Here is a statistic that illustrates the dispersion of the nation’s Hispanic population: Nearly two-thirds (64%) of Hispanics lived in the 50 counties with the largest Hispanic populations in 2000. In 2010, 59% lived in those top 50 counties. Those statistics are derived from the Pew Hispanic Center’s analysis of Census Bureau data, displayed in updated profiles, data and interactive maps.
The newly released material includes population data from decennial censuses and the bureau’s population estimates program for the nation’s 3,100-plus counties. Interactive maps display population data from 1980 through 2010, and show how the population size and distribution across counties has changed. County Hispanic population data for 1990, 2000 and 2010 also can be downloaded from the Pew Hispanic Center website.
The economic and demographic profiles offer a range of data from the Census Bureau’s 2010 American Community Survey about characteristics of Hispanics and non-Hispanics for each of the 50 states and District of Columbia. They include data on age, marital status, births, nativity, earnings, occupation, industry, poverty, home ownership, health insurance, school enrollment, citizenship, and language spoken at home. For some characteristics, a state ranking is supplied.
Among the highlights:
- The 10 states with the largest Hispanic populations are California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, Colorado, New Mexico and Georgia.
- Slightly more than half of Hispanics in Maryland (54%), the District of Columbia (52%) and Alabama (51%) are foreign born, the highest foreign born shares for Hispanics in the U.S.
- Los Angeles is the county with the nation’s largest Hispanic population (nearly 4.7 million). Three Texas counties have the highest share of Hispanics–more than 95%.
- Only four counties had a decrease of more than 1,000 people in their Hispanic populations from 2000 to 2010 (New York; Arlington, VA; Rio Arriba, NM; and Duval, TX.).
