Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Characteristics of the 60 Largest Metropolitan Areas by Hispanic Population

IV. English Proficiency and U.S. Citizenship

English Proficiency

  • Among the 10 largest Hispanic metropolitan areas, San Antonio has the highest share of Hispanics ages 5 and older who are proficient in English (81%)—that is, who speak only English at home or who otherwise speak English “very well.”

  • By comparison, slightly more than half (52%) of Hispanics ages 5 and older in Miami are proficient in English.
  • Nearly two-thirds (65%) of all U.S. Hispanics ages 5 and older are proficient in English.
  • Other than San Antonio, two metropolitan areas among the top 60 have rates of English proficiency above 80%. Albuquerque, N.M., has an 85% proficiency rate among Hispanics ages 5 and older and Corpus Christi, Texas, is second with 84%; they are ranked 26th and 46th in Hispanic population, respectively.

U.S. Citizenship

  • San Antonio has the highest rate of U.S. citizenship among Hispanics in the top 10 metropolitan areas (88%). Its share is well above the other metro areas in the top 10. (Riverside is second with 78%.)

  • Miami has the lowest rate of U.S. citizenship among its Hispanic population (66%).
  • Nearly three-quarters (74%) of all U.S. Hispanics are U.S. citizens by birth or naturalization.

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