we the people: hispanics in the united states · 2 we the people: hispanics in the united states...

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Census 2000 Special Reports

U.S. Department of CommerceEconomics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

CENSR-18

Issued December 2004

By Roberto R. Ramirez

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

We the People: Hispanics in the United States

This report was prepared by Roberto R. Ramirez, under thesupervision of Arthur R. Cresce, Chief, Ethnicity and AncestryBranch and Jorge del Pinal, Assistant Division Chief, SpecialPopulation Statistics, Population Division. John F. Long, Chief,Population Division, provided overall direction.

General direction was provided by Judy G. Belton, Chief, Race andHispanic Origin Review Branch, Population Division. Within the Raceand Hispanic Origin Review Branch, Linda M. Chase providedprincipal statistical assistance, and additional assistance wasprovided by Yvonne J. Gist, Debra A. Niner, and Paula L. Vines.The contents of the report were reviewed by Marjorie F. Hanson,Population Division. Steve Smith, Population Division, providedcomputer programming support.

Paulette Lichtman-Panzer and Jeanne Waples of the DecennialManagement Division provided decennial policy review of thisreport. Inez Iy-Hsiu Chen and Vincent T. Mule, under theguidance of Philip M. Gbur and Dawn E. Haines of DecennialStatistical Studies Division, conducted sampling review.

Jan Sweeney, Theodora Forgione, Jamie Peters, and Mary Stinson of the Administrative and Customer ServicesDivision, Walter C. Odom, Chief, provided publications and print-ing management, graphics design and composition, and editorialreview for print and electronic media. General direction and produc-tion management were provided by Susan L. Rappa, Chief,Publications Services Branch.

Acknowledgments

U.S. Census Bureau We the People: Hispanics in the United States 1

This report provides a portrait of theHispanic-origin population in theUnited States and discusses some ofthe Hispanic or Latino groups withinthis population at the national level.1

It is part of the Census 2000 SpecialReports series that presents severaldemographic, social, and economiccharacteristics collected fromCensus 2000.

Census 2000 measured 35.2 mil-lion Hispanics who accounted for12.5 percent of the total popula-tion. This group experienced a 61 percent increase since 1990,when the Hispanic populationstood at 21.9 million. During thesame time period, the total popula-tion of the United States grew by13 percent, from 248.7 million in1990 to 281.4 million in 2000.Among Hispanic or Latino groups,Mexicans were the largest with20.9 million, while Other Hispanics(5.5 million) and Puerto Ricans (3.4 million) were second and thirdlargest, respectively.2

The federal government definesHispanic or Latino as a person ofMexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban,South or Central American, or

other Spanish culture or originregardless of race. Thus, Hispanicsmay be any race.

In Census 2000, Hispanics wereasked to mark one of four cate-gories: Mexican, Puerto Rican,Cuban, or other Spanish/Hispanic/Latino. The last category had awrite-in option by which a personcould provide a specific Hispanic-origin group such as Dominican orSpaniard. In order to be compara-ble with the earlier U.S. CensusBureau report We the American…Hispanics, the following specificHispanic groups are included:

Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban,Central American, South American,Dominican, Spaniard, and OtherHispanic.3 For information regard-ing detailed Hispanic groups, suchas Colombian and Uruguayan, referto the technical documentation forSummary File 4 at<www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf>.

We the People: Hispanics in the United States

Table 1.Hispanic Population by Origin: 2000(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error,nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

Type of origin NumberPercent of U.S.

population

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,238,481 12.5

Mexican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,900,102 7.4Puerto Rican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,403,510 1.2Cuban . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,249,820 0.4Central American1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,811,676 0.6South American2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,419,979 0.5Dominican . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 799,768 0.3Spaniard. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,999 -Other Hispanic3. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,540,627 2.0

- Rounds to zero.

1People who responded Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Panamanian,Salvadoran, and other Central American were grouped under this heading.

2People who responded Argentinean, Bolivian, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Paraguayan,Peruvian, Uruguayan, Venezuelan, and other South American were grouped under thisheading.

3This group included all other general Hispanic-origin responses such as ‘‘Hispanic,’’‘‘Spanish,’’ and ‘‘Latino.’’

Note: Confidence intervals are not displayed because they round to the percentagesshown in the table.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 4.

