New Jersey’s Hispanic population is the seventh-largest in the nation. More than 1.4 million Hispanics reside in New Jersey, 3% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 588,000 eligible Hispanic voters in New Jersey, 3% 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 New Jersey, with comparative data for the U.S. All data are from the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.3

Hispanics in New Jersey’s Eligible Voter Population

  • New Jersey’s population is 16% Hispanic, the ninth-highest Hispanic population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 45%.
  • 10% of eligible voters in New Jersey are Latinos, the ninth-largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 38% followed by Texas with 25% and California with 23%.
  • 43% of Latinos in New Jersey are eligible to vote, ranking New Jersey 23rd nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters

  • 25% of Hispanic eligible voters in New Jersey are ages 18 to 29, a lesser share than all Latino eligible voters nationwide (31%). Fewer eligible voters overall in New Jersey are in that age range (18%) compared with New Jersey Hispanic eligible voters (25%).
  • A greater share of Hispanic eligible voters in New Jersey (37%) are naturalized U.S. citizens compared with Hispanics eligible voters nationwide (26%).
  • 24% of Latino eligible voters in New Jersey have not completed high school, somewhat less than the share of all Latino eligible voters nationwide (27%). By contrast, 12% of all New Jersey eligible voters and 14% of all eligible voters nationwide have not completed high school.
  • Slightly more than half of all Hispanic eligible voters in New Jersey live in owner-occupied homes compared with more than 7 in 10 of all New Jersey eligible voters. Fewer New Jersey Hispanic eligible voters live in owner-occupied homes than do all Hispanic eligible voters nationwide—51% versus 60%.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters in New Jersey, by Race and Ethnicity

  • Black eligible voters in New Jersey outnumber Hispanic eligible voters—749,000 blacks compared with 588,000 Hispanics.
  • Latino eligible voters outnumber Asian eligible voters in New Jersey by almost 2 to 1—588,000 to 300,000.
  • More Latino eligible voters (24%) in New Jersey did not complete high school compared with white (10%), black (19%) and Asian (6%) eligible voters.
  • Asian eligible voters in New Jersey are more likely to be naturalized citizens compared with Latino eligible voters—83% versus 37%.
  • Roughly 8 in 10 white and Asian eligible voters in New Jersey live in owner-occupied home compared with 5 in 10 New Jersey Latino and black eligible voters.