Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Latinos in the 2010 Elections: Arizona

Fact Sheet

This statistical profile provides key demographic information of Latino eligible voters in Arizona.1 It also contains data on other major groups of eligible voters in Arizona.2 All data are based on Pew Hispanic Center tabulations of the Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey.3

Hispanics in Arizona’s Eligible Voter Population

  • The Hispanic population in Arizona is the fifth-largest in the nation. Nearly 2 million Hispanics reside in Arizona, 4% of all Hispanics in the United States.
  • The population in Arizona is 30% Hispanic, the fourth-highest Hispanic population share nationally.
  • There are 766,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Arizona—the fifth-largest Hispanic eligible-voter population nationally. California ranks first with 5.4 million.
  • Nearly two-in-ten (18%) of eligible voters in Arizona are Latinos, the fourth-largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 38%.
  • Some 39% of Latinos in Arizona are eligible to vote, ranking Arizona 23rd nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote. In contrast, 79% of the state’s white population is eligible to vote.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters

  • Age. One-third of Hispanic eligible voters in Arizona (32%) are ages 18 to 29, similar to the share of all Latino eligible voters nationwide (31%) in that age range. By contrast, only 22% of all Arizona eligible voters and 22% of all U.S. eligible voters are ages 18 to 29.

  • Citizenship. Two-in-ten of Hispanic eligible voters in Arizona (18%) are naturalized U.S. citizens, compared with 7% of all Arizona eligible voters. Hispanic eligible voters in Arizona are more likely to be native-born citizens (82%) than are Hispanic eligible voters nationwide (74%).
  • Educational Attainment. One-quarter of Latino eligible voters in Arizona (26%) have not completed high school, more than double the 12% of all Arizona eligible voters who have not completed high school.
  • Homeownership. Two-thirds of Hispanic eligible voters in Arizona (66%) live in owner-occupied homes compared with 60% of all Hispanic eligible voters nationwide. Somewhat greater shares of all eligible voters in Arizona (71%) and all eligible voters nationwide (70%) live in owner-occupied homes.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Arizona, by Race and Ethnicity

  • Number of Latino Eligible Voters. Latino eligible voters outnumber Native American eligible voters in Arizona by more than 4 to 1 and black eligible voters by more than 5 to 1.

  • Age. Latino and Native American eligible voters are younger than black and white eligible voters in Arizona. Equal shares of Latinos and Native Americans (32%) are ages 18 to 29 compared with 25% of black eligible voters and 18% of white eligible voters.
  • Educational Attainment. Hispanic eligible voters have lower levels of education than do white and black eligible voters in Arizona. Some 26% of Hispanic eligible voters have not obtained at least a high school diploma compared with 13% of black eligible voters and 8% of white eligible voters.
  • Homeownership. Hispanic eligible voters (66%) are more likely to live in owner-occupied homes than Native American (57%) and black (43%) eligible voters in Arizona, but they are less likely to do so than white Arizona eligible voters (75%).
  1. Eligible voters are defined as U.S. citizens ages 18 and older. Eligible voters are not the same as registered voters. To cast a vote, in all states except North Dakota, an eligible voter must first register to vote.
  2. The terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are used interchangeably. References to “whites,” “blacks,” and “Asians” are to the non-Hispanic components of those populations.
  3. This statistical profile of eligible voters in Arizona is based on the Census Bureau’s 2008 American Community Survey (ACS). The ACS is the largest household survey in the United States, with a sample of about 3 million addresses. The data used for this statistical profile come from 2008 ACS Integrated Public Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), representing a 1% sample of the U.S. population. Like any survey, estimates from the ACS are subject to sampling error and (potentially) measurement error. Information on the ACS sampling strategy and associated error is available at http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/Accuracy/accuracy2008.pdf. An example of measurement error is that citizenship rates for the foreign born are estimated to be overstated in the Decennial Census and other official surveys, such as the ACS (see Jeffrey Passel. “Growing Share of Immigrants Choosing Naturalization,” Pew Hispanic Center, Washington, D.C. (March 28, 2008)).
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