We all know that Hispanics are still the USA’s fastest-growing minority group, but the truth is that most of their population increase comes from births in USA rather than for immigration. Government numbers shows that 60% (1.3 million) of the new Hispanics in 2005 are citizens because they were born in USA.
In USA, a third of their population are considered minorities, in which Hispanics are the largest minority group with almost 43 million. It’s important to take into consideration that the US Census counts all residents and makes no distinction between those here legally and illegally.
William Frey, demographer at the Brookings Institution, says one of every two new Americans every year is Hispanic.
African Americans were 18%-19% of the population until 1830, says Jeffrey Passel, a demographer at the Pew center. Population projections for 2050 mostly put white non-Hispanics at about 50% (compared with 67% in 2005) of the population and Hispanics at about 25%, compared with the current 14%, Passel says.
Suro says it will take awhile for Hispanics’ political effects to match their growth. “You’ve got this steady flow of new people becoming eligible to vote but low rates of participation,” Suro says.
Here are some takes on the data from other news organizations….
• Comparing growth rates, Arizona Republic: “The nation’s Hispanic population, increasing at seven times the rate of the non-Hispanic ethnic group, has accounted for half of the nation’s growth since 2000, the Census Bureau reports.”
• In the context of the immigration debate, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “As if we didn’t already know it, the Census Bureau offers further proof today that nonimmigrant America continues to shrink. And the part of America that is growing the fastest and is already the largest minority speaks Spanish.”
• The numbers among children, Washington Post: “Nearly half of the nation’s children under 5 are racial or ethnic minorities, and the percentage is increasing mainly because the Hispanic population is growing so rapidly, according to a census report released today.”
• Looking at the population overall, Los Angeles Times: “Latino population growth accounted for nearly half of the nation’s population increase of 2.8 million from July 2004 to July 2005, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released today.”
Finally I’ve fount this very remarkable comment left by Mike on may 2006 on USA Today.
Why is this such a big deal anyway. Isn’t America the world’s “melting pot” of races and ethnicities? What is the meaning of melting pot anyway if anything non-caucasian is seen as odd and therefore should make the news headlines?
Does it really matter which population is growing faster than which? NO!! (Interesting isn’t it?)
Here are some facts from the US Census
Population
42.7 million
The estimated Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2005, making people of Hispanic origin the nation’s largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constituted 14% of the nation’s total population. (This estimate does not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico.)
About 1
. . . of every two people added to the nation’s population between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, were Hispanic.
3.3%
Percentage increase in the Hispanic population between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, making Hispanics the fastest-growing minority group.
102.6 million
The projected Hispanic population of the United States as of July 1, 2050. According to this projection, Hispanics will constitute 24% of the nation’s total population on that date.
22.4 million
The nation’s Hispanic population during the 1990 census—just slightly over half the current total.
64%
The percentage of Hispanic-origin people in households who are of Mexican background. Another approximately 10% are of Puerto Rican background, with about 3% each of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins. The remainder are of some other Central American, South American or other Hispanic or Latino origins.
Roughly half of the nation’s Dominicans live in New York City, with about half of the nation’s Cubans residing in Miami-Dade County, Fla.
27.2
Median age, in years, of the Hispanic population in 2005. This compares with 36.2 years for the population as a whole.
107
Number of Hispanic males in 2005 per every 100 Hispanic females. This was in sharp contrast to the overall population, which had 97 males per every 100 females.
States and Counties
49%
The percentage of the Hispanic-origin population that lives in California or Texas. California is home to 12.4 million Hispanics, and Texas is home to 7.8 million.
13
The number of states with at least half a million Hispanic residents. These states are: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington.
43%
The percentage of New Mexico’s population that is Hispanic, highest of any state. Hispanics also make up more than one-third of the population in California and Texas, at 35% each.
4.6 million
The Hispanic population of Los Angeles County, Calif.—the largest of any county in the nation.
