Hispanic Heritage Month, by the numbers | The Numbers Racket

Spanning the 30 days from Sept. 15 – Oct. 15 each year, the United States celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month as a way to commemorate the history and culture of Hispanic Americans. 

Here are some statistics that paint the broader picture of Hispanic American population of the United States. It’s based on 2020 U.S. Census Bureau data. 

According to the 2020 census count, people who identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino comprised  the second-largest ethnic group in the U.S., accounting for more than 18 percent of the population, or more than 62 million people. 

Over the decade, the Hispanic or Latino population grew by 23 percent in the U.S., and contributed to more than half the country’s total population growth over the same period. 

In Puerto Rico, the Hispanic or Latino population made up 98.9 percent of the total population. 

In the continental U.S., six states had a Hispanic or Latino population that made up 25 or more percent of its population. 

• New Mexico, 47.7 percent
• California, 39.4 percent
• Texas, 39.3 percent
• Arizona, 30.7 percent
• Nevada, 28.7 percent
• Florida, 26.5 percent

In Pennsylvania, the Hispanic or Latino population grew to 8.1 percent of the state’s total population, a 45.8 percent increase from 2010. 

The greatest increases in Pennsylvania’s Hispanic or Latino population occurred in eastern Pennsylvania counties such as Lehigh, Berks and Monroe counties (25.9, 23.2, 17, respectively).

Four take-aways from Pennsylvania’s 2020 U.S. Census data

According to the Census Bureau, Approximately 45.3 million people of Hispanic or Latino origin were classified as “some other race” either alone or in combination, compared with only 4.6 million people who were not Hispanic or Latino. 

Additionally, the bureau noted that the majority of those who were classified as “some other race alone” were of Hispanic or Latino origin (26.2 million out of 27.9 million, or 93.9 percent).

From 2010 to 2020, the percentage of Hispanic or Latino children increased as well, jumping from 23.1 percent in 2010 to 25.7 percent in 2020.