A Census data study

How many Spanish speakers are in the United States?

42.9 million people age 5 and older speak Spanish at home in the United States, 13.6% of that population.

We analyzed 31,526 places using Census Bureau data to show you where they live and how central Spanish is to each market.

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The short version

people speak Spanish at home: 42.9 million
of the population age 5 and older: 13.6%
places clear 20%, including 118 with 100,000 or more residents: 3,247
of Spanish speakers say they speak English less than "very well": 40.2%

Six in ten live where Spanish carries weight

60% of Spanish speakers live in a place where at least one in five people also speak it. That lets you publish and advertise city by city instead of speaking to the whole country.

Four states hold most speakers

California, Texas, Florida, and New York are home to 61% of the country's speakers. Even so, there are strong markets in cities few people mention, like Reading, Pennsylvania, or Liberal, Kansas.

Size and share tell different stories

New York, Los Angeles, and Houston have the most speakers. Hialeah, Laredo, and Brownsville have the highest share among cities of 100,000 or more. A huge city can be crowded and expensive, while a smaller one may run almost entirely in Spanish.

In many cities, language decides the sale

In 12 of the study's 118 large cities, at least half of Spanish speakers say they speak English less than "very well". There, serving people in Spanish isn't a nice extra. It's part of being able to buy from you.

If you run a business and want to reach this market, our Spanish marketing guide will help you decide where to start.

The 118 large cities above 20%

Cities of 100,000 or more, ranked by number of speakers. Linked cities include comparisons and ideas for local businesses.

