The U.S. Hispanic population reached 68 million in 2024 — accounting for 20% of all Americans and 56% of the country's 58.7 million-person population increase since 2000, according to a Pew Research Center analysis published October 22.

Latinos now form the second-largest racial or ethnic group in the United States.

How large is the U.S. Hispanic population?

The 2024 figure of 68 million nearly doubled the 2000 count of 35.3 million. Hispanics grew from 13% of the population in 2000 to 20% in 2024, and from just 5% in 1970.

The country's population grew by 58.7 million people from 2000 to 2024. Hispanics accounted for 56% of this growth, the largest share of any group. Non-Hispanic Asians and multiracial Americans each contributed 19%, or 10.9 million people.

What role has immigration played?

Births drove most Hispanic population growth between 2000 and 2021 as immigration fell after the 2008 recession and during the 2020-2021 pandemic.

From 2021 to 2024, both legal and unauthorised immigration rose sharply. More than 1 million immigrants from Latin America arrived annually. The result: Hispanic population increases of nearly 2 million people per year, the largest yearly gains on record.

In 2025, the pattern is expected to revert. Preliminary data cited by Pew suggests births will again outnumber new arrivals as Trump administration policy changes take effect.

Who counts as a U.S. Latino?

Hispanics trace their roots to many countries. Mexicans form the largest group at roughly 40 million people, or 57% of all U.S. Latinos in 2024. Puerto Ricans living in the 50 states and Washington, D.C. number 6.1 million, with an additional 3.2 million in Puerto Rico itself.

Eight other origin groups have populations of 1 million or more: Cubans, Salvadorans, Dominicans, Guatemalans, Colombians, Hondurans, Venezuelans and Ecuadorians. Spaniards account for nearly 1 million.

Venezuelans grew the fastest of any origin group between 2019 and 2024, more than doubling in size. Ecuadorians grew by 48%, followed by Chileans (47%), Colombians (43%) and Nicaraguans (41%).

What is the citizenship and legal status of U.S. Latinos?

In 2024, 79% of U.S. Hispanics held U.S. citizenship, up from 71% in 2000. Two-thirds (67%) are citizens by birth, including those born in Puerto Rico and other U.S. territories. Another 13% are naturalised immigrants.

Among Hispanic immigrants, Pew's 2023 estimates put 59% in lawful status and 41% as unauthorised. Unauthorised immigrants represented 14% of all U.S. Latinos in 2023, compared with 4% of the total U.S. population.

The immigrant share of Hispanics has declined over the long term. In 2000, 40% of Hispanics were immigrants. That share dropped to 32% by 2021, then edged up to 33% in 2024.

Where do U.S. Hispanics live?

California leads with 16.1 million Hispanics, followed by Texas at 12.6 million. Florida (6.7 million), New York (4.0 million) and Illinois (2.5 million) round out the top five states. Together, these states host 62% of U.S. Latinos.

Latinos became the largest racial or ethnic group in California in 2014 and in Texas in 2021. They now make up 41% of California's population and 40% of Texas's. In New Mexico, Hispanics form 49% of residents.

Metro area composition varies sharply. Mexicans make up 74% of Hispanics in the Los Angeles area and 85% in California's Riverside metro. By contrast, Dominicans and Puerto Ricans dominate the New York metro, while Salvadorans form about a third of Hispanics in Washington, D.C. Cubans account for about 40% of Latinos in the Miami metro.

How are U.S. Latinos changing culturally and economically?

English proficiency has risen. In 2024, 71% of Latinos ages 5 and older — 44.8 million people — spoke English proficiently, up from 59% in 2000. Spanish use at home fell from 78% to 68% over the same period.

College attainment is climbing too. In 2024, 46% of Latinos ages 25 and older had at least some college experience, up from 36% in 2010. The share with a bachelor's degree or higher rose from 13% to 21%. Among Hispanic women, 24% held at least a bachelor's degree (up from 14%); among Hispanic men, 19% did (up from 12%).

Religious affiliation is also shifting. Catholics remain the largest group among Latinos at 42%, down from 67% in 2010. The religiously unaffiliated share has reached 27%, up from 10%. Evangelical Protestants remained steady at 17%.

The median age of U.S. Hispanics stood at 31.2 in 2024, younger than the national figures for Black (36.2), Asian (39.0) and White (43.2) Americans. U.S.-born Hispanics had a median age of 21.4, compared with 43.6 among Hispanic immigrants.

A record 22.7 million Hispanics were immigrants in 2024, up from 14.1 million in 2000. Puerto Rico's population has declined by 500,000 since 2010, from 3.7 million to 3.2 million.