1 The text of this report discusses datafor the United States, including the 50 statesand the District of Columbia.

2 The estimates in this report are basedon responses from a sample of the popula-tion. As with all surveys, estimates may varyfrom the actual values because of samplingvariation or other factors. All statementsmade in this report have undergone statisticaltesting and are significant at the 90-percentconfidence level unless otherwise noted.

3 U.S. Census Bureau, 1993, We theAmerican…Hispanics, WE-2. This report isavailable on the U.S. Census Bureau’s Website at <www.census.gov/apsd/wepeople/we-2r.pdf>.

For this report, people whoresponded to the question onHispanic origin by indicating eitherMexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban,Dominican, or Spaniard were cate-gorized as such. People whoresponded Costa Rican,Guatemalan, Honduran,Nicaraguan, Panamanian,Salvadoran, and Other CentralAmerican were grouped underCentral American. Similarly, peo-ple who responded Argentinean,Bolivian, Colombian, Ecuadorian,Paraguayan, Peruvian, Uruguayan,Venezuelan, and Other SouthAmerican were categorized underSouth American. Other Hispanic

includes all general Hispanic-originresponses, such as “Hispanic,”“Spanish,” and “Latino.”4

Two companion reports providemore information on the Hispanicpopulation. The Census 2000Brief, The Hispanic Population:2000, analyzes Hispanic popula-tion data collected from the shortform questions for Census 2000.5

It describes the distribution at boththe national and subnational levels

of specific subgroups as well asthe total Hispanic population. Inaddition, the Census 2000 BriefOverview of Race and HispanicOrigin: 2000 (Grieco and Cassidy,2001) provides a complete expla-nation of the race categories usedin Census 2000 and information oneach of the six major race groupsand the Hispanic-origin populationat the national level.

2 We the People: Hispanics in the United States U.S. Census Bureau

Census 2000 incorporated thefederal standards for collectingand presenting data on race andHispanic origin established bythe Office of Management andBudget (OMB) in October 1997,considering race and Hispanicorigin to be two separate anddistinct concepts. For Census2000, the questions on race andHispanic origin were asked ofevery individual living in theUnited States. The question onHispanic origin asked respon-dents if they were Spanish,Hispanic, or Latino (the terms"Hispanic" and "Latino" are usedinterchangeably in this report).The question on race askedrespondents to report the race orraces they considered themselvesto be. Data from both questionsare based on self-identification.

The question on Hispanic originfor Census 2000 was similar tothe 1990 census question,

except for its placement on thequestionnaire and a few wordingchanges. For Census 2000, thequestion on Hispanic origin wasasked directly before the ques-tion on race. For the 1990 cen-sus, the order was reversed—thequestion on race preceded ques-tions on age and marital status,which were then followed by thequestion on Hispanic origin.*

Because Hispanics may be anyrace, data in this report forHispanics overlap with data forracial groups. Based on Census2000 sample data, the proportionHispanic among respondents whoreported only one race was 8.0 percent for Whites,

1.9 percent for Blacks or AfricanAmericans, 14.6 percent forAmerican Indians and AlaskaNatives, 1.0 percent for Asians,9.5 percent for Native Hawaiiansand Other Pacific Islanders, and97.1 percent for those reportingSome Other Race. Among respon-dents who reported Two or MoreRaces, the proportion was 31.1 percent.

The question on race in Census2000 was different from that in1990 in several ways. Most signif-icantly, respondents were askedto select one or more race cate-gories to indicate their racial iden-tities. Because of the changes,the Census 2000 data on race arenot directly comparable to datafrom the 1990 or earlier censuses.Caution must be used when inter-preting changes in the racial com-position of the U.S. populationover time.

Understanding Data On Race and Hispanic Origin From Census 2000

* For a more detailed discussion ofthese changes, see Elizabeth M. Grieco andRachel C. Cassidy, 2001, Overview of Raceand Hispanic Origin: 2000, U.S. CensusBureau, Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR/01-1.This report is available on the U.S. CensusBureau's Internet site at <www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-1.pdf>.

4 For complete details, see the Hispanicorigin code list in the technical documenta-tion for Summary File 4 available at <www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf>.

5 Betsy Guzman, 2001, The Hispanic

Population: 2000, U.S. Census Bureau,Census 2000 Brief, C2KBR/01-3. This reportis available on the U.S. Census Bureau’sInternet site at <www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-3.pdf>.


