To help us in the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month, the Pew Research Center presents the following key facts about the nation’ s Latino population in the United States today. The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American“ fact tank,” which is based in Washington, D. C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the world.

1. The U. S. Hispanic population now stands at 57 million. 2. A record 27.3 million Latinos were eligible to vote in 2016.

3. People of Mexican origin account for about two-thirds( 35.3 million) of the nation’ s Hispanics..

4. As the population of U. S.-born Latinos booms and the arrival of new immigrants slows, the share of Latinos who are immigrants – as opposed to those who are born here – is on the decline across all Latino origin groups..

5. Diversity among Hispanic origin groups varies between major metropolitan areas. Mexicans make up 79 percent of Hispanics in the Los Angeles metro area..

6. Hispanics are the youngest of the major racial and ethnic groups in the U. S. At 28 years, the median age of Hispanics is nearly a full decade lower than that of the U. S. overall( 37 years).

7. Millennials accounted for nearly half( 44 percent) of the Hispanic electorate in 2016.

8. Latinos make up the largest group of immigrants in most states, mostly because Mexico is the biggest source of immigrants in 33 states.

9. A majority of Hispanic adults( 55 percent) say they are Catholic, while 16 percent are evangelical Protestants and five percent are mainline Protestants.

10. The share of Latinos in the U. S. who speak English proficiently is growing. In 2013, 68 percent of Latinos ages five and older spoke English proficiently, up from 59 percent in 2000.

Latino Education:

Over the past decade, the Hispanic high school dropout rate has declined and college enrollment has increased, even as Hispanics trail other groups in earning a bachelor’ s degree. The issue of education is an important one for Hispanics. Roughly eight-in-ten( 83 percent) cited education as very important to their vote in the 2016 election, ranking it alongside the economy, health care and terrorism as a top issue.

Yet, for many Hispanics, economic factors remain an obstacle to college enrollment. In a 2014 National Journal poll, 66 percent of Hispanics who got a job or entered the military directly after high school cited the need to help support their family as a reason for not enrolling in college, compared with 39 percent of whites.

1. Over the past decade, the Hispanic high school dropout rate has dropped dramatically. Even so, the Hispanic dropout rate remains higher than that of blacks( seven percent), whites( five percent) and Asians( one percent).

2. Hispanics are making big inroads in college enrollment. In 2014, 35 percent of Hispanics ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in a two – or four-year college, up from 22 percent in 1993 – a 13-percentage-point increase. That amounted to 2.3 million Hispanic college students in 2014.

3. Even though more Hispanics are getting a postsecondary education than ever before, Hispanics still lag behind other groups in obtaining a four-year degree.

4. Another reason why Hispanics lag in Bachelor’ s degrees is that nearly half who go to college attend a public two-year school, or community college, the highest share of any race or ethnicity.

5. Hispanics are significantly less likely than other groups to have student debt.

According to a published article by Octavio Blanco, Latinos are playing a key role in U. S. economic growth and becoming an increasingly critical engine for America’ s economic growth. In 2015, the Latinos living and working in the U. S. were responsible for $ 2.13 trillion or 11.8 percent of Americans 18 trillion gross domestic product, according to a study released by the Latino Donors Collaborative, a nonpartisan association of Latino businesses, political and academic leaders. To many Latino groups, this is statistical evidence that Latinos living in the U. S. have always know to be true, that“ we are hardworking, productive and an essential part of American economic growth and American Society,” said Ana Valdez, Executive Director of the Latino Advocacy group.

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2017 gmhtoday. com

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