Hispanic/Latino Health

The U.S. Census Bureau defines “Hispanic or Latino” as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS) population estimates, in 2022 almost 63.6 million Hispanics/Latinos lived in the United States, representing 19.1% of the total U.S. population. Hispanics/Latinos are the nation’s second-largest racial or ethnic group after non-Hispanic whites. ACS estimates show that among Hispanic/Latino subgroups, Mexican Americans rank as the largest at 58.9% of those who identify as Hispanic or Latino, followed by Other Hispanic/Latino (23.5%) Central Americans (10.3%), Puerto Ricans (9.3%), South Americans (7.3%), Cubans (3.8%), and Dominicans (3.8%). In 2022, the five states with the largest percentage of Hispanics/Latinos were New Mexico (50.2%), California (40.3%), Texas (40.2%), Arizona (32.5%), and Nevada (30.3%).

According to 2022 ACS estimates, 68.2% of Hispanics/Latinos speak a language other than English at home, with 28.0% reporting they speak English “less than very well.”

 According to ACS estimates, in 2022, 73.1% of Hispanics/Latinos aged 25 years and older had at least a high school diploma, compared to 93.7% of non-Hispanic whites. 20.4% of Hispanics/Latinos had a bachelor's degree or higher and 6.8% held a graduate or advanced professional degree, compared to 39.0% and 15.2% of non-Hispanic whites, respectively.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, among full-time, year-round workers in 2022, the median family income of Hispanic/Latinos was $70,776 compared to $100,844 for non-Hispanic white families. In 2022, the unemployment rate for Hispanics/Latinos was 3.4%, compared to 2.1% for non-Hispanic whites, and 14.3% of Hispanics/Latinos, compared to 6.2% of non-Hispanic whites, were experiencing poverty.

Hispanics/Latinos have the highest uninsured rate of any racial or ethnic group in the United States. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, in 2022, 16.8% of Hispanics/Latinos had no health insurance coverage compared to 5.7% of non-Hispanic whites. In 2022, 51.5% of Hispanics/Latinos had private health insurance coverage, compared to 73.3% of non-Hispanic whites. 37.9% of Hispanics/Latinos had public health insurance, compared to 36.1% of non-Hispanic whites.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average estimated life expectancy at birth for Hispanics/Latinos (of any race) is 80.0 years (82.8 years for females and 77.0 years for males), compared to 77.5 years (80.1 for females and 75.1 for males) for non-Hispanic Whites. Although they tend to have higher life expectancies than some other racial and ethnic groups, Hispanic/Latino health is often influenced by factors such as language/cultural barriers, lack of access to preventive care, and the lack of health insurance.

In 2021, the five leading causes of death among Hispanics/Latinos (of any race) were COVID-19, heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, and stroke.