Maryland’s Hispanic population is the 20th largest in the nation. More than 341,000 Hispanics reside in Maryland, 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 112,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Maryland, less than 1% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.1 This fact sheet provides key demographic information on Latino eligible voters.2 It also contains data on other major groups of eligible voters in Maryland, with comparative data for the U.S. All data are from the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.3

Hispanics in Maryland’s Eligible Voter Population

  • Maryland’s population is 6% Hispanic, the 28th highest Hispanic population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 45%.
  • Almost 3% of eligible voters in Maryland are Latinos, the 26th largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 38%.
  • One-third of Latinos in Maryland are eligible to vote, ranking 38th nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters

  • Maryland’s Hispanic eligible voters are younger than all eligible voters in Maryland—32% of Hispanic eligible voters in Maryland are ages 18 to 29 versus 21% of all Maryland eligible voters.
  • Latino eligible voters in Maryland are much more likely to be naturalized citizens than are all Maryland eligible voters—41% versus 7%. They are also more likely to be naturalized than are all Latino eligible voters nationwide (26%).
  • The proportion of Hispanic eligible voters in Maryland who have attended college or earned at least a bachelor’s degree is nearly equal to the proportion of all Maryland eligible voters who have this level of education—57% of Hispanics versus 59% of all eligible voters in Maryland. They also have a higher level of education than all Hispanic eligible voters nationwide, only 41% of whom have attended college or earned a bachelor’s degree or more.
  • Latino eligible voters in Maryland are less likely to live in an owner-occupied home than all eligible voters in Maryland—66% versus 73%.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Maryland, by Race and Ethnicity

  • Black eligible voters outnumber Latino eligible voters in Maryland by a margin of nearly 10 to 1—1.1 million blacks compared with 112,000 Latino eligible voters. Latino and Asian eligible voters are nearly balanced—112,000 Latinos versus 129,000 Asians.
  • Hispanic eligible voters are younger than white, black or Asian eligible voters in Maryland—32% of Hispanic eligible voters are ages 18 to 29 compared with 18% of white, 24% of black and 19% of Asian eligible voters.
  • Latino eligible voters in Maryland are more likely to be citizens by birth (59%) than are Asian eligible voters (22%).
  • Hispanic eligible voters are less likely than white eligible voters in Maryland to live in owner-occupied homes—66% versus 80%.