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.
Hispanics and Latinos in New Mexico
Ethnically, 47.0% of the total population was of Hispanic. Women make up approximately 51% of the population. In 2008 New Mexico had the highest percentage (47%) of Hispanics (of any race) of any state, with 83% of these native-born and 17% foreign-born. The majority of Hispanics in New Mexico claim a Spanish ancestry, especially in the northern part of the state. These people are the descendants of Spanish colonists who arrived during the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. See Nuevomexicanos. There were 873,171 (44.5%) White Hispanics (of any race).