High School Drop-out Rate at Record Low
Hispanic High School Graduates Pass Whites in Rate of College Enrollment
A record seven-in-ten (69%) Hispanic high school graduates in the Class of 2012 enrolled in college that fall, two percentage points higher than the rate (67%) among their white counterparts. At the same time, the high school drop-out rate among Latino youths has come down by half – from 28% in 2000 to 14% in 2011. Despite improvements on these measures, Hispanics continue to lag other youth in a number of key higher education indicators, such as completion of four-year college degrees.
Two-thirds of Legal Mexican Immigrants are not U.S. Citizens
The Path Not Taken
Nearly two-thirds of the 5.4 million legal immigrants from Mexico who are eligible to become citizens of the United States have not yet taken that step. Their naturalization rate—36%—is only half that of legal immigrants from all other countries combined, according to a Pew Hispanic Center analysis of federal government data. A nationwide survey of Hispanic immigrants by the Center finds that nearly all (93%) who have not yet naturalized say they would if they could. But barriers such as a lack of English proficiency and the financial cost of naturalization are identified as reasons why many legal immigrants have not yet done so.
Related:
Immigration
Trends in migration flows, the characteristics of the foreign-born population and attitudes towards immigration policy issues.
Politics
Reports and public opinion surveys examining the changing electoral participation and views of Latinos.
- Election Fact Sheets: Data on the size and social and economic characteristics of the Hispanic and non-Hispanic eligible voter populations. 2012 | 2010 | 2008
- Interactive: Mapping the Latino Electorate
- Latino Voters in the 2012 Election
- The Latino Vote in the 2010 Elections
- The Latino Electorate in 2010:
More Voters, More Non-Voters
Identity
The Pew Hispanic Center recently published “When Labels Don’t Fit: Hispanics and their Views of Identity,” a report based on a nationwide survey that found most Hispanics don’t embrace the term “Hispanic.” And even fewer prefer the term “Latino.”
We then invited journalists, scholars and civic leaders to share their views about identity.
- A Conversation About Identity
- Storify: Highlights from the Conversation
- Slideshow: Key Findings
