Census Confirms Increased Diversity in the Last Decade, Latinxs Account for 62.1M of U.S. Population

Hispanics in Philanthropy Responds to the 2020 U.S. Census Data Release 

Washington, D.C.— In response to today’s newly released U.S. Census Bureau’s  2020 data, Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) reacts on the importance of building civic engagement and multiracial community organizing that addresses the systemic inequities that Latinx communities encounter. 

“Today’s Census data confirmed what we already knew, as a nation we are more multiracial and diverse than ever recorded in U.S. history. As communities of color continue to face systematic inequalities, this is the time to take action and continue investing in programs and policies which produce fair, accurate, and transparent results for our Latinx communities,” noted Ana Marie Argilagos, Hispanics in Philanthropy’s President & CEO. “The 2020 Census data is a call to action to level the playing field by allocating equitable resources for schools, hospitals, and essential needs in every community, particularly in this pandemic era and in underserved Latinx communities. This data invigorates HIP’s mission and values moving forward and we are now committed more than ever to continue strengthening Latinx leadership, influence, and equity.”

This data is also a reminder that the census collection process faced a variety of challenges that experts estimated would lead to inequities in the apportionment process, including a slashed budget, during a pandemic, and with an unclear end date. The Census 2020 data revealed:

• Latinxs account for 62.1M of the U.S. population, making it the second-largest population overall. 
• Latinxs had the largest increase in reporting of two or more races.
• The majority of Hispanic or Latinxs identified as being two or more races. 
• Hispanic or Latinx was the largest racial or ethnic group in CA, TX, NM, and PR.  
• And second largest in AZ, CO, CT, FL, ID, IL, IO, KS, MA, NE, NV, NH, NJ, NY, OK, OR, RI, TX, UT, WA, WI, and WY.

Ana Marie added, “grassroots leaders of color from across the country are advocating to shape our political representation for the next ten years. Given what we have seen so far from the recent Census results, the stakes to achieve fair representation are extremely high for Latinxs and other communities of color that make up 80% of newly eligible voters. This is the time to bring capital and capacity building resources directly to the people intimate with the process of redistricting in their state.”

In 2019, during the early stages of Census counting, HIP leveraged over $1.25M to support full Latinx civic participation in the U.S., and build Black/Brown alliances to address the stark racial inequities that have been laid bare and exacerbated by the pandemic. This year, HIP deepened investments and programmatic work through increased grantmaking, digital tech amplifiers, and funder engagement. These grants were awarded to 10 partners across PA, FL, NC, TX, WI, NM, and GA who are using the resources to educate and organize as states use census data to redraw electoral maps, impacting thousands of elected positions including congressional districts, state legislators, county, city and school board seats.