10 Basic Facts About Hispanics and Latinos in the United States.

Content by Lupita Peimbert.

(Latino) – Each year, the U.S. government recognizes the contributions and culture of 55.6 million of Hispanics or Latinos in the United States throughout a month-long celebration known as Hispanic Heritage Month, from September 15 to October 15.

These are 10 facts, as of September 10, 2016:

People who trace their roots to Spain, Mexico, Central America, South America and the Caribbean are of Hispanic descent. However, some people prefer to be called “Latino”.
Whether people like to be called Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, Mexican American, Cuban, Puerto-Rican and other, they are also united by the Spanish language, even if they don’t speak Spanish perfectly –but their parents usually do.
Hispanics constitute 17.6% of the US population or 55.6 million. By 2060, it is projected that Hispanics will constitute 28.6 % of the US population or 119 million people.
The majority of Hispanics in the United States are of Mexican origin (63.9%), followed by Puerto Ricans (9%), Salvadorans (3.8%), Cubans (3.7%), Dominicans (3.2%), and Guatemalans (2.4%).
15.2 million Hispanics live in California, the majority of Hispanics in any state. Other states with high Hispanic/Latino population –more than 1 million people are Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and Texas (listed by alphabetical order.)
39.3 million is the number of U.S. residents age 5 and older who spoke Spanish at home in 2014. This is a 126.3 percent increase since 1990 when it was 17.3 million. Those who Hablan español en casa constituted 13.1 percent of U.S. residents age 5 and older. More than half (58 percent of all Spanish speakers and 57 percent of Hispanic Spanish speakers) spoke English “very well.”
The median income for Hispanic families sums up to $42,491, the poverty rate is 23.6%. Those who lack health insurance represent 19.9%.
Education: 65.3% of Hispanics age 25 and older had at least a high school education in 2014.
Higher Education: 4.4 million of Hispanics age 25 and older had at least a bachelor’s degree, and 1.4 million had master’s, doctorate or related degrees in 2014.
Voting: 8.4% of voters in the 2012 presidential election were Hispanic.