• In 2000, people of Mexican ori-gin were the largest Hispanicgroup in the United States,

representing 59 percent of thecountry’s total Hispanicpopulation.

• Other Hispanics were the sec-ond largest group, comprising16 percent of the Hispanic pop-ulation, followed by PuertoRicans at 9.7 percent.

• Central Americans composed5.1 percent of the Hispanic pop-ulation. Among CentralAmericans, Salvadorans werethe largest group, with 39 per-cent of this population, followedby Guatemalans (22 percent)and Hondurans (13 percent).

• People with origins from SouthAmerica represented 4.0 percentof the Hispanic population. Ofthe South American population,35 percent were Colombian, 19 percent were Ecuadorian,and 17 percent were Peruvian.

• Cubans represented 3.5 percentof the Hispanic population,Dominicans 2.3 percent, andSpaniards 0.3 percent.

Figure 1.Hispanic Population by Origin: 2000


(Percent distribution. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican 59.3

9.7

3.5

5.1

4.0

2.3

0.3

15.7

Mexicans were the largest Hispanic group.


• The proportions of male andfemale Hispanics exceeded thecorresponding proportions inthe total population for every 5-year age group under 35.

• On the other hand, in everygroup from ages 40 to 44through ages 85 and older, largerproportions of both men andwomen were found in the totalpopulation than in the Hispanicpopulation.

• Among Hispanics in 2000, themale population exceeded thefemale population, while for thetotal population the oppositewas true—females outnumberedmales.

The Hispanic population was younger than the total population.

7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0

0 to 4

5 to 9

10 to 14

15 to 19

20 to 24

25 to 29

30 to 34

35 to 39

40 to 44

45 to 49

50 to 54

55 to 59

60 to 64

65 to 69

70 to 74

75 to 79

80 to 84

85 +

Figure 2.Age and Sex: 2000


Percent

Male Female

(Percent distribution. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf) Total population

Hispanic

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Age


• In 2000, the median age forHispanics was 26.0 years, com-pared with 35.4 years for thetotal population.

• Over one-third of the Hispanicpopulation was younger than

18, compared with approximate-ly one-fourth of the total popu-lation. Additionally, 4.8 percentof the Hispanic population was65 and older, compared with 12 percent of the totalpopulation.

• Among Hispanic groups, peopleof Mexican, Puerto Rican, andOther Hispanic origin were themost likely to be younger than18, while Cubans were the mostlikely to be 65 and older.

Figure 3.Selected Age Groups and Median Age: 2000


Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total population


Under 18 18 to 64 65 and older Median age(years)

35.4

26.0

24.4

27.7

40.3

29.6

29.0

33.0

35.8

24.8

25.6 61.9 12.4

34.8 60.4 4.8

37.1 59.1 3.8

33.6 60.9 5.5

18.3 63.1 18.7

29.4 66.0 4.6

24.8 72.2 3.0

21.8 72.9 5.2

21.8 66.2 12.0

38.3 56.3 5.4

The median age for Hispanics was about 9 years less than that of the total population.


• Over half of both the Hispanicpopulation and the total popula-tion 15 and older were marriedin 2000. In contrast, 34 percentof Hispanics 15 and older werenever married, compared with 27 percent of the totalpopulation.

• Approximately 14 percent ofHispanics and 19 percent of thetotal population were separated,widowed, or divorced in 2000.

• Among the Hispanic groups,Cubans were the most likely tobe married, followed by SouthAmericans, Mexicans, and

Spaniards. Cubans were alsomore likely to be separated,widowed, or divorced than anyother Hispanic group.

• In 2000, over one-third ofPuerto Ricans and CentralAmericans were never married(38 percent each).

More than half of the Hispanic population was married.

Figure 4.Marital Status: 2000


Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total population

(Percent distribution of population 15 and older. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

Never married Separated, widowed, or divorced Married

49.3

27.1 18.554.4

34.2 14.451.3

34.5 12.153.4

37.9 19.842.3

21.8 22.955.3

34.4 21.044.6

37.9 12.849.3

30.6 15.853.6

29.1 17.553.3

34.1 16.6

15 and older


• The composition of Hispanichouseholds by type differedfrom that of all households. Forexample, 81 percent of Hispanichouseholds, but 68 percent ofall households were familyhouseholds.6

• Over half of both all householdsand Hispanic households werecomposed of married-couplefamilies.

