Latinos Account for 70.7% of US Population Growth

On the same day as the June 27 presidential debate, the U.S. Census Bureau released new population estimates, noting that Latinos are the biggest driver of the country’s overall growth from 2022 to 2023.

“Hispanics of any race grew to just over 65 million, an increase of 1.16 million (1.8%) from the prior year. This growth significantly contributed to the nation's total population gain of 1.64 million in 2023,” the Census Bureau said.

That overall growth figure is exactly 70.7%.

According to Census estimates, the total Latino population is now 19.47% of the overall U.S. population, making it the country’s “second largest group after the non-Hispanic White population.”

The current yearly growth rate of 1.8%, however, is slower than the 2% rate from 2012 to 2013 and the 3.7% figure between 2002 and 2003.

“While natural increase made the greatest contribution to Hispanic population growth between 2022 and 2023 with approximately 722,000 more births than deaths, international migration resulted in about one-third of the overall net gain in the Hispanic population, with just over 437,000 migrants coming into the country,” the Census release said.

The following Census graphic shows the Latino population as a percentage of each U.S. county in 2023.

This Census graphic shows county percentage change.

Here are some other Census findings about the country’s U.S. Latino population:

• “North Dakota had the fastest-growing Hispanic population, increasing by 6.7% or 2,400 residents.”

• “Harris County, Texas, had the largest-gaining Hispanic population, which increased by 39,815 or 1.9% from 2022 to 2023.”

• “The fastest growth among counties with a Hispanic population above 10,000 was in Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania, where the Hispanic population increased by 13.0% or 1,424 people between 2022 and 2023.”

• “Ocala, FL (9.3%), and Homosassa Springs, FL (9.3%), had the fastest-growing Hispanic population between 2022 and 2023 among U.S. metro areas with a Hispanic population of at least 10,000 in 2022 and 2023.”

• “Among U.S. metro areas with a million or more people, Hispanic residents in 2023 made up at least 50% of the population in Fresno, CA (55.8%), San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX (54.8%), and Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA (53.7%). Pittsburgh, PA (2.4%), St. Louis, MO-IL (4.0%), and Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN (4.6%), had the lowest share in 2023.”