715,000
The increase in California’s Hispanic population between July 1, 2003, and July 1, 2004, which led all states. Los Angeles County alone added 76,400, which led all the nation’s counties.
19
Number of states in which Hispanics are the largest race or ethnic minority group.
Businesses
1.6 million
The number of Hispanic-owned businesses in 2002.
Triple
The rate of growth of Hispanic-owned businesses between 1997 and 2002 (31%) compared to the national average (10%) for all businesses.
$222 billion
Revenue generated by Hispanic-owned businesses in 2002, up 19% from 1997.
44%
. . . of all Hispanic-owned firms were owned by people of Mexican origin.
29,184
Number of Hispanic-owned firms with receipts of $1 million or more.
Nearly 3-in-10 Hispanic-owned firms operated in construction and other services, such as personal services, and repair and maintenance. Retail and wholesale trade accounted for 36% of Hispanic-owned business revenue.
States with the fastest rates of growth for Hispanic-owned firms between 1997 and 2002 included New York (57%), Rhode Island and Georgia (56% each), and Nevada and South Carolina (48% each).
Counties with the highest number of Hispanic-owned firms were Los Angeles County, Calif. (188,472); Miami-Dade County, Fla. (163,188); Harris County, Texas (61,934); and Bronx County, N.Y. (38,325).
Families and Children
9.5 million
The number of Hispanic families who reside in the United States. Of these families, 63% include their children under 18 years old.
67%
The percentage of Hispanic families consisting of a married couple.
44%
The percentage of Hispanic families consisting of a married couple with children under the age of 18.
65%
Percentage of Hispanic children living with two parents.
22%
Percentage of population under age 5 that is Hispanic, as of July 1, 2005.
Spanish Language
31 million
The number of U.S. household residents age 5 and older who speak Spanish at home. Spanish speakers constitute a ratio of more than 1-in-10 U.S. household residents. Among all those who speak Spanish at home, more than one-half say they speak English “very well.”
Coming to America
53%
Percentage of the foreign-born population from Latin America. This amounts to 18.3 million people.
10 million
The number of foreign-born people who were born in Mexico, by far more than any other Latin American country or any other country in the world for that matter. Other countries of birth that contribute large numbers of Hispanics are El Salvador (937,000), Cuba (925,000), the Dominican Republic (688,000), Guatemala (590,000) and Colombia (500,000). (The difference between the estimates for El Salvador and Cuba is not statistically significant.)
4
. . . states are home to about 2 of every 3 foreign-born persons born in Latin America. Those states are California, Florida, New York, and Texas.
Income and Poverty
$34,241
The real median income of Hispanic households in 2004, unchanged from the previous year.
21.9%
The poverty rate among Hispanics in 2004, unchanged from 2003.
32.7%
The percentage of Hispanics who lacked health insurance in 2004 unchanged from 2003.
Education
58%
The percentage of Hispanics age 25 and older who had at least a high school education in 2004.
12%
The percentage of the Hispanic population age 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2004.
2.7 million
The number of Hispanics age 18 and older who had at least a bachelor’s degree in 2004.
714,000
Number of Hispanics 25 years and older with advanced degrees in 2004 (e.g., master’s, professional, doctorate).
11%
Percentage of all college students in October 2004 who were Hispanic.
Jobs
68%
Percentage of Hispanics age 16 and older who are in the civilian labor force.
18%
The percentage of Hispanics who work in managerial, professional and related occupations. Approximately 24% of Hispanics work in service occupations, 22% in sales and office jobs, 15% in construction, extraction and maintenance jobs and 19% in production, transportation and material moving occupations. (The difference between the proportions working in managerial, professional and related occupations and in production, transportation and material moving occupations is not statistically significant.)
Voting
7.6 million
The number of Hispanic citizens who reported voting in the 2004 presidential election. The percentage of Hispanic citizens voting—about 47%—did not change from four years earlier.
Serving our Country
1.1 million
The number of Hispanic veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.