U.S. Census Figures Show that Hispanics Are Increasing Their Clout

In anticipation of "National Hispanic Heritage Month" which is to be observed between September 15th and October 15th, the U.S. Census Bureau has assembled a number of facts and statistics regarding the largest minority group in the country.

Hispanics account for 44.3 million (15%) individuals in the United States. They are currently the largest ethnic or race minority in America.

According to the Census Bureau, 1 out of every 2 people added to the U.S population between July 1, 2005 and July 1, 2006 were Hispanic. It is projected that there will be 102.6 Hispanics in America by the year 2050 accounting for almost one quarter (24%) of the entire U.S. population.

As per figures from 2005, only Mexico (106.2 million) and Colombia (43 million) had larger populations of Latinos than that of the United States (42.7).

It is estimated that 64% of Hispanics are of Mexican background. Nine percent are of Puerto Rican extraction, followed by Cubans (3.5%), Salvadoreans (3%), and Dominicans (2.7%). The rest are from Central or South America or other Hispanic origin.

The median age of Hispanics in 2006 was 27.4 years, almost ten years younger than the average age of the U.S. population (36.4 years).

There are 107 Latino men for every 100 Hispanic women. The overall U.S. population has 97 males for every 100 females.

Almost half (48%) of all Hispanics live in Texas (8.4 million) or California (13.1 million). The county with the highest Latino population is Los Angeles County (4.7 million).

In 2002, there were 1.6 million Hispanic-owned businesses that generated $222 billion dollars. There are 29,168 Hispanic owned firms that generated $1 million or more dollars.

There are 9.9 million Hispanic family households in the United States. Almost two-thirds (62%) have children under the age of 18. Sixty-seven percent of these households have a married couple.

According to the American Community Survey, 32.2 million (78%) of Hispanics (5 and older) speak Spanish at home. More than half stated that they speak English very well.