---
title: "Hispanics to benefit from Obama’s community college plan"
description: "More Hispanics are already enrolled in college than ever before and, among those who are, nearly half (46%) attend a public two-year school, the highest share of any race or ethnicity."
date: "2015-01-20"
authors:
  - name: "Jens Manuel Krogstad"
    job_title: "Former Senior Writer and Editor"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/jens-manuel-krogstad/"
  - name: "Richard Fry"
    job_title: "Senior Researcher"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/richard-fry/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/01/20/hispanics-to-benefit-from-obamas-community-college-plan/"
categories:
  - "Affirmative Action"
  - "Education"
  - "Higher Education"
  - "Hispanics/Latinos & Education"
---

# Hispanics to benefit from Obama’s community college plan

[![Hispanics, College Enrollment](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/01/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollegeBars.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/01/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollegeBars.png)

A proposal by President Obama to [offer free tuition](http://www.latimes.com/local/education/la-me-obama-tuition-20150114-story.html) for students attending community college could have a significant impact on Hispanics. More Hispanics are already enrolled in college than ever before and, among those who are, nearly half (46%) attend a public two-year school, the highest share of any race or ethnicity, according to [U.S. Department of Education data](http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/current_tables.asp).

[![Hispanics, Community College](https://www.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/20/2015/01/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollege.png)](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/12/2015/01/FT_15.01.14_hispanicCollege.png)

Hispanics make up a growing share of the nation’s nearly 7 million community college students. In 2013, 22% of all enrolled public two-year college students were Hispanics – a greater share than their makeup of all students – and that figure has risen from 14% in 2000. The share of black students in public community colleges increased at a much lower rate over the same time period, from 12% to 15%, while the share of white and Asian/Pacific Islander students declined.

There are several possible reasons why Hispanics who attend college are more likely than other students to pursue higher education at a public two-year school. Community colleges generally cost less to attend than four-year schools, and Hispanic college students are more likely than whites to come from a lower income family. For example, about half of dependent Hispanics enrolled in two- or four-year colleges have [family incomes below $40,000](http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2015/2015167.pdf), compared with 23% of white students. In fact, in a 2014 National Journal poll, 66% of Hispanics who got a job or entered the military directly after high school cited the need to help support their family as a reason for not enrolling in college, while 39% of whites said the same.

A second reason why Hispanics may attend two-year colleges over four-year colleges is that community colleges have open enrollment, meaning that students only need to earn a high school diploma to gain admission. This can help students who are less prepared for college. Hispanics, on average, have lower levels of academic achievement than whites. The [average SAT math score](http://media.collegeboard.com/digitalServices/pdf/research/2013/TotalGroup-2013.pdf) of college-bound Hispanics is 461 (out of 800), compared with 534 for whites.

Finally, geography may play a role. Large numbers of Hispanics live in California and Texas, two states with large community college systems. The two states account for nearly half (46%) of the nation’s Hispanics. Among all students, regardless of race or ethnicity, the states account for one-third (32%) of those enrolled in community colleges. (By contrast, fewer Hispanics live in the Northeast, a region where community colleges [enroll a smaller share](http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d14/tables/dt14_306.60.asp?current=yes) of all college students than the national average.)

Hispanic high school drop-out rates have [fallen drastically](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2013/09/04/hispanic-college-enrollment-rate-surpasses-whites-for-the-first-time/) in recent years, and college enrollment rates among 18- to 24-year-old Hispanic high school graduates have been on the rise. Meanwhile, education continues to be [a top issue](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2014/06/02/top-issue-for-hispanics-hint-its-not-immigration/) for Hispanics. The Pew Research Center’s 2014 National Survey of Latinos found that 49% of Latino adults consider education an extremely important issue for them personally, on par with the percentage that named jobs and the economy (46%), but ahead of health care (40%) and notably, immigration (31%).

Hispanics also see education as a [ticket to the middle class](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2012/08/31/public-says-a-secure-job-is-the-ticket-to-the-middle-class/). While six-in-ten (61%) Hispanic adults said a college education is needed to belong to the middle class, 49% of blacks and 29% of whites shared this view, according to a 2012 Pew Research Center survey.