Hispanic Heritage Month

National Hispanic Heritage Month takes place each year September 15 to October 15. This year the U.S. Census has collected information about Hispanics in the United States on its webpage.

• The Hispanic population of the United States as of April 1, 2010 is 50.5 million, making people of Hispanic origin the nation's largest ethnic or race minority. Hispanics constituted 16.3 percent of the nation's total population. In addition, there are 3.7 million residents of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. The increase in the Hispanic population between April 1, 2000, and April 1, 2010 was 43%, making Hispanics the fastest-growing minority group.
• The projected Hispanic population of the United States on July 1, 2050 is 132.8 million which willl constitute 30 percent of the nation's population by that date.
• The number of Hispanics counted during the 2000 Census was 35.3 million. The nation's Hispanic population during the 1990 Census was 22.4 million.
• There are number of 16 states with at least a half-million Hispanic residents 25 states in which Hispanics were the largest minority group. Thes states includ both New York and New Jersey.
• The increase in the Hispanic population in South Carolina between April 1, 2000, and April 1, 2010 was 148%, the highest of any state.
• The Hispanic population of Los Angeles County, CA, in 2010 was 4.7 million, the highest of any county.
• The proportion of the population of Webb County, Texas, that was Hispanic as of 2010 was 96%, the highest proportion of any county.
• The median income of Hispanic households in 2009 was $38,039.
• The poverty rate among Hispanics in 2009 was 25.3%, up from 23.2 percent in 2008.
• The percentage of Hispanics who lacked health insurance in 2009 was 32.4%, up from 30.7 percent in 2008.
• The number of Hispanics or Latinos 18 and older who are veterans of the U.S. armed forces is 1.1 million.