• Households maintained by afemale householder with nospouse present represented 17 percent of Hispanic house-holds, compared with 12 per-cent of all households.

• Over one-half of Mexican,Cuban, Central American, SouthAmerican, and Other Hispanichouseholds, but about

42 percent of Puerto Rican andDominican households, weremaintained by married-couplefamilies.

• Over one-fourth of Puerto Ricanhouseholds and about one-thirdof Dominican households weremaintained by a female house-holder with no spouse present.About 11 percent of CentralAmerican households and 9 per-cent of Mexican households weremaintained by a male household-er with no spouse present.

More than half of Hispanics lived in family households.

Figure 5.Household Type: 2000


Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total households

(Percent distribution based on the Hispanic origin of the householder. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

Married couple Male householder, no spouse present

Nonfamily households

Female householder, no spouse present

22.3

52.5 4.111.8 31.5

55.1 8.317.3 19.3

59.9 9.214.7 16.2

41.7 6.026.2 26.1

54.7 5.412.3 27.5

42.4 8.333.5 15.8

54.0 11.318.1 16.6

54.1 7.715.5 22.8

49.4 4.612.2 33.9

51.6 6.919.2

Family households

6 A family household consists of a house-holder and one or more people living togeth-er in the same household who are related tothe householder by birth, marriage, or adop-tion. It may also include people unrelated tothe householder.


• In 2000, 40 percent of Hispanicswere foreign born. About 7 outof every 10 Hispanics residingin the United States were eithernative or naturalized citizens,compared with over 9 out ofevery 10 people in the totalpopulation.

• Among Hispanic groups, 98.6 percent of Puerto Ricanswere native.7 In contrast, aboutone-quarter of CentralAmericans and South Americans

were native in 2000 (24 percentand 23 percent, respectively).

• Cubans had the highest propor-tion (41 percent) of naturalizedcitizens of all the Hispanicgroups, while Central Americanshad the highest proportion (56 percent) of noncitizens in 2000.

About 60 percent of Hispanics were born in the United States.

Figure 6.Nativity and Citizenship Status: 2000


Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total population


Native Foreign born, naturalized citizen Foreign born, not a citizen

88.9 4.5 6.6

59.8 11.2 29.0

58.5 9.2 32.3

98.6 0.6 0.8

31.5 41.4 27.1

31.8 24.9 43.3

24.2 19.8 55.9

23.4 28.1 48.4

59.8 14.9 25.3

72.4 9.0 18.6

7 Nearly all Puerto Ricans are born eitherin the United States or Puerto Rico. Peopleborn in Puerto Rico are automatically U.S.citizens at birth.


• About 46 percent of foreign-bornHispanics entered the UnitedStates between 1990 and 2000.About 29 percent arrivedbetween 1980 and 1989, 15 per-cent between 1970 and 1979,and 10 percent before 1970.

• Nearly half of foreign-bornMexicans and South Americansentered the United Statesbetween 1990 and 2000 (49 per-cent and 47 percent, respective-ly), representing the largest pro-portions of newly arrivedHispanic immigrants during the1990s. The smallest proportion

was foreign-born Cubans, 26 percent of whom entered theUnited States during the sametime period.

• About 40 percent of the Cubanforeign born arrived before1970, more than any otherHispanic group.

More than 2 in 5 of the Hispanic foreign born arrived during the 1990s.

Figure 7.Foreign Born by Year of Entry: 2000


Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total foreign born


Before 1970 1970 to 1979 1980 to 1989 1990 to 2000

9.9

23.2

11.0

5.1

10.4

39.6

7.9

10.2

15.4

14.7

18.2

14.1

11.1

14.8

13.8

15.3

14.6

15.1

33.5

22.4

27.7

39.2

32.2

20.1

28.1

29.4

27.2

41.9

36.2

47.2

44.6

42.6

26.4

48.7

45.8

42.4

14.9 14.3 27.5 43.3

• In 2000, 18 percent of the coun-try’s population aged 5 and overspoke a language other thanEnglish at home, and the majori-ty (60 percent) of them spokeSpanish at home.

• Over 75 percent of Hispanicsspoke a language other than

English at home. Nearly all (99 percent) of them spokeSpanish at home.

