POPULATION MEDIAN AGE EDUCATION LANGUAGE VOTING REPRESENTATION
Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, offers the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions of Hispanic cultures in the United States. Hispanic people in the U.S. are becoming one of the nation's fastest growing racial and ethnic groups.
But the Hispanic community is far from being a monolith. From shifting identities, increasing educational attainment and growing political influence, Hispanic Americans continue to be a major part of the nation's tapestry.
Here's a closer look at the Hispanic population in the U.S.:
More than 68 million people in the U.S. identify as ethnically Hispanic, according to the latest census estimates.
Hispanic was a term coined by the federal government for people descended from Spanish-speaking cultures. But, being ethnically Hispanic can reflect a diverse array of histories, cultures and national origins.
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There are several other identifiers for Hispanic people, depending largely on personal preference. Mexican Americans, the largest Hispanic subgroup, who grew up during the 1960s Civil Rights era may identify as Chicano. Others may go by their family's nation of origin, such as Colombian American or Salvadoran American.
The median age of the Hispanic population in the U.S. is 31.2 years, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. It's the youngest of all U.S. populations. By comparison, the median age for the overall U.S. population is 39.1.
The number of Hispanic women earning advanced degrees increased 291% from 2000 to 2021.
The number of Hispanic men accomplishing the same increased by 199% during the same period, according to census data analyzed by the Pew Research Center.
Although the number of Latinos earning college degrees has increased in the past two decades, they remain underpaid and underrepresented in the workforce compared to their non-Hispanic counterparts, a reality that advocates say can change only when there are more Latinos in positions of power.
Sixty-eight percent of the U.S. Hispanic population age 5 and older speak a language other than English at home, according to 2024 census estimates. About 29% of them also report speaking English "less than very well."
Until recently, the United States had no official language. Today, it is English.
Currently, there are more than 350 languages spoken in the United States, according to census data.
The most widely spoken languages other than English are Spanish, Chinese, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Arabic.
According to AP VoteCast, Hispanics made up about 10% of voters in the 2024 presidential election. Support among Hispanic voters, especially in swing states like Arizona, was an important factor to who would win the election.
About half of Hispanic voters in the 2024 election identified as Democrats. About 4 in 10 were Republicans and roughly 1 in 10 were independents.
Overall, Hispanic voters were about equally likely to say they have a favorable view of Republican candidate Donald Trump and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. But there is a gender divide among Hispanic voters on Harris: About 6 in 10 Hispanic women have a somewhat or very favorable opinion of Harris, compared to 45% of Hispanic men.
There are 56 Hispanic or Latino members serving in the 119th Congress. That shakes out to 10.35% of total membership, according to the official Congress profile.
For comparison, 40 years ago in the 99th Congress there were 14 Hispanic or Latino members, and all were male.
Six serve in the Senate and 50 in the House of Representatives, including two delegates and the Resident Commissioner. Of the members of the House, 38 identify as Democrats and 12 as Republicans, with 19 women serving.
At the start of January, there were seven Hispanic US senators. That number decreased to six when then Sen. Marco Rubio resigned to become the Secretary of State. Of the six Hispanic senators, two are Republicans and four are Democrats; one is a woman:
Sen. Ted CruzSen. Catherine Cortez MastoSen. Alex PadillaSen. Ben Ray LujanSen. Ruben GallegoSen. Bernie Moreno
This year also marked a record for Latinas in state legislatures. In total, 214 Latinas or 2.9% hold a seat in a state legislature, according to the Center for American Women and Politics. Of the 214 Latinas serving in a state house, 182 are Democrats, 31 are Republican, and one identifies as nonpartisan.
As of September 2025, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is the only active Latina governor in the U.S. Only two Latinas have been elected governor in U.S. history, and both were in New Mexico.
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