THE HISPANIC POPULATION 

  2010 CENSUS

The 2010 Census, the last official reporting of the US Population, recorded 50,477,594 Hispanic Americans.  That is against a total US Population of 308,745,538, so Hispanics accounted for 16.3% of the US Population.  So for the first time, with the 2010 Census, Hispanics became the largest Minority Group in the US.

The 50+million number is up from 35,305,818 from the 2000 Census.  That is a 43% increase.  Back in 2000, there were 36,419,434 Black Americans (alone or in combination), barely edging Hispanic Americans for the Minority Population title in 2000.

Although 2010 is the latest official Census, the Census Bureau does a Race/Background Population estimate each year.  The latest estimate is from 2014 and showed a Hispanic Population increase to 55,387,539 – an increase of 4,909,975 or an impressive 9.73% increase in just 5 years.

Hispanics not a Race?

Most Americans probably think of Hispanics as a race.  However, the Census providers go to great pains to separate race from Hispanic origin.  The Census form mandates that race and Hispanic Origin are two separate  and distinct concepts and uses two different questions to collect data on the Census Form.  The first question is to determine if you are of Hispanic or Non Hispanic Origin.  The Hispanic origin question also determines the nature of your Hispanic background – Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, or some other Spanish origin. Once found, the person can self- identify the race to which he/she belongs.

Other things you may find interesting on the Hispanic Population:

1.  More than half of the total population growth in the US between the 2000 Census and the 2010 Census was due to the increase in the Hispanic population.  The Hispanic population increased 15.2 million people over that period vs. only 27 million in the total population.
2. Of that 15.2 million increase, Mexican Americans accounted for 11.2 million or nearly 75% of it.
3. Over half of the Hispanic population in the US resides in just three states – California, Texas, and Florida!
4. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico has a population of 3,808.610 and is 98% Hispanic
5. The Hispanic population predominately self identified as either “white” or “some other race”.  (Evidently, this caused much confusion on the Census form.  The form only allowed you to self -identify your race as: a) White, b) Black or Afro-American, c) American Indian or Alaska Native, d) Asian,  e) Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and finally, f) Some other Race.  Many Hispanics wrote in their race as their National origin or ethnicity, ie., Latino, Mexican, Puerto Rican, etc., so these were all lumped into the “Some other Race” Category).

Hispanic Population by State

Top 10 States for Hispanic Population 2010 Census

        STATE           HISP. POP   HISP% POP

1. California      14,013,719      37.6%
2. Texas               9,460,921      37.6%
3. Florida            4,223,806      22.5%
4. New York       3,416,922       17.6%
5. Illinois            2,027,578       15.8%
6. Arizona           1,895,149       29.6%
7. New Jersey    1,555,144        17.7%
8. Colorado        1,038,687       20.7%
9. New Mexico     953,403       46.3%
10. Georgia             853,689         8.8%

Hispanic Population by National Origin – 2010 Census

       ORIGIN               POP.               POP%

1. Mexican            31,798,258       63.0%
2. Puerto Rican      4,623,716         9.2%
3. Cent. America    3,998,280        7.9%
4. South American 2,769,434        5.5%
5. Cuban                   1,785,547        3.5%
6. Dominican           1,414,703        2.8%
7. Spaniard                 635,253        1.3%
8. All other               3,452,403      6.8%

Top 10 Cities Hispanic Population 2010 Census

         CITY                HISP. POP.

1. New York       2,336,076
2. Los Angeles   1,838,822
3. Houston            919,668
4. San Antonio     838,952
5. Chicago             778,862
6. Phoenix            589,877
7. El Paso              523,721
8. Dallas                507,309
9. San Diego         376,020
10. San Jose            313,636

For more information or more detailed information on the Hispanic population, go here!http://www.census.gov/2010census/data/

For more information, review this History of Hispanic Population in the US!