Latinos Rise to 21% of U.S. Population

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The Latino population in the United States is the largest overlooked population in the US, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The U.S. was home to 341,784,857 people as of 2025.

Included is 70,145,126 Latinos, who increased their percentage of the whole population from 20% to 21% from 2024 to 2025, according to the Census Bureau.

Let’s take a closer look at the numbers of Latinos in the U.S.

Population By Numbers

U.S. states that have 1 million of more Latino residents include:

• Arizona
• California
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Massachusetts
• Nevada
• New Jersey
• New Mexico
• New York
• North Carolina
• Pennsylvania
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington

Harris County, Texas, experienced the nation’s largest gain in Latino population with a 2.2% increase.

In addition, 31.1 is the median age of Latinos in 2025, up from 30.8 in 2024.

Defining and Identifying Latinos  

The term Hispanic or Latino has a long history.

In fact, congress passed a law in 1976 that required the government to collect and publish data on Americans with Spanish origin or decent.

“The law defined the group as Americans who “identify themselves as being of Spanish-speaking background and trace their origin or descent from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Central and South America, and other Spanish-speaking countries,” according to the Pew Research Center.

While the government definition of “Hispanic or Latino” is broad, other agencies and survey organizations classify the term differently.

“Most surveys count someone as Hispanic if they identify that way, without exception – that is, you are Hispanic if you say you are,” Pew Research states.

Data from Pew Research also showed that a majority (53%) of Latino adults are most likely to use their family’s national origin when identifying themselves.

Latino Language and Identity Through Generations 

Research shows that Latino adults also differ over whether characteristics like speaking Spanish.

Previously, 78% Latino adults said speaking Spanish is not necessary to be considered Hispanic.

Census data found that 68.2% of Latinos speak a language other than English, while 31.8% report speaking English only.

Additionally, 33% of Latinos previously said that having two Latino parents is not an important part of what being Latino means to them and 84% said someone doesn’t need to have a Spanish last name to be considered Hispanic.

Health Resources for Your Area

Many of these factors can contribute to overall health.

But what about the health of your community?

Find out by downloading a Salud America! Health Report Card for your town!

Enter your county name and get auto-generated local data with interactive maps and comparative gauges on several health indicators. This can help you visualize and explore local issues in education, housing, transportation, food, health, and more.

See how your county stacks up compared to the rest of your state and nation.

Then email the Report Card to local leaders to raise awareness, include the data in a presentation or grant proposal, or share it on social media to drive healthy change in your community!

GET YOUR HEALTH REPORT CARD!