Bloomberg Línea — The Hispanic or Latino population in the United States is the youngest demographic in the country, according to new data from the US Census Bureau.
According to the 2020 census, the age of the Hispanic or Latino population averaged 30 years old compared to the non-Hispanic population, at 41.1 years old, at the time of the census.
Overall, the multiracial Latino population was the youngest group in the country in 2020, with 32.5% of its population under age 18.
Between 2010 and 2020, the Latino population increased for each age category (under 18, 18 to 44, 45 to 65, and 65 and over) by more than 164%.
The youngest in the country
According to Census Bureau data, not only is the Hispanic population the youngest in the United States, but one out of every four children is Latino.
Meanwhile, the average age of Hispanics is eight years younger than the average age of Americans (38.8).
However, despite being the youngest, the average age increased from 27.3 years to 30 years in just one decade.
The median age of Hispanics increased compared to that recorded in the 2010 Census, when the median was 27.3 years old, according to this analysis.
The following chart by the US Census Bureau shows the progression of different ethnic groups in the growth of the US population:
How old is the rest of the US population?
Overall, between 2010 and 2020, the median age in the US increased from 37.2 to 38.8 years old.
The white population alone was the oldest of all racial groups in 2020, with a median age of 43.1 years, and declined between 2010 and 2020 in all age categories except the 65-and-older population, which grew by more than 25%, the report notes.
In 2020, there were 55.8 million people aged 65 and over, up 38.6% from 40.3 million in 2010. In contrast, the population under 18 years of age decreased between 2010 and 2020, from 74.2 million to 73.1 million, respectively.
Opportunities and challenges for the very young
While the United States is one of the countries with the highest levels of college education, it does not escape talent shortages in areas such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) analyzed the educational evolution of US-born citizens and immigrants and found that the latter with a college education are more likely to have advanced degrees and to specialize in STEM.
“Sixty percent of immigrant college graduates have at least a master’s degree, compared to 53% of US-born college graduates. In addition, immigrants’ degrees are more concentrated in the high-demand fields of STEM and health than those of the US-born citizens (51% vs. 36%),” the research highlights.
The data for this survey comes from the combined 2012, 2014 and 2017 results of the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), developed by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and was conducted in the case of the United States by the US Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.
Despite the educational level of immigrants, this does not have a direct correlation with professional improvements for them. According to the MPI, first- and second-generation immigrant workers are more likely to be overeducated, and nearly two million immigrant college graduates hold low-skilled jobs or are unemployed. Some of their constraints are believed to be: lower English proficiency, social networks, interrupted career paths, lack of legal status, and the complexity of US licensing requirements.
When we talk about immigration in the United States, we talk about great ethnic diversity. If one were to make a pie chart of college graduates, 81% are US-born whites and no other group accounts for more than 9%. Meanwhile, immigrant graduates such as Asian American/Pacific Islanders and Latinos accounted for 41% and 19%, respectively. Notably, Indian immigrants represent the largest share of the highly skilled population.
