In its first set of projections based on the 2010 census, the federal agency said the non-Hispanic white population is expected to peak in 2024 at 199.6 million in 2024 and then slowly decrease.

Other racial and ethnic groups will meanwhile keep growing.

Hispanics will double in numbers to 128.8 million in 2060, or nearly one in three US residents, as will Asians, to 34.4 million or 8.2% of the projected total population of 420.3 million.

"The United States will become a plurality nation, where the non-Hispanic white population remains the largest single group, but no group is in the majority," said Census Bureau acting director Thomas Mesenbourg.

Peering into its demographic crystal ball, the Census Bureau also projected that for the first time, in 2056, residents of the United States aged 65 or older will outnumber young people under the age of 18.

And while the working-age population, between 18 to 64, will keep growing, its share of the overall population will decline from 62.7% today to 56.9%.