Released: June 27, 2012
Updated: July 12, 2012
The 10 Largest Hispanic Origin Groups: Characteristics, Rankings, Top Counties
IV. English Proficiency and Citizenship
English Proficiency
Nearly two-thirds (65%) of all U.S. Hispanics ages five and older either speak only English at home or speak English very well. This compares with 91% of the total U.S. population who are English proficient.- The Hispanic origin groups with the highest rates of English proficiency are Puerto Ricans (82%), Mexicans (64%), Colombians (59%) and Peruvians (59%).
- Guatemalans (41%), Hondurans (42%) and Salvadorans (46%) have the lowest rates of English proficiency and are the only groups in which less than half of the population ages five and older is proficient in English.
Citizenship
Nearly three-in-four (74%) Hispanics are U.S. citizens, compared with 93% of the entire U.S. population.- Those born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birth, and fully 99% of Puerto Ricans hold citizenship.7 Cubans (74%) and Mexicans (73%) have the next highest shares of U.S. citizens.
- Hondurans (47%) and Guatemalans (49%) are the only groups among the 10 most populous Hispanic origin groups in which less than half of their populations are U.S. citizens. Hispanics of Salvadoran origin (55%) are the third least likely group to be U.S. citizens.
- The remaining 1% are persons who indicated they were not born in the U.S. or Puerto Rico and were not U.S. citizens by birth. ↩
