Hispanics have played a major role in driving U.S. population growth over the past decade. The U.S. population grew by 22.7 million from 2010 to 2020, and Hispanics accounted for 51% of this increase.
National Hispanic Heritage Month, which begins each year on Sept. 15, celebrates U.S. Latinos, their culture, and their history. Started in 1968 by Congress as Hispanic Heritage Week, it was expanded to a month in 1988. The U.S. Hispanic population reached 62.1 million in 2020, up from 50.5 million in 2010. The 23% increase in the Hispanic population was faster than the nation’s growth rate (+7%), but a slower increase than in the Asian population (+36%). In 2020, Hispanics made up nearly one-in-five people in the U.S. (19%), up from 16% in 2010 and just 5% in 1970.
Hispanics have played a major role in driving U.S. population growth over the past decade. The U.S. population grew by 22.7 million from 2010 to 2020, and Hispanics accounted for 51% of this increase, a greater share than any other racial or ethnic group.
The number of Latinos who say they are multiracial has increased dramatically. More than 20 million Latinos identified with more than one race on the 2020 census, up from just 3 million in 2010. The increase could be due to several factors, including changes to the census form that make it easier for people to identify with multiple races and growing racial diversity among Latinos. Growth in multiracial Latinos comes primarily from those who identify as White and “some other race” (i.e., those who write in a response to the race question) – a population that grew from 1.6 million to 17.0 million over the past decade. At the same time, the number of Latinos who identify as White and no other race declined from 26.7 million to 12.6 million.
Three states saw their Hispanic populations increase by more than 1 million from 2010 to 2020. Texas (+2.0 million), California (+1.6 million) and Florida (+1.5 million) together accounted for 43% of the nation’s Hispanic population growth over the past decade. New York (+531,000) and New Jersey (+447,000) had the next-biggest increases. All 50 states and the District of Columbia have seen growth in their Hispanic populations since 2010.
Newborns in the U.S.
Newborns have driven growth of the U.S. Hispanic population, a trend that accelerated in the 2010s due to a decline in immigration. From 2010 to 2019, 9.3 million Hispanic babies were born in the U.S., like the total from the 2000s. By comparison, 3.5 million Hispanic immigrants came to the U.S. from 2010 to 2019, down substantially from the 6.5 million who arrived during the 2000s. This is a reversal of historical trends. In the 1980s and 1990s, immigration drove Hispanic population growth in the U.S. due to more immigrants arriving than babies being born.
The share of Latinos in the U.S. who speak English proficiently is growing. In 2019, 72% of Latinos ages 5 and older spoke English proficiently, up from 59% in 2000. U.S.-born Latinos are driving this growth, as their share on this measure has grown from 81% to 91% during this time. By comparison, 37% of Latino immigrants spoke English proficiently in 2019, a percentage that has increased somewhat since 2000. At the same time, the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home declined from 2000 to 2019 (78% to 70%). Among the U.S. born, this share has decreased from 66% to 57%. Nearly all Latino immigrants, 94% in 2019, say they speak Spanish at home.
Even though the share of Latinos who speak Spanish at home has declined, the number who do so has grown from 24.6 million in 2000 to 39.1 million in 2019. Meanwhile, 39.8 million Latinos spoke English proficiently in 2019.
The share of U.S. Hispanics with college experience has increased since 2010. About 42% of U.S. Hispanic adults ages 25 and older had at least some college experience in 2019, up from 36% in 2010. More Hispanic women than Hispanic men have attended college, though the share with some college experience or more increased among both Hispanic women (38% to 45%) and Hispanic men (33% to 39%). Overall, the share of Hispanics with a bachelor’s degree or more education increased during this period, from 13% to 18%.
Source: Pew Research Center
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