Facts on Hispanic Higher Education

Demographics

• As of July 1, 2004, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates 41,322,070 Hispanics in the United States (not including Puerto Rico).  The one-year growth rate of 3.6% was the largest of all population groups.  (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005: http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/population/005164.html)
• In July 2004, Hispanics account for 14.1% of the population (not including Puerto Rico) (National Population Estimate, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005: http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2004/NC-EST2004-03.xls), with a growth rate of 57.9% from 1990 to 2000, making Hispanics the fastest-growing population group in the U.S.  (Census 2000 PHC-T-1, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000, Table 4: http://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t1/tab04.pdf).
• In July 2004, the population of Puerto Rico was estimated to be 3,894,855, of whom 26.8% are under the age of 18 (National Population Estimate, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005: http://www.census.gov/popest/puerto_rico/files/PRC_EST2004_18+POP_RES.csv).
• In 2004, the median age for Hispanics was 26.9 (U.S. Census Bureau, National Population Estimates for July 1, 2004: http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2004/NC-EST2004-04-HISP.xls) as compared to 40.0 for non-Hispanic whites (http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2004/NC-EST2004-04-WANH.xls).
• In July 2004, 34% of the Hispanic population was under the age of 18 (National Population Estimate, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2005: http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2004/NC-EST2004-04-HISP.xls). 
• Within the Hispanic population, 66.9% are of Mexican descent, 8.6% have Puerto Rican origins, 14.3% are from Central and South America, 3.7% are Cuban, and 6.5% are categorized as having "other Hispanic" origins (“The Hispanic Population in the U.S.: March 2002:” Current Population Report, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2003: http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-545.pdf).
• Half of the nation’s Hispanics reside in California (31.1%) or Texas (18.9%). Adding New York (8.1%), Florida (7.6%), Illinois (4.3), Arizona (3.7) and New Jersey (3.2) accounts for 76.8% of U.S. Hispanics (“The Hispanic Population: Census 2000 Brief,” U.S. Bureau of the Census, May 2001: p. 3, http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/c2kbr01-3.pdf).
• One of every 4 persons (24.3%) living in poverty in the United States is of Hispanic origin in 2002 (“The Hispanic Population in the U.S.: March 2002:” Current Population Report, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2003: p. 6, http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-545.pdf).

Demographics - Projections

• Demographic projections by the US Bureau of the Census report that over the next 30 years the growth rate of Hispanics will be the second largest for all population subgroups, after Asians; Hispanics became the largest minority by 2000 (“Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003,” U.S. Bureau of the Census, p. 18, Table No. 15: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03statab/pop.pdf).
• By the year 2025, it is estimated that Hispanic Americans will comprise 18.9% of the United States population and in 2050 Hispanics will be 24.4%. [This will account for 48.5% of the growth in the nation's population: 64 million more Hispanics and 131 million more total US population.]  (“Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003,” U.S. Bureau of the Census, p. 18, Table No. 15:  http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03statab/pop.pdf).

Hispanic Representation in Education

• As of 2002, there were 1.656M Hispanics in college, and an additional 199,800 in Puerto Rico.  (“Statistical Abstract of the U.S.: 2004,” U.S. Bureau of the Census, p. 170, Table No. 266: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/educ.pdf, and p. 825, Table No. 1309: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/outlying.pdf).
  
  
• In 2004, 1,130,122 Hispanics were enrolled in HACU member institutions (795,286 in HSIs, 308,492 in Associate members, and 26,344 in Partner institutions).  Total HACU member enrollments totaled 4,628,778 (1,674,160 in HSIs, 2,192,275 in AMIs, 760,343 in Partners) (HACU 2004 Enrollment Data).
  
  
• In 1999, 45% of Hispanic students in higher education in the continental US and Puerto Rico attend Hispanic-Serving Institutions (“Status and Trends in the Education of Hispanics,” National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003, p. 96, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003008.pdf).  (Click here for more information about the definition of Hispanic-Serving Institutions or HSIs.)
• Of full-time instructional faculty in colleges and universities in 1999, 2.9% were Hispanic, while 10% of all students in higher education in the United States are Hispanic (“Status and Trends in the Education of Hispanics,” National Center for Educational Statistics, 2003, pp. 97, 109, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2003/2003008.pdf).
• In 1999, 5.6% of all public school teachers at the elementary- and secondary-school level were Hispanic, while 17.7% of the public school students in 2001 were Hispanic. (“Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2003,” pp. 165-6, #247 and #249, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03statab/educ.pdf).
• In 2001, 4% of all college presidents were Hispanic (up from 2.2% in 1986).  Hispanics lead 1/3 of all HSIs.  (ACE, “The American College President,” 2002)

Level of Educational Attainment

• Of all Hispanics over 25 in March 2002, 27.0% have less than a 9th grade education (vs. 4.0% for non-Hispanic whites); 43.0% have less than a high school education (cumulative percentages); and 57.0% of all Hispanics have graduated from high school (“Current Population Survey, 2002,” U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hispanic/ppl-165/tab07-1.pdf).
• As of 2003, 70.4% of all Hispanics over 25 have never attended college; and 13.0% have attended “some” college but not completed a degree (“Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004,” p. 142, #214, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/educ.pdf).
• In 2002 Hispanics earned 10.1% of associate degrees; 6.4% of bachelor’s degrees; 4.6% of master’s degrees; 4.9% of first-professional degrees; and 3.2% of all doctorate degrees awarded (“Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2004,” p. 179, #283, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/educ.pdf).

Academic Performance of Hispanic Students:  A Comparison

• The 2002 high school completion rate for Hispanics aged 25 and over was 57.0% versus the rate of 84.8% for whites (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2003,” p. 153, #227, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03statab/educ.pdf).

• Nearly 40% of Hispanic students who drop out do so before the 8th grade (ERIC Clearinghouse on Urban Education, 1995).
• The competency levels in high school for all subjects are lower for Hispanics than for whites. Scores for Hispanics on National Assessment of Educational Progress tests lagged those of white non-Hispanic students in every subject area by 20 points or more. (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2003,” p. 175, #266, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03statab/educ.pdf).
• Only 24.9% of Hispanic high school graduates ages 18-21 were enrolled in college in 2002 versus the rate of 45.9% for whites (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004,” p. 166, #256, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/educ.pdf).
• By March 2003, for persons 25 years old and over, only 11.4% of Hispanics had completed a college education compared with 27.7% for whites (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004,” p. 142, #214, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/educ.pdf).
• By 2003, only 8.3% of Hispanics 25-years-old and over had obtained a bachelor’s degree and an additional 3.1% had an advanced degree, as compared to their white counterparts of whom 18.2% of the population had bachelors degrees and 9.5% had an advanced degree (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2004,” p. 142, #214, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/04statab/educ.pdf).