Mexicans Top US Latino Group

WASHINGTON - A new analysis of The 2010 Census counted 50.5 million Hispanics. Among them, 31.8 million, or 63%, are of Mexican origin.

They are followed by Puerto Rican-origin Hispanics, who number 4.6 million, or 9.2%, of all U.S. Hispanics. Next are Cubans at 1.8 million or 3.5%, Salvadorans at 1.6 million or 3.3%, Dominicans at 1.4 million or 2.8%, Guatemalans at one million or 2.1% and Colombians at 909,000 or 1.8%.

While the relative position of the nation's three largest Hispanic country-of-origin groups has remained unchanged since 2000, the next four groups grew faster during the decade. Salvadoran-origin population, the fourth largest Hispanic country-of-origin group grew by 152% since 2000.

The Dominican population grew by 85%, the Guatemalan population by 180% and the Colombian population by 93%. Meanwhile, the Cuban and Puerto Rican populations grow more slowly----44% and 36% respectively. The Mexican-origin population grew by 54%.

Mexicans are the dominant Hispanic-origin group in major metropolitan areas in all regions of the country except the East. For example, among the Miami metropolitan area's Hispanics, half are Cuban. In the New York metropolitan area, Puerto Ricans are the largest group, followed by Dominicans.

In the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, Salvadorans are the largest group. But in other regions and other metropolitan areas spanning from Los Angeles to Chicago to San Antonio to Atlanta, Mexican-origin Hispanics are by far the dominant group.

Country of origin is based on self-described family ancestry or place of birth in response to questions in the Census Bureau's American Community Survey and on the 2010 Census form. It is not necessarily the same as place of birth, nor is it indicative of immigrant or citizenship status.

For example, a U.S. citizen born in Los Angeles of Mexican immigrant parents or grandparents may (or may not) identify his or her country of origin as Mexico. Likewise, some immigrants born in Mexico may identify another country as their origin depending on the place of birth of their ancestors.

The data for this report are derived from the 2010 U.S. Census and from the 2009 American Community Survey. The 2010 Census provides population counts for Hispanic origin sub-groups.

The 2009 American Community Survey provides detailed geographic, demographic and economic characteristics for each group.

The report, "U.S. Hispanic Country-of-Origin Counts for Nation, Top 30 Metropolitan Areas," authored by Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center and Daniel Dockterman, Research Assistant, Pew Hispanic Center, is available HERE

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.