Latino Demographics

Hispanics Now Represent the Largest Group of U.S. Children Living in Poverty (September 2011)
This Pew Hispanic Center report shows that more Hispanic children are living in poverty than those of any other race or ethnicity, marking the first time in U.S. history that the largest group of poor children is not white. You can read the full report at: http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=147. A related Pew Hispanic Report (November 2011) looks at the US Census Bureau’s Supplemental Poverty Measure, which reveals that Hispanics of all ages now represent the largest population of US residents living in poverty. You can view this report, “Hispanic Poverty Rate Highest in New Supplemental Census Measure” and many more on the Pew Hispanich website:  www.pewhispanic.org.

Hispanic Heritage Month 2011: Sept. 15 – Oct. 15  (August 2011)
Selected data is used by the Census to compile this fact sheet about the Hispanic population of the US.

Hispanics Account for More than Half of Nation’s Growth in Past Decade (March 2011)
The 2010 Census counted 50.5 million Hispanics, making up 16.3% of the country’s total population. The Latino population, which was 35.3 million in 2000, grew 43% over the decade, accounting for most of the nation’s growth—56%—from 2000 to 2010.  Reports, tables, and other Census data relating to Latinos – e.g., Census 2010 Tables for Hispanic Total and Child Populations by State, How Many Hispanics? Comparing Census Counts and Census Estimates, Census 2010 State Excel Files -  can be found on the Pew Center’s website at  http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=140

Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade (September 2010)
The Pew Hispanic Center reports that the number of immigrants entering the United States illegally fell by nearly two-thirds between 2005 to 2009. In the first part of the past decade, the number of undocumented people coming into the country was about 850,000 a year. With recession and harsh laws targeting immigrants, it fell to 300,000 a year between 2007 and 2009. The number of undocumented immigrants estimated to be in the country fell by 1 million to about 11 million. Among states, the biggest declines were in Virginia, Florida and Nevada. In Virginia, the number fell by 60,000 from 2008 to 2009, to an estimated 240,000. The report is at: http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=126

Salvadoran Immigrants in the United States (January 2010)
The 1.1 million Salvadoran immigrants residing in the United States in 2008 accounted for 2.9% of all US immigrants, making them the second-largest immigrant group from Latin America. A Migrant Policy Institute report examines their socioeconomic characteristics, where they live, and the size of the Salvadoran-born unauthorized population at:http://www.migrationinformation.org/USFocus/display.cfm?ID=765

Ties to Parents’ Homeland hold Strong (December 2009)
Hispanic young people born in the United States retain a strong identification with their immigrant parents’ homelands but also remain optimistic about their future in this country despite lower- than-average levels of education and income, according to one of the most wide-ranging studies of young Latinos to date. The report includes detailed analysis of government data on Hispanics ages 16 to 25 — a generation often referred to as “millennials” — as well as a survey of more than 2,000 respondents. “If you want to understand what America will be like in the 21st century, you need to have an understanding of how today’s young Latinos, most of whom are not immigrants, are growing up,” said Paul Taylor, executive director of the Pew Hispanic Center. Hispanics already make up one out of five school-age children and one out of four newborns in the nation, Taylor said. Their presence is even more pronounced in states such as New Mexico, California and Texas, where they account for 40 percent or more of millennials. (In Maryland, Virginia and the District they represent between 7 and 8 percent.) “Never before in this nation’s history has a minority ethnic group made up such a large share of the youngest Americans,” Taylor said. “Their importance derives from their sheer numbers.” View the Pew Hispanic Study at: http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=117

The State Of Latino Children and Youth in the US (October 2009)
Since 1990, the number of Latino children under age 18 living in the United States has doubled, making them one of the fastest-growing segments of the national population. A National Council of La Raza fact sheet provides a wealth of information on this critical population, from general demographic data on Latino children and youth and their families to relevant statistics in the areas of poverty and income, education, health, and juvenile justice. The document highlights particular areas of concern that must be addressed by U.S. policies and programs in order to ensure the future well-being of this population and the country. Access the fact sheet at http://www.nclr.org/index.php/publications/the_state_of_latino_children_and_youth_in_the_united_states/

Fact Sheet: Salvadoran Americans (September 2009)
The Pew Hispanic Center released this fact sheet on Salvadoran Americans that can be accessed at:  
http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/51.pdf

Fact Sheet: Mexican Americans (September 2009)
The Pew Hispanic Center released this fact sheet on Mexican Americans that can be accessed at:
http://pewhispanic.org/files/factsheets/49.pdf

