate our kids." (Projected Hispanic population change by 2030)

The white population is expected "to fall in densely populated parts of the Northeast, on much of the Pacific Coast and through the middle of the country," Badger writes. The Hispanic population is expected to rapidly increase, especially in the South and Midwest, while "the trends for blacks are much more uneven, with population significantly increasing in some parts of the country and declining in others." (Projected black population change by 2030)