Nearly 14 million Americans identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, and about half are also Hispanic

Nearly 14 million people in the United States identify as American Indian or Alaska Native, alone or along with another race. The U.S. Census Bureau put the number at 13.95 million on July 1, 2025, up 9.3 percent from about 12.76 million in April 2020, in figures released for National Native American Heritage Month.

That total includes everyone who identifies as American Indian or Alaska Native, whether or not they also identify as another race. About 3.85 million people identify as American Indian or Alaska Native alone, according to the bureau's 2025 American Community Survey.

About half of the 13.95 million, 49.6 percent, are also Hispanic. That share is far higher in some states than others. In California, home to the largest American Indian and Alaska Native population at 2.66 million, 80 percent are Hispanic. In Oklahoma, it is 14 percent, and in Alaska, 8 percent. Among people who name a specific Indigenous group, Mexican Indian tribes and the Aztec and Maya peoples rank among the most common, along with the largest tribes based in the United States.

Texas has the second-largest population at 1.2 million, followed by Oklahoma at 718,259, New York at 683,314, and Arizona at 592,250. Measured as a share of each state's residents, Alaska leads at 22.5 percent, then Oklahoma at 17.4 percent, New Mexico at 14.3 percent, South Dakota at 11.6 percent, and Montana at 9.6 percent.

The fastest growth since 2020 has been in the Northeast and Florida. The population grew 27.8 percent in Rhode Island, 25.8 percent in Connecticut, and 20.1 percent in Florida. Growth was slowest in Hawaii, Alaska, and California, under 2 percent each.

The American Community Survey asks people to write in their tribe. In 2025, about 1.82 million people named Cherokee, alone or with another group, the most of any tribe. The Navajo Nation was next at about 481,000, followed by Choctaw at 361,000 and Blackfeet at 341,000. These are self-reported answers, which can differ from a tribe's own enrollment count.

The federal government recognized 575 tribes as of January 2026, and the bureau counts 326 federally recognized reservations and 221 Alaska Native village statistical areas. About 150,925 people who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native alone are military veterans.

The group is younger than the country as a whole and has lower incomes. People who identify as American Indian or Alaska Native alone have a median age of 35.2, compared with 39.5 for all Americans. Their median household income is $66,030, against $84,780 nationally, and 18.1 percent live in poverty, compared with 11.8 percent of all Americans. About 19 percent of adults 25 and older have a bachelor's degree, half the national rate of 37 percent.

Two sets of numbers are in use. The 13.95 million figure comes from the bureau's population estimates, which build forward from the 2020 census. The American Community Survey, a yearly sample, puts the alone-or-in-combination population at 10.79 million. Both are official, and the bureau uses the larger estimate for its heritage month facts.

The heritage month itself grew out of a long campaign. The first American Indian Day was held in May 1916 in New York, and in 1990 President George H.W. Bush signed a resolution making November National American Indian Heritage Month. For how tribal leaders view the proposed changes to the 2030 census, see our earlier report.

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau, "National Native American Heritage Month: November 2026," Facts for Features, November 10, 2026. U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 state population estimates by race alone or in combination and Hispanic origin, April 1, 2020, estimates base and July 1, 2025. U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 American Community Survey 1-year estimates, table S0201 (Selected Population Profile), for tribal groupings and the profile of the American Indian and Alaska Native alone population. Tribal figures count people who reported each tribe alone or with another group.