Demographics of Hispanic and Latino Americans

The demographics of Hispanic and Latino Americans depict a population that is the second-largest ethnic group in the United States, is much younger than the rest of the country, less educated, less wealthy, with a very large immigrant component, of no less than two dozen national origins and of every race, with a longer life expectancy than their fellow Americans, and geographically concentrated in the southwestern United States.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Background

Hispanic and Latino Americans (along with Asian Americans, most notably) have contributed to an important demographic change in the United States since the 1960s whereby minority groups now compose one-third of the population. Nearly one in six Americans was Hispanic or Latino as of 2009, a total of 48.4 million out of the estimated 307 million Americans. High rates of immigration and fertility have shaped the growth of the Hispanic and Latino population.

Education

It is a widely held idea among Americans that a college degree is essential to obtaining a stable occupation. Most Americans as a whole attain a high school diploma, while between 25 and 75 percent continue to postsecondary institutions.^[6] According to the U.S Census Bureau, Hispanics are among the least educated ethnic group. In 2000, about 530,000 Hispanics and Latinos 16–19 years of age were high school dropouts, yielding a dropout rate of 21.1 percent for all Hispanics and Latinos.^[7] 11 percent of Hispanics/Latinos have earned a bachelor's degree or higher, compared with 17 percent of non-Hispanic blacks, 30 percent of non-Hispanic whites, and 49 percent of Asian Americans.^[8] Often, Hispanic and Latino youth begin schooling without the necessary economic and social resources that other children have. One frequent cause is their being the children of immigrant parents with low socioeconomic status and language barriers that result in a lack of knowledge about the U.S. education system. These unfavorable conditions frequently spawn others, such as weak parent-teacher relationships.

The overall average years of schooling for Hispanics and Latinos (10.5) does not include high school graduation (12 years). There is a notable education gap between foreign-born Hispanics, who have more difficulties with language barriers, and U.S.-born Hispanics. The latter only lag non-Hispanic Whites by 1.3 years of schooling, and nearly tie African Americans, as seen in the table below.

Table 1^[9]

Average Years of Schooling, by Gender, Ethnicity, and Nativity Men, by Nativity Women, by Nativity

Ethnicity All Foreign-Born US Born All Foreign-Born US Born Whites 13.6 13.6 Black 12.4 12.8 All Hispanics 10.5 9.5 12.2 10.8 9.8 12.4 Mexicans 9.8 8.5 12.1 10.1 8.6 12.2 Puerto Ricans 11.7 11.2 12.4 12.0 11.4 12.7 Cubans 12.7 12.4 13.6 12.9 12.5 14.2

(NOTE: The samples include individuals ages 25 to 59.)

Employment

Employment and earnings are a measure of labor market success, and depend on educational attainment. Given the lower level of education of the Hispanic or Latino population and the growing need for a college degree for entry-level jobs, Hispanics and Latinos are behind when entering into the labor force. The annual employment rate is defined as the percentage of individuals who worked any period of time during the calendar year.^[10] Although Hispanics do not lag behind non-Hispanic blacks when it comes to employment rates, they do lag non-Hispanic whites. There is a major gap between male and female rates in Hispanics due to high fertility rates and female absence from the labor force to give birth. Furthermore, nativity plays a major role in employment rates because U.S. born Hispanics are more accustomed to the U.S. labor market.

Table2^[11]

Annual Employment Rates (Percentages), by Gender, Ethnicity and Nativity

Men, by Nativity Women, by Nativity

Ethnicity All Foreign-Born US Born All Foreign-Born US Born Whites 91.8 80.2 Blacks 77.4 77.7 Hispanics 86.8 87.5 85.6 67.0 61.2 76.3 Mexicans 87.8 88.5 86.5 64.7 56.1 76.4 Puerto Ricans 80.0 76.6 83.8 67.7 60.8 75.5 Cubans 87.3 86.8 89.1 74.7 72.5 82.5 |} (NOTE: The samples include individuals ages 25 to 59.)