• Over 9 of every 10 Dominicansand Central Americans spoke alanguage other than English athome, the highest rate amongHispanic groups.

• Among Hispanics, approximate-ly 2 in 5 spoke English less than“very well.” Additionally, theproportion who spoke Englishless than “very well” varied froma high of 57 percent for CentralAmericans to a low of about 26 percent for Puerto Ricansand Spaniards.


Over three-fourths of Hispanics spoke a language other than English at home.

Figure 8.Language Spoken at Home and English-Speaking Ability: 2000


Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total population

(Percent distribution of population 5 and older. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

Only English at home Non-English at home, English spoken "very well"

Non-English at home, English spoken less than "very well"

8.1

31.3 38.8 29.8

40.1 34.6 25.3

10.5 41.9 47.6

8.5 34.6 56.8

7.1 39.2 53.7

13.7 40.4 45.9

24.6 48.7 26.7

21.2 35.7 43.1

21.4 37.9 40.6

82.1 9.8

5 and older

The educational attainmentof Hispanics varied by group.

• In 2000, over half of the Hispanicpopulation aged 25 and over (52 percent) had at least a highschool diploma, and approxi-mately 1 in 10 had earned abachelor’s or higher degree (10 percent). Compared with thetotal population, Hispanics wereless likely to have completed atleast high school or college.

• Among Hispanic groups,Spaniards and South Americanshad the highest proportions withat least a high school diploma(77 percent and 76 percent,respectively), while Mexicans andCentral Americans had the low-est (about 46 percent each).8

• The proportion who had attainedat least a bachelor’s degree variedconsiderably: 30 percent ofSpaniards, 25 percent of SouthAmericans, 21 percent of Cubans,12 percent of Puerto Ricans, 11 percent of both OtherHispanics and Dominicans, 10 percent of Central Americans,and 7 percent of Mexicans.


Figure 9.Educational Attainment: 2000


Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total population

(Percent of population 25 and older. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

High school graduate or moreBachelor's degree or more

24.4

80.4

10.4

52.4

7.5

45.8

12.5

63.3

21.2

62.9

10.9

51.1

9.5

46.0

25.2

76.1

29.9

77.0

11.2

60.0

25 and older

8 The difference between Spaniards andSouth Americans is not statistically significant.

• Over two-thirds of Hispanic men(69 percent) and all men (71 per-cent) participated in the laborforce in 2000. Over half ofHispanic women (53 percent)and all women (58 percent) par-ticipated in the labor force in thesame year.

• Among Latino groups, the laborforce participation rate of menwas highest among CentralAmerican and South Americanmen (76 percent and 75 per-cent, respectively) and lowestfor Cuban and Other Hispanicmen (about 63 percent each).South American women had thehighest participation rate amongall the Latino groups (59 per-cent), while Cuban women hadthe lowest (49 percent).

• The gender gap in labor forceparticipation rates was larger inthe Hispanic population than inthe total population (a 16 per-centage-point difference com-pared with a 13 percentage-pointdifference). The largest gendergaps were observed for Mexicansand Central Americans (a 19 per-centage-point and an 18 percent-age-point difference, respective-ly), while Other Hispanics, PuertoRicans, and Dominicans had thesmallest gap (about 11 percent-age points each).9


Hispanics were slightly less likely to be in the labor force than the total population.

Figure 10.Labor Force Participation Rate by Sex: 2000


(Percent of population 16 and older in the labor force. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total population

MenWomen

53.3

70.7

57.5

69.4

53.0

71.1

52.0

64.3

53.7

62.7

49.4

76.0

57.9

74.8

59.1

64.6

52.9

69.7

55.7

63.5

16 and older

9 The gender gap for Spaniards (14 per-centage points) is not statistically differentfrom the gender gap for Puerto Ricans andDominicans. The gender gap for Cubans (13 percentage points) is not statistically dif-ferent from the gender gap for Dominicans.

Proportionately moreHispanic women thanHispanic men heldmanagerial or professional jobs.

• The percentage of Hispanicwomen employed in manage-ment and professional occupa-tions (23 percent) was lower thanthat of all women (36 percent).Among Hispanic men, 15 percentheld management and profes-sional occupations, comparedwith 31 percent of all men.

