Facts on Hispanic Higher Education

Demographics

• As of July 1, 2007, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates 45,504,000 Hispanics in the United States (not including Puerto Rico), with a growth rate of 28.9% from 2000 to 2007, making Hispanics the fastest-growing population group in the U.S. ("Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009," U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2009, Table 6, page 9: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/pop.pdf).
• In July 2007, Hispanics account for 15.1% of the population (not including Puerto Rico).
• In July 2008, the population of Puerto Rico was estimated to be 3,958,000, of whom 28.8% are under the age of 20 (2006) ("Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009," U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2009, Table 1272, page 798 and Table 1279, page 800: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/outlying.pdf).
• In 2007, the median age for Hispanics was 27.6 compared to 40.8 for non-Hispanic whites ("Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009," U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2009, Table 9, page 13: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/pop.pdf).
• In July 2006, 33.8% of the Hispanic population was under the age of 18 (National Population Estimate, U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2007: http://www.census.gov/popest/national/asrh/NC-EST2006/NC-EST2006-04-HISP.xls).
• Within the Hispanic population, 65.6% are of Mexican descent, 8.6% have Puerto Rican origins, 14.2% are from Central and South America, 3.7% are Cuban, and 8.0% are categorized as having "other Hispanic" origins ("The Hispanic Population in the U.S. 2006": U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2006, Ethnicity and Ancestry Statistics Branch, Population Division: http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/hispanic/cps2006/2006_tab1.2a.xls).
• Almost half of the nation’s Hispanics reside in California (29.5%) and Texas (18.9%).  Adding New York (7.1%), Florida (8.2%), Illinois (4.3), Arizona (4.1) and New Jersey (3.1) accounts for 75% of U.S. Hispanics (Table 4: Estimates of the Population by Race and Hispanic or Latino Origin for the United States and States, July 1, 2006: http://www.census.gov/popest/states/asrh/tables/SC-EST2006-04.xls).
• One of every 4 persons (25.4%) living in poverty in the United States is of Hispanic origin in 2006 (“Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States 2006," Table 3, p.12:  http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/p60-233.pdf).

Demographics - Projections

• Demographic projections by the U.S. 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 2030, it is estimated that Hispanic Americans will comprise 20.1% of the United States population and in 2050 Hispanics will be 24.4%. [This growth will account for almost half of the growth in the nation's 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 2006, there was 1,969,000 Hispanics in college and an additional 209,500 in Puerto Rico.  ("Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009," U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2009, Table 220, page 144: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/educ.pdf; Table 1280, page 801: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/outlying.pdf)
• In 2008, 1,213,607 Hispanics were enrolled in U.S. HACU member institutions (911,524 in HSIs, 279,981 in Associate members, and 22,102 in Partner institutions).  Total HACU member enrollments totaled 4,561,064 (1,993,589 in HSIs, 2,009,739 in AMIs, 557,736 in Partners) (HACU 2008 Enrollment Data).
• In 2005, 56% of Hispanic students in higher education in the continental US and Puerto Rico attend a Hispanic-Serving Institution (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Fall 2005 Enrollment IPEDS, excluding for-profit institutions: http://nces.ed.gov/IPEDS). (Click here for more information about the definition of Hispanic-Serving Institutions or HSIs.)
• Of full-time instructional faculty in colleges and universities in 2005, 4.3% were Hispanic, while 10.9% of all students in higher education in the United States are Hispanic (IPEDS Fall 2005 Enrollment and Staff Surveys: http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds).
• In 2004, 4.2% of all public school teachers at the elementary- and secondary-school level were Hispanic, while 18.6% of the public school students in 2005 were Hispanic. (“Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008,” pp. 158-59, #239 and #241, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/08abstract/educ.pdf).
• In 2006, 4.6% of all college presidents were Hispanic, up from 2.2% in 1986 (ACE, “The American College President,” 2007).  

Level of Educational Attainment

• Of all Hispanics 25 and over in 2007, 22.8% have less than a 9th grade education (vs. 2.9% for non-Hispanic whites); 39.7% of Hispanics over 24 have not completed high school (cumulative percentages); and 60.3% of Hispanics have graduated from high school (“Educational Attainment of the Population 18 Years and Over, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 2007,” U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/education/cps2007.html).
• As of 2007, 68.0% of all Hispanics 25 and over had never attended college; and 13.0% have attended “some” college but not completed a degree (“Educational Attainment of the Population 18 Years and Over, by Age, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 2007,” http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/education/cps2007/Table1-06.xls).
• In 2005 Hispanics earned 11.3% of associate degrees; 7.0% of bachelor’s degrees; 5.5% of master’s degrees; 5.1% of first-professional degrees; and 3.5% of all doctorate degrees awarded (“Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008,” p. 185, #293, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/education.html).

Academic Performance of Hispanic Students:  A Comparison

• In 2007, 60.3% of the Hispanic population 25 and over had completed high school compared to 86.2% for whites (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009,” p. 145, #221, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/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 57.9% of Hispanic high school graduates ages 16-24 were enrolled in college in 2006 versus the rate of 68.5% for whites (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009,” p. 170, #267, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/educ.pdf).
• By March 2007, for persons 25 years old and over, only 12.7% of Hispanics had completed a college education compared with 28.7% for whites (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009,” p. 145, #221, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/educ.pdf).
• By 2007, only 9.4% of Hispanics 25-years-old and over had obtained a bachelor’s degree and an additional 3.3% had an advanced degree, as compared to their white counterparts of whom 19.1% of the population had bachelors degrees and 10% had an advanced degree (“Statistical Abstract of the United States 2009,” p. 146, #223, U.S. Bureau of the Census: http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/09statab/educ.pdf).