Earnings

In 2006, adults 18 and older with a master's, professional, or doctoral degree earned an average of $79,946, while those with less than a high school diploma earned about $19,915.^[12]

Hispanic and Latino median earnings are significantly lower than the median earnings of the total U.S. population, a result of the lower education levels of the former group. Yet, there are other causes of the earnings gap besides education. A report released by the Census Bureau in 2003 estimated that the average lifetime earnings of Hispanics with an advanced degree are $500,000 less than those of non-Hispanic whites with an equivalent education.

Poverty

Estimates show that about 22 percent of the Hispanic and Latino population is below the poverty level, with the rate being higher for children, while 8.3 percent of non-Hispanic whites and about 25 percent of African American remain under the poverty level as well.^[13]

See also

• Demographics of the United States

Notes

1. ^ Mann, Denise (2010-10-14). "Hispanics Have Highest Life Expectancy in U.S.". WebMD. http://www.webmd.com/healthy-aging/news/20101014/hispanics-have-highest-life-expectancy-in-u-s. Retrieved 2010-11-24. 
2. ^ "S0201. Selected Population Profile in the United States; Hispanic or Latino (of any race)". 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/IPTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201PR&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201T&-qr_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201TPR&-reg=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201:400;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201PR:400;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201T:400;ACS_2009_1YR_G00_S0201TPR:400&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-format=. Retrieved 2010-11-24. 
3. ^ "B03001. Hispanic or Latino origin by specific origin". 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-_lang=en&-redoLog=true&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G2000_B03001&-format=&-CONTEXT=dt. 
4. ^ "B03002. Hispanic or Latino origin by race". 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G2000_B03002&-CONTEXT=dt&-redoLog=true&-currentselections=PEP_2006_EST_G2006_T004_2006&-geo_id=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en. Retrieved 2010-11-24. 
5. ^ "B03003. Hispanic or Latino origin [nation, regions, and seven southwestern states"]. 2009 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. U.S. Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/DTTable?_bm=y&-context=dt&-ds_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G00_&-CONTEXT=dt&-mt_name=ACS_2009_1YR_G2000_B03003&-tree_id=309&-redoLog=true&-_caller=geoselect&-currentselections=ACS_2009_1YR_G2000_C03002&-geo_id=01000US&-geo_id=02000US1&-geo_id=02000US2&-geo_id=02000US3&-geo_id=02000US4&-geo_id=04000US04&-geo_id=04000US06&-geo_id=04000US08&-geo_id=04000US32&-geo_id=04000US35&-geo_id=04000US48&-geo_id=04000US49&-search_results=01000US&-format=&-_lang=en. Retrieved 2010-11-24. 
6. ^ Firestone, 2008
7. ^ US Census Bureau, 2003
8. ^ Tienda, 180
9. ^ SOURCE: 2000 Census, 5% Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). Tienda, Marta (Editor). Hispanics and the Future of America. Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press, 2006. p 230. [1]^{[dead link]}
10. ^ Tienda, 235
11. ^ 2000 census, 5% PUMS. Tienda, Marta (Editor). Hispanics and the Future of America. Washington, DC, USA: National Academies Press, 2006. p 235. [2]^{[dead link]}
12. ^ US Census Bureau, 2006
13. ^ US Census, 2005

References

• Brindis C.D., Driscoll A.K., Biggs M.A. & Valderrama L.T. 2002. Fact Sheet on Latino Youth: Income & Poverty.
• Firestone, Juanita M. and Harris, Richard J.; "Educational and Occupational Attainment".
• Marcelo, M Suárez-Orozco and Páez Mariela; (2002) Latinos: Remaking America. University of California Press. ISBN 0520234863
• Tienda, Marta and Mitchell, Faith; (Eds). (2006) Hispanics and the Future of America. Washington, DC: National Academies Press. ISBN 0309100518
• US Census Bureau. (2007). Earnings Gap by Census Bureau Data on Educational Attainment.
• US Census Bureau. (2006). US Hispanic Population:2006 Power Point.

Further reading

• Card, David & Ethan G. Lewis (2007). "The Diffusion of Mexican Immigrants during the 1990s: Explanations and Impacts". In Borjas, George J. (Editor). Mexican Immigration to the United States. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226066325. 

• Masud-Piloto, Felix Roberto (1996). From Welcomed Exiles to Illegal Immigrants: Cuban Migration to the U.S., 1959-1995. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 0847681483.