One-half of foreign-born

population is from Latin

America.

In 1997, 13.1 million, or about half, of the

nation’s 25.8 million foreign-born residents were born in Latin America. 

The size of the foreign-born population

from Latin America has grown rapidly. In

1960, 900,000 (or 9 percent of the total

foreign-born population) came from Latin

America. By 1990, the population numbered 8.4 million (or 44 percent).

Mexico accounts for sizable

share of Latin American-born

population.

In 1997, Mexico accounted for 28 percent

of the foreign-born population and more

than half of the population from Latin

America. The population

from Mexico was about

six times as large as the

foreign-born population

from the next highest

country.

Of the remaining migrants

from Latin America, 1.8

million were born in other

Central American countries; 2.8 million were

born in Caribbean countries, and 1.5 million were

born in South America1

.

Besides Mexico, three other Latin

American nations (Cuba, the Dominican

Republic and El Salvador) figured among

the top 10 countries of birth of the

nation’s foreign born2. (See Figure 1.)

Latin American-born residents

are concentrated in a handful of

areas.

Although residents born in Latin America

can be found all across the country, most

live in only a few areas. These areas differ

in the place of birth of their Latin

American-born residents. For example,

about 3 out of every 4 people born in the

Caribbean live either in the New York or

the Miami metro areas.

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

2000

Issued September 2000

CENBR/00-3

Census Brief

Coming From the Americas: 

A Profile of the Nation’s Latin American Foreign Born

Figure 1.

Top Countries of Birth of the Foreign Born 

From Latin America: 1990 and 1997

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, P23-195, Figure 3-1.

(Numbers in thousands)

913

632

607

7,017

737

348

465

4,298

1997

1990

Mexico

El Salvador

Dominican

Republic

Cuba

1

The U.S. Census Bureau classifies

Mexico as part of Central America.

There is no statistical difference

between the 1.8 million from other

Central American countries and the

1.5 million from South America.

2

Due to the sample size, these countries are not ranked by

population size. See P23-195, page 13, footnote 4.
Those born in Mexico, on the other

hand, are concentrated in the Los

Angeles and Chicago metro areas

and in the state of Texas.

Combined, these three entities

account for more than half of the

Mexican-born population (3.9 million).

A considerable share of both the

Central and South American-born

populations live in the New York

and Los Angeles metro areas.

Specifically, about 600,000 of the

nation’s 1.8 million non-Mexican

Central American-born people

reside in the Los Angeles metro

area. Likewise, about 600,000 of

the nation’s 1.5 million South

American born are residents of the

New York metro area.

As a result of this settlement pattern, in 3 of the 5 leading metropolitan destinations of the nation’s foreign born — the Los Angeles, Miami

and New York areas — people from

Latin America comprised at least

half of the foreign-born population.

In the Miami area, they made up 

the overwhelming majority. (See

Figure 2.)

Citizenship rates for Latin

American born are

relatively low.

In 1997, 24 percent of the foreignborn population from Latin America

were naturalized citizens. To put

this percentage in perspective, the

rates for those from Europe (53 percent) and Asia (44 percent) were

higher. The low proportion for the

Latin American born is attributable

primarily to the low citizenship

rates of the foreign born from

Mexico (15 percent). Those from

2 U.S. Census Bureau

Figure 2.

Percent of the Foreign-Born Population From Regions of 

Latin America for Selected Metropolitan Areas: 1997 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, PPL-115, Table 5-2D.

2

14

14

3

3

5

6

15

13

14

5

1

44

39

2

27

57

1

2

Caribbean Mexico Other Central America South America

Chicago-Gary

Kenosha, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.

Los Angeles-RiversideOrange County, Calif.

Miami-Fort

Lauderdale, Fla.

New York-Northern

New Jersey-Long Island,

N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa.

San FranciscoOakland-San Jose, Calif.

2

23

52

87

61

45

Figure 3.

High School Graduate or Higher Education by Nativity 

and Region of Birth of the Foreign-Born Population: 1997

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, PPL-115, Table 13-1D.

(Percent of the population 25 years and older)

49

42

25

35

14

24

49

35

24 22 27

17

26 29

More than high school 

education

High school only

South

America

Other Central

America

Latin Caribbean Mexico

America

Foreign

Born

Native

84

65

47

62

31

51

78
the Caribbean, in contrast, have a

citizenship rate of 41 percent3

.

Place of birth is key

indicator of Latin American

born’s well-being.

The socioeconomic characteristics

of the nation’s Latin American born

vary according to the region in

which they were born. The Mexican

born especially tend to differ from

other groups. Unless otherwise indicated, the data in the following

examples pertain to 1997:

• Education — The proportion of

the population 25 years old and

older who had a high school education or higher stood at 47 percent among all Latin American

born. Within this group, the percentage ranged greatly, from 

78 percent of those born in

South America to 31 percent of

those born in Mexico. Natives

had a rate of 84 percent. (See

Figure 3.)

• Labor force participation —

Among those aged 25 to 54,

Latin American women had a

labor force participation rate of

62 percent, which ranged from

74 percent for the Caribbean

born to 52 percent for the

Mexican born. The rate for native

women was 78 percent (not significantly different from the rate

for Caribbean women). Among

men, on the other hand, there

was little variation regardless of

group.