#	City	State	Speak Spanish	%	English less than "very well"	Median income
1	New York	New York	1,810,363	22.6%	46.6%	$80,483
2	Los Angeles	California	1,439,364	39.3%	46.5%	$81,939
3	Houston	Texas	808,128	37.2%	50.3%	$64,813
4	Chicago	Illinois	607,865	23.7%	42.9%	$77,902
5	San Antonio	Texas	505,295	36.4%	31.5%	$65,056
6	Phoenix	Arizona	449,725	29.1%	35.7%	$81,332
7	Dallas	Texas	424,833	34.9%	46.4%	$70,518
8	El Paso	Texas	406,137	63.7%	38.3%	$59,745
9	Miami	Florida	299,367	68.8%	53.6%	$62,462
10	San Diego	California	281,694	21.4%	34.5%	$108,077
11	Fort Worth	Texas	219,559	24.5%	38.7%	$79,507
12	San Jose	California	205,290	21.8%	41.1%	$146,427
13	Laredo	Texas	203,226	85.9%	44.9%	$63,915
14	Hialeah	Florida	198,098	91.9%	64.8%	$55,594
15	Santa Ana	California	195,702	66.1%	42.2%	$93,999
16	Austin	Texas	187,226	20.2%	38.7%	$93,658
17	Las Vegas	Nevada	155,655	25%	41.6%	$73,877
18	Fresno	California	148,000	29.2%	35%	$70,991
19	Brownsville	Texas	145,469	82.7%	33.9%	$52,130
20	Long Beach	California	143,070	33%	35.1%	$87,430
21	Bakersfield	California	136,566	35.8%	31.5%	$80,540
22	Anaheim	California	132,920	40.8%	39.2%	$95,227
23	Tucson	Arizona	130,226	25.1%	29.2%	$57,073
24	Chula Vista	California	122,226	46.8%	33.4%	$108,032
25	Oxnard	California	114,330	60.7%	43.5%	$96,212
26	Riverside	California	111,676	37%	34.7%	$91,045
27	San Bernardino	California	103,771	49.9%	34.2%	$67,415
28	Salinas	California	102,663	68.9%	46.9%	$91,908
29	Fontana	California	99,080	49.3%	31.8%	$102,821
30	McAllen	Texas	96,186	71.2%	37.9%	$61,579
31	Oakland	California	94,035	22.6%	38.4%	$101,600
32	Newark	New Jersey	93,962	32.4%	53.4%	$52,060
33	Stockton	California	91,363	30.4%	41%	$79,907
34	Arlington	Texas	89,470	24%	41.6%	$75,171
35	Garland	Texas	89,128	38.5%	45.2%	$76,320
36	Moreno Valley	California	88,621	44.5%	34.7%	$93,222
37	Irving	Texas	88,119	37.4%	47.8%	$81,830
38	Corpus Christi	Texas	87,255	29.3%	20.4%	$67,394
39	East Los Angeles	California	86,373	81.2%	45.2%	$68,741
40	Paterson	New Jersey	84,759	58%	56.1%	$55,997
41	Orlando	Florida	83,745	28%	44.8%	$72,336
42	Sunrise Manor	Nevada	83,714	44.9%	43%	$58,421
43	North Las Vegas	Nevada	81,498	31.3%	37.3%	$79,542
44	Elizabeth	New Jersey	78,643	61.9%	62.2%	$66,555
45	Ontario	California	78,555	46.5%	39.8%	$88,941
46	Aurora	Colorado	77,513	21%	47.8%	$88,368
47	Pomona	California	75,293	54.1%	38.1%	$79,479
48	Palmdale	California	74,625	48.7%	40%	$81,770
49	Pembroke Pines	Florida	74,075	44.6%	38.7%	$85,104
50	Pasadena	Texas	71,764	51.8%	45.4%	$64,927
51	Yonkers	New York	71,326	36%	42.6%	$83,549
52	Providence	Rhode Island	69,897	38.5%	46.2%	$68,119
53	Grand Prairie	Texas	68,271	35.8%	42%	$81,619
54	Edinburg	Texas	66,932	69%	28.6%	$59,466
55	Glendale	Arizona	65,795	27.8%	34.5%	$73,530
56	Santa Maria	California	61,374	60.9%	48.6%	$84,746
57	Downey	California	59,871	56.7%	31.2%	$90,699
58	El Monte	California	56,640	56.5%	43.2%	$68,030
59	Hollywood	Florida	56,375	38.1%	43.2%	$67,203
60	Aurora	Illinois	55,979	33.1%	36.7%	$93,633
61	Modesto	California	55,037	26.9%	36.2%	$79,891
62	Rialto	California	54,241	55.4%	32.6%	$88,857
63	Jurupa Valley	California	53,723	53.6%	36.6%	$97,550
64	Escondido	California	52,590	37.7%	43.1%	$91,967
65	Lehigh Acres	Florida	51,505	41.8%	43.6%	$66,890
66	Bridgeport	Connecticut	50,447	35.7%	49.8%	$58,685
67	Victorville	California	50,265	39%	32.4%	$74,410
68	Allentown	Pennsylvania	49,947	42.6%	60%	$55,494
69	Mesquite	Texas	49,619	35.9%	42%	$72,537
70	Santa Clarita	California	49,386	22.9%	29.1%	$123,062
71	Hayward	California	49,235	32.8%	48.8%	$113,318
72	Corona	California	47,675	31.5%	30.4%	$109,242
73	Springfield	Massachusetts	47,587	32.9%	43.8%	$52,656
74	Lancaster	California	47,507	29.9%	37.7%	$81,511
75	Paradise	Nevada	46,597	26.4%	46.7%	$59,190
76	Miramar	Florida	46,567	35.6%	34.1%	$89,125
77	Garden Grove	California	46,411	28.4%	41.8%	$92,174
78	Santa Rosa	California	46,163	27.4%	47.2%	$99,060
79	Richmond	California	43,402	39.5%	47.3%	$95,391
80	Odessa	Texas	43,345	41.2%	34.3%	$73,472
81	Cape Coral	Florida	43,200	21%	52.1%	$78,104
82	Inglewood	California	42,778	43.2%	46.8%	$72,750
83	Elgin	Illinois	42,607	39.8%	40.3%	$90,282
84	West Valley City	Utah	42,031	32.8%	42%	$92,209
85	Yuma	Arizona	41,294	44.5%	32.8%	$65,482
86	Oceanside	California	41,195	25.3%	39.4%	$97,737
87	Hartford	Connecticut	40,506	35.3%	43.6%	$46,411
88	Kansas City	Kansas	39,054	27.2%	45%	$62,401
89	Lynn	Massachusetts	37,095	39.2%	52.2%	$75,043
90	Visalia	California	36,694	27.4%	32.5%	$81,989
91	Davie	Florida	36,676	36%	41.1%	$87,250
92	Miami Gardens	Florida	35,309	32.9%	55.8%	$63,627
93	Midland	Texas	35,236	28.3%	36.7%	$89,585
94	West Covina	California	35,218	34.6%	30.1%	$101,065
95	Hesperia	California	35,204	37.5%	34.2%	$72,160
96	Fullerton	California	34,709	26.1%	31.7%	$104,286
97	Joliet	Illinois	34,393	24.3%	43.6%	$92,201
98	Orange	California	33,708	25.7%	30.8%	$117,113
99	Pasadena	California	31,629	24.2%	36.3%	$105,192
100	Coral Springs	Florida	31,593	24.7%	39.1%	$93,602
101	Las Cruces	New Mexico	31,374	29.1%	21.4%	$55,422
102	Carrollton	Texas	30,963	24.3%	42.5%	$101,396
103	Waterbury	Connecticut	30,603	28.4%	44.1%	$51,886
104	New Haven	Connecticut	29,968	23.7%	39.8%	$56,851
105	Stamford	Connecticut	29,161	22.5%	50.6%	$111,586
106	Costa Mesa	California	28,249	27%	37.3%	$111,505
107	Waco	Texas	27,298	20.4%	64.7%	$54,365
108	Concord	California	27,222	23.5%	44.3%	$108,709
109	Lewisville	Texas	25,964	21.2%	41%	$89,233
110	Antioch	California	25,697	23.4%	43.8%	$97,465
111	Brandon	Florida	25,593	22.5%	38.1%	$79,685
112	Fairfield	California	24,651	21.8%	42.4%	$101,895
113	Buckeye	Arizona	22,733	23.5%	21.6%	$99,486
114	Greeley	Colorado	22,709	22.1%	37.8%	$69,881
115	Menifee	California	22,698	22%	27.5%	$93,454
116	Conroe	Texas	22,672	23.8%	46.8%	$76,206
117	Pompano Beach	Florida	22,406	20.9%	46.1%	$67,195
118	San Mateo	California	19,909	20.5%	43.3%	$153,504

