The U.S. Census Bureau collects Hispanic origin information following the guidance of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) 1997 Revisions to the Standards for the Classification of Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity.

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requires federal agencies to use a minimum of two ethnicities in collecting and reporting data: Hispanic or Latino and Not Hispanic or Latino. OMB defines "Hispanic or Latino" as a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race. These standards generally reflect a social definition of race and ethnicity recognized in this country, and they do not conform to any biological, anthropological, or genetic criteria.

People who identify with the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the decennial census questionnaire and various Census Bureau survey questionnaires – “Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano” or ”Puerto Rican” or “Cuban” – as well as those who indicate that they are “another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.” Source: About the Hispanic Population and its Origin (census.gov)

The 2020 Census Hispanic origin question included the same four detailed checkboxes that were included in the 2010 Census (“Not Hispanic or Latino,” “Mexican, Mexican Am., Chicano,” Puerto Rican,” “Cuban”), along with a “Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin” checkbox.

We ask whether someone is of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin to create statistics about this ethnic group. Hispanic origin statistics are used in planning and evaluating government programs and policies to ensure they fairly serve the needs of each community and to monitor against discrimination in these programs and in society.

Hispanic Origin statistics can be found in the Decennial Census, the Population Estimates Program (PEP), annual surveys such as the American Community Survey (ACS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS).

To access this data, go to data.census.gov or for more information on the surveys available, go to Census Survey Explorer.

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