A Portrait of Unauthorized Immigrants in the United States (April 2009)
School and other data is available in this new PEW Report that found “Unauthorized immigrants living in the United States are more geographically dispersed than in the past and are more likely than either U.S. born residents or legal immigrants to live in a household with a spouse and children. In addition, a growing share of the children of unauthorized immigrant parents–73%–were born in this country and are U.S. citizens. Based on March 2008 data collected by the Census Bureau, the Center estimates that unauthorized immigrants are 4% of the nation’s population and account for 5.4% of its workforce. Their children, both those who are unauthorized immigrants themselves and those who are U.S. citizens, make up 6.8% of the students enrolled in the nation’s elementary and secondary schools. As of 2008, Virginia is estimated to have the tenth largest unauthorized immigrant population in the United States, with an estimated 300,000 individuals. in Virginia, which ranks 10th in number of illegal immigrants, the unauthorized population quintupled since 1990 to 300,000 and accounts for 4 percent of residents and 5.1 percent of workers. In 2007, the poverty rate for such children was almost twice as high as for those born to either legal immigrants or U.S.-born parents. Similarly, U.S.-born children of unauthorized immigrants were about twice as likely not to have health insurance in 2008 as those born to legal immigrants and three times as likely as those born to U.S.-born parents. About three-quarters (76%) of the nation’s unauthorized immigrants are Hispanic. The majority of undocumented immigrants (59%) are from Mexico. Significant regional sources of unauthorized immigrants include Asia (11%), Central America (11%), South America (7%), the Caribbean (4%) and the Middle East (less than 2%).” Read the Pew Hispanic Center report at: http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=107

New Data on Hispanic and Foreign-Born Populations in the U.S. (March 2009)
The Pew Hispanic Center released updated statistical profiles of the Latino and foreign-born populations in the U.S. Derived from the 2007 American Community Survey, these profiles feature downloadable data on detailed characteristics of the Latino and foreign-born populations at the national level. The Center is simultaneously releasing demographic profiles of the Hispanic and non-Hispanic populations at the state level for 2007. For the Statistical Portrait of Hispanics in the United States, visit http://pewhispanic.org/factsheets/factsheet.php?FactsheetID=46 For the Statistical Portrait of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States, visit http://pewhispanic.org/factsheets/factsheet.php?FactsheetID=45 For the State and County Databases, http://pewhispanic.org/states/

Hispanics one-fifth of K-12 students (March 2009)
Roughly one-fourth of the nation’s kindergartners are Hispanic and Hispanics make up about one-fifth of all K-12 students, evidence of an accelerating trend that now will see minority children become the majority by 2023. The census data also shows that colleges are still enrolling the lowest proportion of Hispanic students of all the grade levels — 12 percent — although that figure grew from 10 percent in 2006. Read the Census report at: http://www.census.gov/Press- Release/www/releases/archives/education/013391.html

DHS Office of Immigration Statistics releases new data on the undocumented population (March 2009)
The latest estimate is 11.6 million, slightly down from the last estimate of 11.8 million. About 7 million (61%) are Mexican and at least another 1.3 million are from Central America. The total Hispanic population is at least 8.4 million (over 72%). The total legal resident population is estimated at 19.7 million. In one major subset of this population—legal permanent residents, refugees and aslyees who entered between 1980 and 2007—there has been an estimated decrease of about 4.6 million (from 22.4 million to 17.8 million) “due to mortality and emigration.” There has been a sharp increase in unauthorized immigration from Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, as well as from the Philippines and Brazil. Read more at: http://www.ilw.com/immigdaily/news/2009,0304-estimates.pdf

Hispanics account for more than half of US population growth (October 2008)
Even though Hispanics are listed as only 15.1 percent of the population in the United States, a Pew Hispanic Center study released on October 24, 2008 shows that between 2000 and 2007, Hispanics accounted for just over 50 percent of the total growth in U.S. population. Statistics in the analysis, “Latino Settlement in the New Century,” are presented both as total numbers and as percentages. It contains a series of Web-based interactive maps that illustrate the size and spread of Hispanic population growth since 1980, including easy access to detailed state and county-level data. It also displays a list of the counties with the largest Hispanic populations, as well as a directory of those counties with the fastest-growing Hispanic populations. Since 2000, Virginia and Georgia also contain eight of the 10 counties with the highest percentage growth in the Hispanic population. To read the entire report, visit http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=96

