Hispanos En Los Estados Unidos 2010

The Hispanic Population: 2010
2010 Census Briefs

Issued May 2011

C2010BR-04

INTRODUCTION
This report looks at an important part of our nation’s changing ethnic diversity. It is part of a series that analyzes population and housing data collected from the 2010 Census, and it provides a snapshot of the Hispanic or Latino population in the United States. Hispanic population groupdistributions and growth at the national level and at lower levels of geography are presented.1

Figure 1.

Reproduction of the Question on Hispanic Origin From the 2010 Census

By Sharon R. Ennis, Merarys Ríos-Vargas, and Nora G. Albert

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census questionnaire. This report also provides an overview of ethnicity concepts and definitions used in the 2010 uponself-identification. The U.S. Census Census. The data for this report are based Bureau collects Hispanic origin informaon the 2010 Census Summary File 1, tion following the guidance of the U.S. which is among the first 2010 Census Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) data products to be released and is pro1997 Revisions to the Standards for the vided for each state.2 Classification of Federal Data onRace

UNDERSTANDING HISPANIC ORIGIN DATA FROM THE 2010 CENSUS
For the 2010 Census, the question on Hispanic origin was asked of individuals living in the United States (see Figure 1). An individual’s response to the Hispanic origin question was based
1 The terms “Hispanic or Latino” and “Hispanic” are used interchangeably in this report. 2 The 2010 Census Summary File 1 provides data ondetailed Hispanic origin groups (e.g., Mexican or Puerto Rican) and detailed information about race and tribes (e.g., Chinese, Samoan, or Choctaw). This report discusses data for the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data for Puerto Rico are shown and discussed separately. For a detailed schedule of 2010 Census products and release dates, visit .

and Ethnicity.3 These federal standards mandatethat race and ethnicity (Hispanic origin) are separate and distinct concepts and that when collecting these data via self-identification, two different questions must be used. The OMB definition of Hispanic or Latino origin used in the 2010 Census is presented in the text box “Definition of Hispanic or Latino Origin Used in the 2010 Census.” OMB requires federal agencies to use a minimum of twoethnicities: Hispanic or Latino and Not Hispanic or Latino. Hispanic origin can be viewed as
3 The 1997 Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity, issued by OMB, is available at .

U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person orthe person’s parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish may be any race. The question on Hispanic origin was first introduced in the 1970 Census, and subsequently a version of the question has been included in every census since.4 Spanish surname, place of birth, and Spanish mother tongue responses were also usedas identifiers of the Hispanic population in the 1970 Census and were the only Hispanic identifiers in prior censuses.5 Over the last 40 years the question on Hispanic origin has undergone numerous changes and modifications, all with the aim of improving the quality of Hispanic origin data in the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Island Areas.6 The 2010 Census question on Hispanic originincluded five separate response categories and one area where respondents could write in a specific Hispanic origin group. The first response category is intended for respondents who do not identify as Hispanic. The remaining response categories (“Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano;” “Puerto Rican;” “Cuban;” and “Another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin”) and write-in answers can be combined to...