• In 2000, 26 percent of Hispanicmen 16 years and over workedin production, transportation,and material moving occupa-tions, compared with 20 percentof all men in the country.

• Sales and office occupationsprovided employment for 35 percent of Hispanic womenand 37 percent of all women.

• Service occupations employed 26 percent of Hispanic womenand 18 percent of all women.


Figure 11.Occupation by Sex: 2000


Production, transportation,and material moving

Construction, extraction,and maintenance

Farming, fishing,and forestry

Sales and office

Service

Management, professional,and related

(Percent distribution of employed civilian population 16 and older. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf) All workers

Hispanic Men

Production, transportation,and material moving

Construction, extraction,and maintenance

Farming, fishing,and forestry

Sales and office

Service

Management, professional,and related

Women

31.4

14.6

12.1

19.0

17.9

14.8

1.1

3.6

17.1

21.9

20.5

26.1

14.3

36.2

22.9

18.0

25.6

36.7

34.8

0.3

1.4

0.7

0.9

8.0

In 1999, Spaniard, South American, and Cubanfamilies had higher medianfamily incomes than otherHispanic groups.

• In 1999, the median familyincome for Hispanics was$34,400, lower than the medianfamily income of $50,000 for all families.

• Median family income amongHispanic groups varied from ahigh of $53,000 for Spaniards toa low of $28,700 forDominicans.


Figure 12.Median Family Income: 1999


(Families classified by Hispanic origin of householder. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

$34,703

$50,046

$34,397

$33,516

$32,791

$42,642

$28,729

$34,150

$42,824

$53,002

Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

All families

The median earnings ofHispanic men and womenin 1999 varied.

• Median earnings of full-time,year-round Hispanic male work-ers in 1999 were $25,400, com-pared with $37,100 for all maleworkers. The correspondingmedian earnings of full-time,year-round female workers were$21,600 for Hispanics and$27,200 for all women.

• Among Hispanic groups,Spaniard men and women hadthe highest median earnings($39,600 and $30,900, respec-tively), while Central Americanmen and women had the lowest($22,400 and $18,600,respectively).


Figure 13.Median Earnings by Sex: 1999


Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

All workers

(For employed, full-time, year-round workers 16 and older. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf) Men

Women

$37,057

$27,194

$25,400

$21,634

$23,496

$20,556

$30,281

$25,582

$31,527

$26,254

$25,106

$20,488

$22,423

$18,588

$30,482

$24,153

$39,628

$30,874

$27,419

$22,106

Poverty rates varied amongthe Hispanic groups.

• Among the Hispanic populationin the United States, 22.6 per-cent were in poverty, comparedwith 12.4 percent for the totalpopulation. Among Latinogroups, the poverty rate rangedfrom a high of 27.5 percentamong Dominicans to lows of14.6 percent for Cubans and12.8 percent for Spaniards.

• Hispanics under 18 years of agewere more likely to live inpoverty in 1999 than all peopleunder age 18 in the UnitedStates—over 1 in 4 comparedwith 1 in 6. About 1 in 3Dominicans and Puerto Ricansunder 18 lived below the pover-ty level in 1999.

• In addition, 19.6 percent of theHispanic older population (65 years and over) was inpoverty, compared with 9.9 per-cent of the total older popula-tion. Among the Hispanicgroups, the older population liv-ing in poverty ranged from ahigh of 28.6 percent forDominicans to lows of 16.4 per-cent for South Americans and12.0 percent for Spaniards.


Figure 14.Poverty Rate by Broad Age Group: 1999

Note: Poverty status was determined for everyone except those in institutions, militarygroup quarters, or college dormitories, and unrelated individuals under 15 years old.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 4.

(Percent in poverty. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

All agesUnder 18 65 and older

18.3

12.4

16.6

9.9

22.6

27.8

19.6

23.5

28.4

19.0

25.8

32.9

24.4

14.6

15.9

19.9

27.5

35.2

28.6

19.9

23.9

19.1

15.0

17.1

16.4

12.8

16.8

12.0

21.5

26.0Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Total population

Over half of all Hispanichouseholds lived in renter-occupied housing units.

• In 2000, Hispanic householderswere more likely than all house-holders to rent rather than owna home. Among all Hispanichouseholds, 54 percent lived inrenter-occupied housing units,compared with 34 percent of all households.