Trends in Unauthorized Immigration: Undocumented Inflow Now Trails Legal Inflow (October 2008)
There were 11.9 million unauthorized immigrants living in the United States in March 2008, according to new Pew Hispanic Center estimates. The size of the unauthorized population appears to have declined since 2007, but this finding is inconclusive because of the margin of error in these estimates. However, it is clear from the estimates that the unauthorized immigrant population grew more slowly in the period from 2005 to 2008 than it did earlier in the decade.It also is clear that from 2005 to 2008, the inflow of immigrants who are undocumented fell below that of immigrants who are legal permanent residents. That reverses a trend that began a decade ago. The turnaround appears to have occurred in 2007. Read the Pew Hispanic Center report at http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=94

Immigrants Of A Feather Don’t Necessarily Flock Together (December 2006)
The traditional idea that immigrants cluster together in neighborhoods with their countrymen after coming to the United States and move away after achieving economic success is far from universal. New research indicates that who immigrants marry or partner with has a strong influence on where they live. An examination of the five counties that make up the Los Angeles metropolitan area shows that if immigrants partner outside their native group they are less likely to live near their countrymen. The study focused on the eight largest immigrant groups in the Los Angeles area – Mexicans, Chinese, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Koreans, Vietnamese, Filipinos and Iranians. While this study focused on Southern California, the authors are confident the results can be generalized to the rest of the United States. The report is online at: http://faculty.washington.edu/ellism/partner-neighbor%20UG.pdf. Click here for other information about the study.

Nation’s Population One-Third Minority (May 10, 2006)
Data based on estimates of U.S. population for July 1, 2005 indicate that Hispanics accounted for 49 percent of the country’s growth from 2004 to 2005, driving 70 percent of the growth in children younger than 5. Forty-five percent of U.S. children in that age range are minorities. The Census report stated that Hispanics accounted for almost half (1.3 million, or 49 percent) of the national population growth of 2.8 million between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005. Of the increase of 1.3 million, 800,000 was because of natural increase (births minus deaths) and 500,000 was because of immigration. The Hispanic population in 2005 was much younger with a median age of 27.2 years compared to the population as a whole at 36.2 years. About a third of the Hispanic population was under 18, compared with one-fourth of the total population. A press release and the full report can be obtained online at: http://www.census.gov/newsroom/releases/archives/population/cb06-72.html

Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S.: Estimates Based on the March 2005 Current Population Survey (March 7, 2006)
The Center has developed an estimate of 11.5 to 12 million for the unauthorized population as of March 2006. It estimates that two-thirds (66%) of the unauthorized population has been in the country for ten years or less, and the largest share, 40% of the total or 4.4 million people have been in the country five years or less. There were 5.4 million adult males in the unauthorized population in 2005, accounting for 49% of the total. There were 3.9 million adult females accounting for 35% of the population. There were 1.8 million children who were unauthorized, 16% of the total. In addition, there were 3.1 million children who are U.S. citizens by birth living in families in which the head of the family or a spouse was unauthorized. About 7.2 million unauthorized migrants were employed in March 2005, accounting for about 4.9% of the civilian labor force. They made up a large share of all workers in a few more detailed occupational categories, including 24% of all workers employed in farming occupations, 17% in cleaning, 14% in construction and 12% in food preparation. Source: Pew Hispanic Center. http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=61

Legal Status (June 27, 2005)
At least 39% of the overall U.S. Latino population are adults who are registered to vote and thus have citizenship, 27% are adult non-citizens (many of these are legal residents or have work permits), and 34% are under age 18. Source: Suro, Roberto, Richard Fry and Jeffrey Passel. “Hispanics and the 2004 Election: Population, Electorate and Voters.” Pew Hispanic Center. Page 4. http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/48.pdf

Unauthorized Migrants: Numbers And Characteristics
Pew Hispanic Center, March 2006: http://pewhispanic.org/reports/report.php?ReportID=61
Pew Hispanic Center, June 2005: http://pewhispanic.org/files/reports/46.pdf

Population: “Tripling of Hispanic, Asian Populations Projected.”
The nation’s Hispanic and Asian populations would triple over the next half century and non-Hispanic whites would represent about one-half of the total population by 2050, according to interim population projections released by the U.S. Census Bureau. Nearly 67 million people of Hispanic origin (who may be of any race) would be added to the nation’s population between 2000 and 2050. Their numbers are projected to grow from 35.6 million to 102.6 million, an increase of 188 percent. Their share of the nation’s population would nearly double, from 12.6 percent to 24.4 percent. Source: Census Bureau: March 2004. http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/001720.htm