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U.S. Population by Race
U.S. Hispanic Population State Ranking Metro Ranking Ethnicity

HISPANIC POPULATION

12.5 percent of respondents to the 2000 Census identified themselves as Hispanic, up from 9.0 percent in 1990, making them one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States. The "Hispanic ethnicity" category on the Census includes Mexicans (7.3 percent of the total U.S. population in 2000), Puerto Ricans (1.2 percent), Cubans (0.4 percent) and a host of other Latin and South American ethnicities.
On the 2000 Census questionnaire, "race" and "Hispanic ethnicity" are listed as separate questions. A person of Hispanic ethnicity is anyone who identifies with that social group, and so can be of any race. This can make data on race and ethnicity difficult to interpret.

Race data is also difficult to compare from Census to Census because categories have changed over time. For example, the 2000 Census was the first to offer the category "Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander," and those people could have responded in a number of different ways in previous years.

The 2000 Census also marked the first time that respondents were allowed to select more than one racial category. On earlier Censuses, multiracial individuals were asked to choose a single racial category, or respond as "Some Other Race."
Hispanic Population and Race Distribution for Non-Hispanic Population
1980 1990 2000
Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent
Total Population 226,545,805 100.00% 248,709,873 100.00% 281,421,906 100.00%
Total Hispanics 14,608,673 6.45% 22,354,059 8.99% 35,305,818 12.55%
White* 180,256,103 79.57% 188,128,296 75.64% 194,552,774 69.13%
Black* 26,104,285 11.52% 29,216,293 11.75% 33,947,837 12.06%
American Indian and Eskimo* 1,417,110 0.63% 1,793,773 0.72% 2,068,883 0.74%
Asian* 3,489,835 1.54% 6,968,359 2.80% 10,123,169 3.60%
Hawaiian and Pacific Islander* - - - - 353,509 0.13%
Other* 669,799 0.30% 249,093 0.10% 467,770 0.17%
Two or More Races* - - - - 4,602,146 1.64%
* Non-Hispanic only; in 1980 and 1990 "Asians" includes Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).