• Occupation — Eleven percent of

Latin American-born workers

were employed in managerial

and professional specialty occupations. Within this group, the

range was from 23 percent for

South Americans to 6 percent for

Mexicans. The corresponding

rate for native workers was 

30 percent4

. 

Conversely, 72 percent of all

workers born in Latin America

were service or skilled workers

or farm or manual laborers. Fiftyone percent of those born in

South America, 83 percent of

Mexican-born workers and 

39 percent of the native population were in this category. (See

Figure 4.)

• Earnings — The 1996 median

earnings of full-time, year-round

workers born in Latin America

were $18,600 for men and

$16,700 for women. Median

earnings for workers born in the

Caribbean ($23,900 for men and

$20,200 for women) and from

South America ($25,200 for men

and $21,100 for women) were

not significantly different from

each other. 

Among workers born in Mexico,

the median earnings of both men

($16,800) and women ($13,700)

were below the respective median for workers born in the

Caribbean or South America.

Meanwhile, medians for native

workers were $33,200 for men

and $24,100 for women4

.

• Household income — The median

income in 1996 of households

with a householder born in Latin

America was $24,100. The median of households with a householder born in South America

($31,800) was higher than for

households where the householder was born elsewhere in the

region. For households with a

native householder, the corresponding median was $36,1004

.

• Poverty — The poverty rate in

1996 was 28 percent for those

born in Latin America. Among

the Latin American born, poverty

rates ranged from 15 percent for

South Americans to 34 percent

for those born in Mexico. The

U.S. Census Bureau 3

Figure 4.

Occupational Distribution of Workers by Nativity and 

Selected Regions of Birth of the Foreign Born: 1997

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, P23-195, Table 15-1D.

(Percent distribution)

30 24

11 19

6 11

23

31

22

17

25

11

17

26

39

54

72

56

83

72

51

Managers and

professionals

Technicians, 

sales and

administrative

support

Service and 

skilled workers,

farm and manual

laborers

South

America

Other

Central

America

Latin Caribbean Mexico

America

Foreign

Born

Native

3

The rates for those from Asia and those from the

Caribbean are not significantly different from one

another. 4

Numbers for South America and native are not statistically different.
rate was 13 percent for the

native population4

.

• Program participation — In

1996, 33 percent of households

with Latin American-born householders participated in one or

more means-tested noncash programs, such as Medicaid. Among

Latin American groups, the rates

were similar, except among

households with householders

born in South America, whose

rate was 21 percent. The participation rate for households with

native householders was 17 percent, not significantly different

from households with South

American-born householders. 

• Health insurance and pension

plans — For the population from

Latin America, 54 percent had

health insurance for all or part of

the year. Within this group, the

proportion ranged from 69 percent and 66 percent, respectively, for the populations from the

Caribbean and South America

(not significantly different from

each other) to 46 percent for the

population from Mexico. For the

native population, the rate was

86 percent.

Similarly, 31 percent of workers

born in Latin America had

employers who offered pension

plans. The proportion was lower

for workers from Mexico (26 percent) and higher for those from

South America (43 percent). The

rate for native workers was 

56 percent.

• Homeownership — In 1997, 

38 percent of Latin American-born

householders owned the home in

which they lived. There was little

variation in the homeownership

rate among Latin American

groups. In contrast, the homeownership rate was 68 percent

for native households.

Other differences among the Latin

American born:

• Median age — The median age of

Latin American-born residents

was 34 years old. There was

some variation within this group,

however, as medians ranged

from 31 years for those born in

Mexico to 37 years for the South

American born. Natives had the

same median age as the Latin

American born as a whole.

• Number of children — Sixty-six

percent of families with householders born in Latin America

lived with one or more of their

own children under 18 years old.

The corresponding figures for

areas in Latin America ranged

from 74 percent for householders from Mexico to 53 percent

for Caribbean-born householders. By comparison, 48 percent

of families with a native householder lived with one or more of

their own children.5

• Household size — Among Latin

American householders, average

household size ranged from

about 3.17 for people born in

South America to 4.38 for those

born in Mexico. The average 

size of native households was

2.56 people, not statistically 

different from the ratio for South

American households.

More information:

The information in this Census Brief

is based on findings from Profile of

the Foreign-Born Population in the

United States: 1997, Current

Population Reports, Special Studies

P23-195. The report may be found

on the Internet at <http://www.

census.gov/population/www/

socdemo/foreign.html>. Paper

copies also may be ordered from

the Census Bureau (Tel. 301-457-

2422; e-mail: pop@census.gov).

Funding for the report was provided

by the Immigration and

Naturalization Service of the U.S.

Department of Justice.

Contacts:

Foreign-Born Population:

Dianne Schmidley or

Joseph Costanzo

301-457-2403

pop@census.gov

Hispanic Population:

Roberto Ramirez

301-457-2403

pop@census.gov 

Census Briefs:

Robert Bernstein

301-457-3030

pio@census.gov

The data in the report are from the March

1997 Current Population Survey. Data from

1990 and earlier censuses are included for

comparison. Statistics from sample surveys

are subject to sampling and nonsampling

error. The Census Bureau’s Population

Estimates Program uses different methods

to estimate population by nativity and may

show slightly different estimates of foreignborn and native populations from those

presented here.

4 U.S. Census Bureau

5

Numbers for Caribbean born and native are not statistically different.