---
title: "Latinos in the 2016 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: "2016-01-19"
authors:
  - name: "Pew Research Center"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/fact-sheet/latinos-in-the-2016-election-texas/"
categories:
  - "Hispanic/Latino Voters"
  - "Race, Ethnicity & Politics"
  - "Race, Ethnicity & Politics"
  - "Voter Demographics"
---

# Latinos in the 2016 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 2014 American Community Survey.[3. This statistical profile of eligible voters is based on the Census Bureau's 2014 [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 2014 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](https://usa.ipums.org/usa/resources/codebooks/AccuracyACS_2014.pdf).]

### Hispanics in Texas’s Eligible Voter Population

[![Population and Electorate in the United States and Texas, 2014](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2016/01/PH_Election-Fact-Sheet-2016_Texas-01.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/fact-sheets/2016-state-election-fact-sheets/latinos-in-the-2016-election-texas/ph_election-fact-sheet-2016_texas-01/)

- The Hispanic population in Texas is the second largest in the nation. About 10.4 million Hispanics reside in Texas, 18.8% of all Hispanics in the United States.
- Texas’s population is 39% Hispanic, the third largest Hispanic statewide population share nationally.
- There are 4.8 million Hispanic eligible voters in Texas—the second largest Hispanic statewide eligible voter population nationally. California ranks first with 6.9 million.
- Some 28% 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 23rd 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

- **Age.** One-third (32%) of Hispanic eligible voters in Texas are ages 18 to 29, similar to the share of all Latino eligible voters nationwide (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, 16% are naturalized U.S. citizens. This is less than the 25% of Hispanic eligible voters in the U.S., but just 9% 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. Fully 87% are Mexican, greater than the 59% rate nationwide. An additional 2% are of Puerto Rican origin and 2% 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 (24%) have not completed high school, almost twice the 13% of all Texas eligible voters who have not completed high school and somewhat higher than the 22% of Hispanics nationwide who have not completed high school.
- **Homeownership.** Almost two-thirds of Hispanic eligible voters in Texas (65%) live in owner-occupied homes, larger than the share of all Hispanic eligible voters nationwide (55%) and similar to the share of all eligible voters in the state (66%). Nationwide, 67% of eligible voters live in owner-occupied homes.

[![Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Texas and the United States, 2014](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2016/01/PH_Election-Fact-Sheet-2016_Texas-02.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/fact-sheets/2016-state-election-fact-sheets/latinos-in-the-2016-election-texas/ph_election-fact-sheet-2016_texas-02/)

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

- **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 8 to 1.
- **Age.** Latino eligible voters are younger than white, black and Asian eligible voters in Texas. Some 32% 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 24% of Hispanic eligible voters have not obtained a high school diploma, compared with 7% of white eligible voters, 12% 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 (46%) in Texas, but are less likely to live in owner-occupied homes than white (71%) or Asian (78%) eligible voters.

[![Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Texas, by Race and Ethnicity, 2014](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2016/01/PH_Election-Fact-Sheet-2016_Texas-03.png)](https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/fact-sheets/2016-state-election-fact-sheets/latinos-in-the-2016-election-texas/ph_election-fact-sheet-2016_texas-03/)