Hispanics in the 2008 Election: Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania’s Hispanic population is the 14th largest in the nation. About 522,000 Hispanics reside in Pennsylvania, 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 261,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Pennsylvania, about 1.5% 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 Pennsylvania, with comparative data for the U.S. All data are from the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.³

Hispanics in Pennsylvania’s Eligible Voter Population

• Pennsylvania’s population is 4% Hispanic, ranking 33rd in the Hispanic population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 45%.
• Almost 3% of eligible voters in Pennsylvania are Latinos, the 27th largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 38%.
• Half of all Latinos in Pennsylvania are eligible to vote, ranking 11th nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters

• Pennsylvania’s Hispanic eligible voters are younger than all eligible voters in Pennsylvania—31% of Hispanic eligible voters in Pennsylvania are ages 18 to 29 versus 20% of all Pennsylvania eligible voters.
• Latino eligible voters in Pennsylvania are more likely to be naturalized citizens than are all Pennsylvania eligible voters—12% versus 3%. However, they are less likely to be naturalized than are all Latino eligible voters nationwide (26%).
• The proportion of Hispanic eligible voters in Pennsylvania who have attended college or earned at least a bachelor’s degree is less than the proportion of all Pennsylvania eligible voters who have that level of education—34% of Hispanics versus 48% of all eligible voters in Pennsylvania. Hispanic eligible voters in Pennsylvania also have a lower level of education than all Hispanic eligible voters nationwide, 41% of whom have attended college or earned a bachelor’s degree or more.
• Latino eligible voters in Pennsylvania are less likely to live in an owner-occupied home than all eligible voters in Pennsylvania—51% versus 74%.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Pennsylvania, by Race and Ethnicity

• Black eligible voters outnumber Latino eligible voters in Pennsylvania by a margin of more than 3 to 1—862,0blacks compared with 261,000 Latino eligible voters.
• Hispanic eligible voters are younger than white or black eligible voters in Pennsylvania—31% of Hispanic eligible voters are ages 18 to 29 compared with 18% of white and 24% of black eligible voters.
• Hispanic eligible voters are less likely than other groups of eligible voters to have attended college—34% versus 49% for white and 39% for black eligible voters.
• Hispanic eligible voters (51%) and black eligible voters (52%) are less likely than white eligible voters (77%) in Pennsylvania to reside in owner-occupied homes.