Texas’s Hispanic population is the second largest in the nation. Nearly 8.4 million Hispanics reside in Texas, 19% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 3.6 million eligible Hispanic voters in Texas, 20% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.1 This fact sheet provides key demographic information on Latino eligible voters.2 It also contains data on other major groups of eligible voters in Texas, with comparative data for the U.S. All data are from the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.3

Hispanics in Texas’s Eligible Voter Population

  • Texas’s population is 36% Hispanic, the third-highest Hispanic population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 45%.
  • Almost 25% of eligible voters in Texas are Latinos, the second-largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 38%.
  • More than 43% of Latinos in Texas are eligible to vote, ranking 22nd nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters

  • Texas’s Hispanic eligible voters are younger than all eligible voters in Texas—31% of Hispanic eligible voters in Texas are ages 18 to 29 versus 24% of all Texas eligible voters.
  • Latino eligible voters in Texas are more likely to be naturalized citizens than are all Texas eligible voters—17% versus 7%. Texas Latino eligible voters are less likely to be naturalized than all Latino eligible voters nationwide—17% in Texas versus 26% nationwide.
  • The proportion of Hispanic eligible voters in Texas who have attended college or earned at least a bachelor’s degree is lower than the proportion of all Texas eligible voters who have this level of education—37% of Hispanics versus 54% of all eligible voters in Texas.
  • The percent of Latino eligible voters in Texas who live in an owner-occupied home is similar to that of all eligible voters in Texas—68% versus 70%.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Texas, by Race and Ethnicity

  • Latino eligible voters outnumber black eligible voters in Texas by a margin of nearly 2 to 1—3.6 million Latinos compared with 1.8 million black eligible voters.
  • Hispanic eligible voters are younger than white or black eligible voters in Texas—31% of Hispanic eligible voters are ages 18 to 29 compared with 20% of white and 27% of black eligible voters.
  • Hispanic eligible voters are less likely than other groups of eligible voters to have attended college—37% versus 62% for white and 48% for black eligible voters.
  • Hispanic eligible voters are less likely than white eligible voters in Texas to live in owner-occupied homes—68% versus 75%. HHispanic eligible voters are more likely to reside in owner-occupied homes than black eligible voters—68% versus 49%.