---
title: "Latinos in the 2014 Election: Texas"
description: "This profile provides key demographic information on Latino eligible voters[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.] and other major groups of eligible voters […]"
date: "2014-10-16"
authors:
  - name: "Anna Brown"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/fact-sheet/latinos-in-the-2014-election-texas/"
---

# Latinos in the 2014 Election: Texas

This profile provides key demographic information on Latino eligible voters[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.] and other major groups of eligible voters in Texas.[2. The terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are used interchangeably. References to other races and ethnicities are to the non-Hispanic components of those populations.] All demographic data are based on Pew Research Center tabulations of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 American Community Survey.[3. This statistical profile of eligible voters is based on the Census Bureau's 2012 [American Community Survey](http://www.census.gov/acs/www) (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 the 2012 ACS Integrated Public Use Microdata Series ([IPUMS](http://usa.ipums.org/usa/)), 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. More information is available on [ACS sampling strategy](http://usa.ipums.org/usa/design.shtml) and [associated error](http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/data_documentation/pums/Accuracy/2012AccuracyPUMS.pdf).]

### Hispanics in Texas’s Eligible Voter Population

[![Population and Electorate in the United States and Texas, 2012](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2014/10/PH-2014-10-election-fact-sheet-TX-01.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/fact-sheets/2014-state-election-fact-sheets/latinos-in-the-2014-election-texas/ph-2014-10-election-fact-sheet-tx-01/)

- The Hispanic population in Texas is the second largest in the nation. About 10 million Hispanics reside in Texas, 18.8% of all Hispanics in the United States.
- Texas’s population is 38% Hispanic, the third largest Hispanic statewide population share nationally.
- There are 4.5 million Hispanic eligible voters in Texas—the second largest Hispanic statewide eligible voter population nationally. California ranks first with 6.4 million.
- Some 27% of Texas eligible voters are Hispanic, the second largest Hispanic statewide eligible voter share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 40%.
- Some 46% of Hispanics in Texas are eligible to vote, ranking Texas 21st nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote. By contrast, 79% of the state’s white population is eligible to vote.

### Characteristics of Eligible Voters

[![Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Texas and the United States, 2012](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2014/10/PH-2014-10-election-fact-sheet-TX-02.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/fact-sheets/2014-state-election-fact-sheets/latinos-in-the-2014-election-texas/ph-2014-10-election-fact-sheet-tx-02/)

- **Age.** One-third of Hispanic eligible voters in Texas are ages 18 to 29, the same as the share of all Latino eligible voters nationwide (also 33%) in that age range. By contrast, only 24% of all Texas eligible voters and 22% of all U.S. eligible voters are ages 18 to 29.
- **Citizenship and Nativity.** Among Hispanic eligible voters in Texas, 17% are naturalized U.S. citizens. This is less than the 25% of Hispanic eligible voters in the U.S., but just 8% of all eligible voters in Texas and of eligible voters in the U.S. overall are naturalized U.S. citizens.
- **Hispanic Origin.** Hispanic eligible voters in Texas have a different Hispanic origin profile from Hispanic eligible voters nationwide. About nine-in-ten (88%) are Mexican, greater than the 59% rate nationwide. An additional 2% are of Puerto Rican origin and 1% are Salvadoran. In the U.S., 14% of Hispanic eligible voters are Puerto Rican and 3% are Salvadoran.
- **Educational Attainment.** About one-quarter of Latino eligible voters in Texas (26%) have not completed high school, twice the 13% of all Texas eligible voters who have not completed high school and somewhat higher than the 23% of Hispanics nationwide who have not completed high school.
- **Homeownership.** About two-thirds of Hispanic eligible voters in Texas (65%) live in owner-occupied homes, larger than the share of all Hispanic eligible voters nationwide (56%) and a somewhat smaller share than all eligible voters in the state (67%). Nationwide, 67% of eligible voters live in owner-occupied homes.

### Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Texas, by Race and Ethnicity

[![Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Texas and the United States, by Race and Ethnicity, 2012](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2014/10/PH-2014-10-election-fact-sheet-TX-03.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/fact-sheets/2014-state-election-fact-sheets/latinos-in-the-2014-election-texas/ph-2014-10-election-fact-sheet-tx-03/)

- **Number of Eligible Voters.** There are about twice as many white eligible voters as Hispanic eligible voters in Texas. Hispanic eligible voters outnumber black eligible voters by about 2 to 1 and Asian eligible voters by about 9 to 1.
- **Age.** Latino eligible voters are younger than white, black and Asian eligible voters in Texas. Some 33% of Latinos are ages 18 to 29, compared with 19% of white eligible voters, 26% of black eligible voters and 21% of Asian eligible voters.
- **Educational Attainment.** Hispanic eligible voters have lower levels of education than do white, black and Asian eligible voters in Texas. Some 26% of Hispanic eligible voters have not obtained a high school diploma, compared with 8% of white eligible voters, 13% of black eligible voters and 11% of Asian eligible voters.
- **Homeownership.** Hispanic eligible voters (65%) are more likely to live in owner-occupied homes than black eligible voters (47%) in Texas, but are less likely to live in owner-occupied homes than white (72%) or Asian (77%) eligible voters.