{"id":7913,"date":"2026-09-15T12:00:52","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:00:52","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2026-09-16T12:54:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T16:54:41","slug":"who-is-hispanic","status":"publish","type":"short-read","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/short-reads\/2026\/09\/15\/who-is-hispanic\/","title":{"rendered":"Who is Hispanic?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"Beauty
Beauty pageant contestants at the Junta Hispana Hispanic cultural festival in Miami. (Jeffrey Greenberg\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
About this research<\/summary>\n

This Pew Research Center analysis summarizes how the Hispanic population in the U.S. is defined and how they identify.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Pew Research Center does research to help the public, media and decision-makers understand important topics. This research builds on our work studying Hispanics in the U.S.<\/a> This analysis is an update of a post originally published in 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Pew Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How did we do this?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This analysis is primarily based on U.S. Census Bureau data and Pew Research Center surveys of Hispanic adults in the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National counts of the Latino population come from the Census Bureau\u2019s decennial census (this includes P.L. 94-171 census data<\/a>) and official population estimates<\/a>. The bureau\u2019s American Community Survey<\/a> (ACS) provides demographic details such as race, Hispanic origin and intermarriage rates. ACS data was accessed through IPUMS USA<\/a> from the University of Minnesota.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Views of Hispanic identity are based on Pew Research Center\u2019s National Surveys of Latinos (NSL). The most recent NSL was conducted from Oct. 6 to 16, 2025,<\/strong> which had a sample of 4,923 Hispanic adults, including 1,125 respondents who are members of the Center\u2019s American Trends Panel<\/a> (ATP) and 3,798 respondents who are members of SSRS\u2019s Opinion Panel<\/a>. The survey was conducted in English and Spanish. Respondents were recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This kind of recruitment gives nearly all U.S. adults a chance of selection. Read more about the ATP\u2019s methodology here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are the survey questions for this analysis<\/a>, the detailed responses<\/a>, and the survey methodology<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no simple answer to the question \u201cWho is Hispanic?\u201d It depends on how Hispanics are counted in the decennial census and other surveys; how people understand their racial and ethnic identities; and whether people with Hispanic ancestry identify as Hispanic at all. Together, these factors can shape how the more than 70 million people<\/a> who identify as Hispanic are understood today.<\/p>\n\n\n

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U.S. Hispanic population reached 70 million in 2025<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Population of Hispanics in the United States, 1970-2025, in millions<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Note: Population totals as of April 1 for 1970-2020 and July 1 for 2025. Hispanics are of any race.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
Source: Pew Research Center analysis of 1970-1980 estimates based on decennial censuses (see 2008 report \u201cU.S. Population Projections: 2005-2050\u201d), 1990-2020 P.L. 94-171 census data, and Vintage 2025 Census Bureau population estimates.<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
PEW RESEARCH CENTER<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t
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