Hispanic American Demographics

Population
5 primary groups of the Hispanic populations are from:
- Mexico: about 23 million
- Puerto Rico: about 3.6 million
- Cuba: about 1.3 million
- Dominican Republic: about 1.12 million
- El Salvador: about 1.11 million

In July 2004, Hispanics account for 14.1% of the population (41,322,070, not including Puerto Rico), with a growth rate of 57.9% from 1990 to 2000, making Hispanics the fastest-growing population group in the U.S.

Nearly half of the 9.4 million American residents added since 2000 are Hispanic, the Census Bureau said. Growth was almost equal between immigrants and those already here.

As of 2004, approximately 22.3 million Hispanics in the United States were Native-born and approximately 18 million were Foreign-born.

In July 2004, the population of Puerto Rico was estimated to be 3,894,855, of whom 26.8% are under the age of 18.

Geographical Distribution
More than three-quarters of Hispanic Americans/Latinos live in the West and South.
7 leading states by population
- California (31.1%), Texas (18.9%), New York (8.1%), Florida (7.6%), Illinois (4.3%), Arizona (3.7%) and New Jersey (3.2%)

At the turn of the century, 6.6 million out of nearly 13 million inhabitants of the U.S./Mexico border region were of Hispanic origin and resided in San Diego CA, Pima AZ, and El Paso TX.

Age Distribution
• Median Age: 26.7 years old (White American median age: 39.6 years old)
• Birth rate: 3.51%
• 36% of population is less than 18 years of age
• By 2020, Hispanic ages 5 to 19 are expected to grow from 11 to 16 million

Family Characteristics
• commonly live close to one another
• usual to live in multi-generational households
• larger in size because of higher fertility rate than any other minority group
• 25% of Hispanic women have families of three or more children

Education
As of 2002, there were 1.656M Hispanics in college, and an additional 199,800 in Puerto Rico.

In 1999, 45% of Hispanic students in higher education in the continental US and Puerto Rico attend Hispanic-Serving Institutions.

Of full-time instructional faculty in colleges and universities in 1999, 2.9% were Hispanic, while 10% of all students in higher education in the United States are Hispanic.

In 1999, 5.6% of all public school teachers at the elementary- and secondary-school level were Hispanic, while 17.7% of the public school students in 2001 were Hispanic.

Language
Spanish remains the primary tongue among Hispanic adults.

Spanish-speaking Hispanics feel that they must learn English in order to succeed in the United States

• 72% of first generation primarily speaks Spanish
• 47%of the second generations are bi-lingual
• 78% of the third-plus generations are primarily English speakers

Acculturation
The majority of Latinos in the U.S. (88%) have said that they describe themselves or their families (parents, ancestors) as being from a specific country in Latin America. Latinos are almost as likely (81%) to use the terms “Latino” or “Hispanic” when describing themselves. They are not, however, as likely to say that they are “American” (53%).

54% of Hispanics say they primarily identify themselves in terms of where their parents are from.

"88 percent of Hispanics believe it is cool to be Hispanic."

Culture
The Latino Community in the United States is not a racial group, nor does it share one language or culture. The one unifying trait among all Latinos in the U.S. is a connection, by ancestry, to Latin America.

Almost 50% of Hispanic households in the United States are headed by a foreign-born Hispanic, and many of them arrived in the United States within the last two decades.

Ninety-six percent of Hispanics feel very proud of their Hispanic background and 89% agree that parents should pass on to their children a sense of belonging to a particular cultural tradition.

Buying Behavior
Cultural values play an important role in Hispanics’ shopping behavior.

Family influence is one of the key factors that influence purchase behavior of Hispanic consumers.

Around 36% of Hispanic Americans prefer to shop with family members.

"80 percent of Hispanics, versus 67 percent of non-Hispanic whites, agree that 'as a shopper, I feel more in charge today than I used to.'"

Internet Usage
- Over 13 million internet users with 15% to 20% per year growth rate. 39% of online households contain +5 people and live in higher income households.
- 38% of those with Internet access shop online for products or services. However, only 28% actually purchase these products or services online.
- 26% of this group pay bills online or use financial software.
- 79% of Hispanic Internet users read e-mail and 64% read news online.

Media Consumption
About 79 percent of the Hispanic market believe that there should be television or commercials directed specifically to Hispanic consumers.

About 69 percent of the Hispanic market get more information about a product when it is advertised in Spanish than when advertised only in English.

Income
Three-fifths (62%) of the Hispanic population have blue collar jobs compared to 41% for total U.S. population; about 14% are Professionals or Managers, compared to 30% for US total.

Hispanic average income grew 18.1%, from $35.9K to $42.4K

About 38% of Hispanic households earned over $40,000 in 1999 vs. 26% in 1994. About 3.5 million Hispanic Households earn over $40,000/year.

In 2003, first generation Latinos earned an average of 457-dollars a week, second generation Latinos earned an average of 535-dollars a week, and third generation Latinos earned an average of 550-dollars a week

The average Hispanic household income in 2002 was $33,565 versus the average U.S. income of $41,766.

The number of prosperous Hispanic households - those earning more than $100,000 a year - doubled between 1900 and 2000.

The homeownership rate for Hispanic households was 47.3% for 2002.

Three-fifths (62%) of the Hispanic population have blue collar jobs compared to 41% for total U.S. population; about 14% are Professionals or Managers, compared to 30% for US total.

Business Ownership
In 2002, 1.57 million Hispanic-owned firms generated $226.5 billion. Hispanic-owned firms made up 6.9 percent of all firms and 1.0 percent of all sales and receipts in the U.S.

5 states with the largest number of Hispanic- owned businesses are: California (427,805, the largest gross sales from Hispanic- owned firms), Texas (319,460), Florida (266,828), New York (163,659), and New Jersey (49,846).

Business ownership among Hispanic women increased 63.9% from 1997-2004.

Net Worth for different segments
The average net worth of a Hispanic who rents their primary residence is 762-dollars

The median net worth of a Hispanic who owns their primary residence is $62,839

The average net worth of a Hispanic under the age of 24 was $1,218 in 2002

Hispanics ages 25 to 34 had an average net worth of $3,857 in 2002

Hispanics between the ages of 35 and 44 had a median net worth of $9,994 in 2002

Hispanics 45-54 years-old had an average net worth of $23,475 in 2002

Hispanic males, as a whole, had a median net worth of $13,154 in 2002

Hispanic females, as a whole, had a median net worth of $4,489 in 2002

Purchasing Power
The Latino population controlled $653 billion in spending power in 2003, and this number is expected to reach more than $1 trillion in 2008, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth.

Key factors accounting for this increase in US Hispanic purchasing power include continued population growth and increasing Hispanic employment and income levels.

The US Hispanic purchasing power is growing at triple the rate of the overall US population.

More impressive, Hispanics contributed 23 percent ($65 billion) of the nation's total purchasing power of $284 billion in 2003, while only accounting for 13.8 percent of the total US population.

Projections
Demographic projections by the US Bureau of the Census report that over the next 30 years the growth rate of Hispanics will be the second largest for all population subgroups, after Asians; Hispanics became the largest minority by 2000.

By the year 2025, it is estimated that Hispanic Americans will comprise 18.9% of the United States population and in 2050 Hispanics will be 24.4%. (This will account for 48.5% of the growth in the nation's population: 64 million more Hispanics and 131 million more total US population).