Skip to Main Content

Hispanic Americans in Business and Entrepreneurship: A Resource Guide

Statistics & Demographics

Hispanics play a major role in the United States economy, making up 19 percent of the total population according to the 2020 Census, and representing a growing part of the nation's business and consumer base, as well as the country's economic output. The term Hispanic generally refers to people who have a cultural or historical connection to Spain or Spanish-speaking countries, including people from both Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. The Hispanic in the United States population has quadrupled in the past four decades and has become more diverse.1 The largest Hispanic groups identified in the latest Census were: Mexican Americans (58 percent or 35.9 million) and Puerto Ricans (5.6 million). While the Hispanic population is growing in every state, the most populous states are California and Texas. The majority of Hispanics were born as U.S. citizens.

Print Resources

The following books on Hispanic American populations link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog. Links to additional online content are included when available.

Online Statistical Resources

This section provides information on statistical information that covers major sources for social, demographic, economic, and housing statistics as well as data for businesses and industries.

Subscription Databases

These are databases the Library subscribes to that can be used for data and statistics research. The subscription resources marked with a padlock are available to researchers on-site at the Library of Congress. If you are unable to visit the Library, you may be able to access these resources through your local public or academic library.

Related Research Guides

U.S. Census Connections: A Resource Guide -- This guide identifies useful resources for locating census publications at the Library of Congress and online.

General reference publications and census finding aids help researchers identify sources for U.S. decennial and economic census information. This guide identifies useful resources for locating census publications at the Library of Congress and online.

Marketing Industry: A Resource Guide -- This guide provides links to print and online resources for publications, associations, agencies, regulations, and data sources in the field of marketing.

This guide provides links to print and online resources for publications, associations, agencies, regulations, and data sources in the field of marketing. Related fields such as public relations and advertising are also included as their missions overlap.

Notes

  1. Jessica E. Peña, Ricardo Henrique Lowe Jr., and Merarys Ríos-Vargas. Eight Hispanic Groups Had a Million or More in Population in 2020. U.S. Census Bureau. September 26, 2023. (accessed December 20, 2023). Back to text