Race and ethnicity in the United States
In the United States the Hispanic and Latino population has reached 58 million in 2016. According to Pew Research Center the Latino population has been the principal driver of United States demographic growth since 2000. Mexicans make up most of the Hispanic and Latino population 35,758,000. There is also a growth of Hispanics who are receiving a college education in 2015, 40% of Hispanics age 25 and older have had a college experience. In 2000 the percentage was at a low 30%. In all the 50 US states California houses the largest population percentage of Latinos. In 2015, 15.2 million Hispanics lived in California.
Hispanophone
Hispanics with mostly Caucasoid or Negroid features may not be recognized as such in the United States in spite of the ethnic and racial diversity of most Hispanic American populations. Hispanics who do not look like the stereotypical Hispanic may have their ancestral status questioned or even challenged by others. Actors Martin Sheen, Alexis Bledel and Cameron Diaz, for example, are Hispanic even though they may be presumed not to be so because, being white, they do not fit the stereotype. If Hispanics with mostly Caucasoid features are to be considered Hispanic, they have stereotypical Mediterranean/Southern European appearance - olive skin, dark hair, and dark eyes.