Statistical Profiles of the Hispanic and Foreign-Born Populations in the U.S.

The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, recently updated its statistical profiles of Hispanics and foreign-born people in the U.S. The profiles are derived from the Census Bureau's 2008 American Community Survey (ACS), the most recent available.

The updated profiles feature two new topics: racial self-identification and health insurance coverage. Racial identity questions in census forms have varied over the years and that has had an impact on results. The race and ethnicity questions in the 2008 ACS reflect the wording being used in the 2010 census. Thus, the 2008 data predict how the results may appear in the 2010 census as well as how those results may differ from the 2000 census. Questions on health insurance coverage were included in the ACS for the first time in 2008. The large sample size of the ACS permits more detailed analysis of that issue at the state level and by detailed demographics.

Read the complete Statistical Profiles of the Hispanic and Foreign-Born Populations in the U.S. on the Pew Hispanic Center's Web site.