How the census counts Hispanic Americans, and why Hispanic is not a race on the form
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On the census form, Hispanic is an ethnicity, separate from race. Everyone answers two questions: first whether they are of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin, and then what race they are. A Hispanic person can be of any race, and the U.S. Census Bureau counts them in both places.
That two-question setup comes from federal standards set by the Office of Management and Budget, which define Hispanic or Latino as "a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race." The form lists Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban as checkboxes and gives a write-in line for every other origin, from Dominican to Venezuelan.
In the 2020-2024 American Community Survey, 64.8 million people, about 19.3 percent of US residents, identified as Hispanic or Latino.
How Hispanic Americans answer the race question
Hispanic respondents answer the race question too, and their answers have shifted sharply in recent years.
| Rank | Race reported by Hispanic residents | 2015-2019 | 2020-2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Two or more races | 4.8% | 43.3% |
| 2 | Some other race alone | 26.1% | 34.0% |
| 3 | White alone | 65.5% | 18.4% |
| 4 | American Indian and Alaska Native alone | 1.0% | 2.2% |
| 5 | Black alone | 2.1% | 1.6% |
| 6 | Asian alone | 0.4% | 0.4% |
| 7 | Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander alone | 0.1% | 0.1% |
In the 2015-2019 survey, about two-thirds of Hispanic residents were counted as white alone. In 2020-2024, fewer than one in five were, and the largest group, 43.3 percent, reported two or more races.
The bureau attributes most of that change to the form and how answers are processed. For the 2020 census, the bureau redesigned the two questions and updated how it codes written-in answers. It said the resulting differences in the racial makeup of the country were "largely due to improvements in the design of the two separate questions for race data collection and processing as well as some demographic changes over the past 10 years." It said the multiracial increase was especially large among people who identify as both white and some other race. The survey figures in the table show the same break.
Because Hispanic residents are spread across every race, simply counting "white" mixes Hispanic and non-Hispanic people together. To avoid double counting, Census Bureau tables that add up to the whole population, such as table B03002, use a combined breakdown: Hispanic of any race, then non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic Black, non-Hispanic Asian, and so on. In 2020-2024, non-Hispanic white residents were 57.4 percent of the population.
That is also why CensusEasy's race figures and rankings, such as the Hispanic population by state, report Hispanic as its own group alongside the non-Hispanic race groups.
In 2024, the Office of Management and Budget revised the federal standards to combine race and Hispanic origin into a single question, with Hispanic or Latino listed as one category alongside the races and a new Middle Eastern or North African category. The Census Bureau has since dropped its plan to start using the combined question in the American Community Survey in 2027, as covered in the bureau scrapping its race and ethnicity overhaul.
The Trump administration's proposal for the 2030 census would go further and stop asking about race and ethnicity altogether, as covered in our report on the 2030 proposal. How the Hispanic question developed over time, including the one census in 1930 that listed "Mexican" as a race, is in how the census has counted race since 1790.
Sources
The definition of Hispanic or Latino and the description of the census questions are from the U.S. Census Bureau's About the Hispanic Population and its Origin page, which reflects the 1997 federal standards. The bureau's explanation of the 2020 changes is from Improved Race and Ethnicity Measures Reveal U.S. Population Is Much More Multiracial (August 12, 2021). Population figures are from the 2015-2019 and 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates, table B03002 (Hispanic or Latino origin by race).
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Is Hispanic a race on the census?
No. Under federal standards, Hispanic or Latino is an ethnicity asked in its own question, before the race question. A Hispanic person answers both and can be of any race, so the Census Bureau counts them in both questions.
What race do most Hispanic Americans choose on the census?
In the 2020-2024 American Community Survey, 43.3 percent of Hispanic residents reported two or more races, 34.0 percent some other race alone, and 18.4 percent white alone. Before 2020 most were counted as white alone; the bureau says form and coding changes largely explain the shift.
What does non-Hispanic white mean?
It means people who reported white as their race and said they are not Hispanic or Latino. Census tables use it so Hispanic residents of every race are counted once. Non-Hispanic white residents were 57.4 percent of the population in 2020-2024.
