As of 2019, the Hispanic population in the United States is over 60.47 million. Many Hispanic people who call the United States home immigrated to the States at some point in their lifetimes, but many Hispanic people were born in the United States. As time goes on, more and more Hispanic people have been born in the U.S. than those who immigrated here. While population growth among Hispanics has slowed over the past decade, they still make up about 18% of the U.S. population. Latinos account for 52% of all U.S. population growth between 2010 and 2020.
Keep in mind that Hispanic people are those who speak Spanish. People included in the headcount of Hispanic people do not have to be born in a certain geographic region to be considered Hispanic. The terms Latino and Latina refer to people who are from Latin America. Hispanic people can be Latina or Latino, but they can also be Hispanic without being from Latin America.
Hispanic Population by State
The Hispanic population varies significantly by state, ranging from 12,410 to 15,574,880. The states with the highest Hispanic population are:
- California (15.57 million)
- Texas (11.52 million)
- Florida (5.66 million)
- New York (3.75 million)
- Arizona (2.31 million).
New Mexico has the highest Hispanic population as a percentage of the total population at 49.26%, followed by Texas with 39.75% and California with 39.42%.
The five states with the lowest Hispanic populations are:
- Vermont (12,410)
- Maine (23,070)
- West Virginia (26,820)
- North Dakota (30,490)
- South Dakota (33,020)
West Virginia has the lowest Hispanic population as a percentage of the total population at 1.5%, followed by Maine with 1.72% and Vermont with 1.99%. West Virginia, Maine, and Vermont are also the overall whitest U.S. states, while New Mexico, Texas, California, and Nevada are among the ten most diverse.