• Among Latino groups, Cubanand Spaniard households weremore likely to live in owner-occupied housing units than anyother group (about 57 percenteach). Dominicans (80 percent),Central Americans (68 percent),and Puerto Ricans (66 percent)were more likely to live inrenter-occupied housing unitsthan other groups.


Figure 15.Housing Tenure: 2000


(Percent distribution of occupied housing units. Housing tenure of the detailed group is shown by the origin of the householder. Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf)

OwnerRenter

Other Hispanic

Spaniard

Dominican

South American

Central American

Cuban

Puerto Rican

Mexican

Hispanic

Alloccupied units

66.2

33.8

45.7

54.3

48.4

51.6

34.4

65.6

57.6

42.4

31.7

68.3

41.2

58.8

20.2

79.8

56.8

43.2

50.8

49.2

ACCURACY OF THEESTIMATES

The data contained in this reportare based on the sample of house-holds that responded to theCensus 2000 long form.Nationally, approximately 1 out ofevery 6 housing units was includedin this sample. As a result, thesample estimates may differ some-what from the 100-percent figuresthat would have been obtained ifall housing units, people withinthose housing units, and peopleliving in group quarters had beenenumerated using the same ques-tionnaires, instructions, enumera-tors, and so forth. The sampleestimates also differ from the val-ues that would have been obtainedfrom different samples of housingunits, and hence of people living inthose housing units, and peopleliving in group quarters. The devi-ation of a sample estimate fromthe average of all possible samplesis called the sampling error.

In addition to the variability thatarises from sampling, both sampledata and 100-percent data, aresubject to nonsampling error.Nonsampling error may be intro-duced during any of the variouscomplex operations used to collectand process data. Such errors mayinclude not enumerating everyhousehold or every person in thepopulation, failing to obtain allrequired information from therespondents, obtaining incorrect orinconsistent information, andrecording information incorrectly.In addition, errors can occur duringthe field review of the enumera-tors’ work, during clerical handlingof the census questionnaires, orduring the electronic processing ofthe questionnaires.

While it is impossible to completelyeliminate error from an operationas large and complex as the decen-nial census, the Census Bureauattempts to control the sources ofsuch error during the data collec-tion and processing operations.The primary sources of error andthe programs instituted to controlerror in Census 2000 are describedin detail in Summary File 4Technical Documentation underChapter 8, Accuracy of the Data,located at <www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf>.

Nonsampling error may affect thedata in two ways: first, errors thatare introduced randomly willincrease the variability of the dataand, therefore, should be reflectedin the standard errors; and second,errors that tend to be consistent inone direction will bias both sampleand 100-percent data in that direc-tion. For example, if respondentsconsistently tend to underreporttheir incomes, then the resultingestimates of households or fami-lies by income category will tendto be understated for the higher-income categories and overstatedfor the lower-income categories.Such biases are not reflected in thestandard errors.

All statements in this Census 2000Special Report have undergone sta-tistical testing and all comparisonsare significant at the 90-percentconfidence level unless otherwisenoted. The estimates in the tableand figures may vary from actualvalues due to sampling and non-sampling errors. As a result, theestimates used to summarize sta-tistics for one population groupmay not be statistically differentfrom estimates for another popula-tion group. Further information on

the accuracy of the data is locatedat <www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf>. Forfurther information on the compu-tation and use of standard errors,contact the Decennial StatisticalStudies Division at 301-763-4242.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Census 2000 Summary File 3 andSummary File 4 data are availablefrom the American FactFinder onthe Census Bureau’s Web site<factfinder.census.gov>. For infor-mation on confidentiality protec-tion, nonsampling error, samplingerror, and definitions, also see<www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf4.pdf> or contact theCustomer Services Center at 301-763-INFO (4636).

Information on population andhousing topics is presented in theCensus 2000 Brief series and theCensus 2000 Special Report series,located on the Census Bureau’sWeb site at <www.census.gov/population/www/cen2000/briefs.html>. These seriespresent information on race,Hispanic origin, age, sex, house-hold type, housing tenure, andsocial, economic, and housingcharacteristics such as ancestry,income, and housing costs.

For more information on Hispanicorigin, visit <www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/hispanic.html>.

To find information about the avail-ability of data products, includingreports, CD-ROMs, and DVDs, callthe Customer Services Center at301-763-INFO (4636).


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