Census Data: Latino Mental Health

In this section, we summarize key findings from the Current Population Survey, the largest monthly household survey conducted by the United States Bureau of the Census. Please click on Latino Population Estimates and Educational Achievement and Poverty to find out more about Latinos residing in the United States. A great deal of the information and graphs are taken directly from the United States Census' website and the March 2002 Current Population Report on the Hispanic Population in the United States (Ramirez, 2000). Also, for further information about this topic, we have included below published References and website Links relevant to Census data for Latino populations. Latino Population Estimates It is estimated that, as of 2002, 37.4 million Hispanics live in the Continental United States, which is equivalent to about 13.3 percent of the population. Latinos now represent the largest ethnic or racial minority group in the U.S. Projections from the Census Bureau indicate that the Latino population will reach 100 million around the year 2050, and it is estimated that one fourth of all people in the United States will be Latino. Currently, Mexican Americans comprise the majority of Latinos, followed by Central and South Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, and other Hispanics. Latinos make up at least one million of the population of seven states in the United States, including California, Texas, New York, Florida, Illinois, Arizona, and New Jersey. California has the highest Latino population of any state at over 10 million, but New Mexico has the highest percentage of Latinos in its population (40.3%), followed by California (31.0%), Texas (29.7%), and Arizona (22.1%). The largest growth in the percentage of Latinos from 1990 to 1998 occurred primarily in the South, including the states of Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Nevada and Nebraska also ranked among the top five in percentage growth for the Latino population. California leads the states (2.2 million) and Los Angeles County, California, leads the United States Counties (650,000) in Latino population increase between 1990 and 1997. In 2002 it is estimated that two our of five Latinos (40%) living in the United States is foreign-born. According to the Current Population Report entitled "Profile of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2000" (Schmidley and Campbell, 1999), 14.5 million people, or 51% of the foreign-born population in the country, are from Latin America. More than one-quarter of the foreign-born population is from Mexico. More than 7 million of the U.S. foreign-born in 2000 are from Mexico, this is 6 times larger than the next highest ranked country (Philippines). Other Latin American countries with over 500,000 foreign-born living in the United States include Cuba (952,000), the Dominican Republic (692,000), and El Salvador (765,000). People from Latin America rank the lowest among the foreign-born population in their proportion of naturalized citizens (28.3%), relative to their counterparts from Europe (52%) and Asia (47.1%). Naturalized citizens from Mexico make up only 21.1% of the total population from Mexico living in the United States. Educational Achievement and Poverty Latinos are less likely to have graduated from High School than Non-Hispanic Whites (57% versus 88.7%). Approximately one in four Hispanics (25 years of age and older) has less than a 9th grade education. Mexican Americans rank lowest among Latinos in percentage with a high school diploma (50%), and a bachelor's degree (7%). In contrast, seven out of ten Cubans have a high school diploma. One in four Cubans has obtained a bachelor's degree, ranking highest among Latinos in this category. Overall, slightly under one quarter (21.4%) of all Latinos in the United States is classified as living below the poverty level. More than one of every three Latino children under the age of 18 (28%) is included in this category as well. This contrasts to about one in ten non-Hispanic Whites under the age of 18 (9.5%) who live in poverty. Together these data point out the growing need Latinos have for mental health services across the United States and the particular social context that should shape the type of services and the manner in which they should be delivered. United States Census Data Links http://www.census.gov/ United States Census Bureau http://www.census.gov/pubinfo/www/hisphot1.html Minority Links. Economic and social characteristics of the Hispanic Population according to the United States Census. http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hispanic/cps99/99gifshow/ This is a presentation of the main findings related to the Latino population in the United States, produced and created by Roberto Ramirez and the Special Projects Staff of the U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division, Ethnic & Hispanic Statistics Branch. The images included in this section were borrowed with permission from the Census Bureau. References Ramirez, R., U.S. Census Bureau, Ethnic and Hispanic Statistics Branch, Current Population Reports, Series P20-545, The Hispanic Population in the United States: March 2002 : Population Characteristics. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 2003. Schmidley, D., and Campbell, G., U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P23-206, Profile of the Foreign-Born Population in the United States: 2000. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington DC, 2001.

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