Rhode Island’s Hispanic population is the 35th largest in the nation. About 120,000 Hispanics reside in Rhode Island, less than 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 43,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Rhode Island, 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 Rhode Island, with comparative data for the U.S. All data are from the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.3

Hispanics in Rhode Island’s Eligible Voter Population

  • Rhode Island’s population is 11% Hispanic, ranking as the 12th highest Hispanic population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 45%.
  • Nearly 6% of eligible voters in Rhode Island are Latinos, the 13th largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first at 38%.
  • Almost 36% of Latinos in Rhode Island are eligible to vote, ranking 32nd nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters

  • Rhode Island’s Hispanic eligible voters are younger than all eligible voters in Rhode Island—37% of Hispanic eligible voters in Rhode Island are ages 18 to 29 versus 22% of all Rhode Island eligible voters.
  • Latino eligible voters in Rhode Island are much more likely to be naturalized citizens than are all Rhode Island eligible voters—34% versus 8%. They are also more likely to be naturalized than are all Latino eligible voters nationwide (26%).
  • The proportion of Hispanic eligible voters in Rhode Island who have attended college or earned at least a bachelor’s degree is less than the proportion of all Rhode Island eligible voters who have this level of education—30% of Hispanics versus 55% of all eligible voters in Rhode Island. They also have a lower 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 Rhode Island are less likely to live in an owneroccupied home than all eligible voters in Rhode Island—36% versus 67%.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Rhode Island, by Race and Ethnicity

  • White eligible voters outnumber Latino eligible voters in Rhode Island by a margin of nearly 16 to 1–668,000 whites compared with 43,000 Latino eligible voters.
  • Hispanic eligible voters are younger than white eligible voters in Rhode Island–37% of Hispanic eligible voters are ages 18 to 29 compared with 20% of white eligible voters.
  • Latino eligible voters in Rhode Island are more likely to be naturalized citizens (34%) than are white eligible voters (4%).
  • Hispanic eligible voters are less likely than white eligible voters in Rhode Island to live in owner-occupied homes–36% versus 70%