Hispanics driving much of the US' population growth: Pew Research

Hispanics driving much of the US’ population growth: Pew Research

The U.S. population grew by 24.5 million from 2010 to 2022
Hispanics accounted for 53% of this increase
This is because of newborns, not immigration, Pew Research found

Updated: Sep 25, 2023 / 04:29 PM CDT

HOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 7: Jacinto Vega and Gustavo Garrison finish a Hispanic Heritage Month-theme mural on the Midtown sign in Bagby Park, Thursday, Sept. 7, 2023, in Houston. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle via Getty Images)

(NewsNation) — Hispanics have driven much of the United States’ population growth over the past decade, according to data from Pew Research.

The U.S. population grew by 24.5 million from 2010 to 2022, Pew wrote, with Hispanics accounting for 53% of this increase. It is newborns, and not immigrants, who account for the growth. An average of 1 million Hispanic babies were born each year during the 2010s.

As of 2022, about four in five Latinos, or 81%, who live in America are U.S. citizens. In 2010, that number was 74%.

Hispanics now make up the largest racial or ethnic group in California and Texas, according to Pew, and have been a majority of the population in New Mexico since 2021.

In California and Texas, Hispanics comprised up to 40% of the population in 2022.

Florida has not quite reached those numbers, and it has the third-largest Latino population of 6 million.

Vermont, meanwhile, was the state with the fewest amount of Latinos living there: 15,000.

Of the 63 million Hispanics in 2022, roughly 37.4 million are of Mexican origin. Mexicans represented nearly 60% of the nation’s Hispanic population in 2022, although they have one of the slowest growth rates among the most populous origin groups (14%).

Venezuelans, though, have had the fastest population growth among Latino communities. The Venezuelan-origin population in the U.S. increased by 236% from 2010 to 2022, bringing it to 815,000, Pew wrote.

Also growing is the number of Latinos in the United States who speak English proficiently, with 72% of those ages 5 and older doing so in 2022, a jump from 59% a couple of decades prior. Pew attributed this to the growth in the number of U.S.-born Latinos over the past few years.

This research tracks with data compiled by other organizations. Earlier this month, Border Report wrote that Hispanic Americans are now the largest minority group in the country and contribute $2.8 trillion a year to the U.S. economy. A record number are making waves in the political sphere: Almost 10% of Congress consists of Hispanic representatives or senators, per the Congressional Research Service.

More are getting some college experience (45%), and an increased number hold degrees. Over the decade, the share of Hispanics with a bachelor’s or post-secondary education went from 3% to 20%.