Highest share of speakers

City	%	Speak Spanish
Hialeah, Florida	91.9%	198,098
Laredo, Texas	85.9%	203,226
Brownsville, Texas	82.7%	145,469
East Los Angeles, California	81.2%	86,373
McAllen, Texas	71.2%	96,186
Edinburg, Texas	69%	66,932
Salinas, California	68.9%	102,663
Miami, Florida	68.8%	299,367
Santa Ana, California	66.1%	195,702
El Paso, Texas	63.7%	406,137

Places above 20%, by size

Residents	Places	Speak Spanish
1,000,000 or more	8	6,327,267
500,000 to 999,999	7	1,452,093
250,000 to 499,999	18	2,197,508
100,000 to 249,999	85	4,513,060
50,000 to 99,999	154	4,055,901
25,000 to 49,999	210	2,731,321
10,000 to 24,999	400	2,487,289
Under 10,000	2,365	1,943,099

In total, 3,247 places and 25,707,538 speakers.

The data by state

Linked states have at least one large city above 20% and their own list of places.

State	Speak Spanish	%	English less than "very well"	Places above 20%
California	10,513,931	28.3%	39.1%	639
Texas	7,932,949	28.1%	38.3%	832
Florida	4,801,213	22.6%	43.3%	258
New York	2,772,893	14.8%	44.5%	88
Illinois	1,681,635	14%	39.2%	95
New Jersey	1,514,828	17.2%	46.1%	93
Arizona	1,344,168	19.3%	32.5%	83
Georgia	890,264	8.6%	42.6%	52
North Carolina	876,033	8.7%	42%	61
Pennsylvania	686,810	5.6%	42.1%	46
Washington	665,921	9%	38.7%	78
Virginia	649,137	7.9%	41.1%	49
Massachusetts	646,141	9.7%	43.8%	11
Colorado	613,290	11.1%	35.7%	75
Nevada	600,083	19.9%	39.2%	14
Maryland	562,050	9.6%	46.2%	61
New Mexico	491,462	24.5%	29.4%	227
Connecticut	439,949	12.8%	41.2%	19
Oregon	365,276	9%	37.7%	35
Indiana	353,025	5.5%	40.6%	33
Tennessee	348,679	5.2%	48.4%	5
Utah	345,046	10.9%	35.5%	16
Oklahoma	305,840	8.1%	38.2%	47
Michigan	298,830	3.1%	34.8%	10
Ohio	294,716	2.6%	39.1%	10
Wisconsin	276,721	4.9%	38.7%	15
South Carolina	262,999	5.3%	43.3%	22
Minnesota	227,636	4.2%	39.1%	24
Kansas	223,357	8.1%	41%	29
Louisiana	201,847	4.7%	48.6%	11
Alabama	187,711	3.9%	42.8%	13
Arkansas	176,128	6.1%	43.5%	20
Missouri	169,451	2.9%	35.5%	15
Nebraska	156,178	8.4%	44%	28
Idaho	147,208	8.1%	35.2%	37
Kentucky	146,717	3.4%	46.4%	4
Rhode Island	141,693	13.5%	43.9%	3
Iowa	140,635	4.7%	42.1%	32
Delaware	76,483	7.9%	44%	5
Mississippi	73,687	2.7%	43.5%	12
District of Columbia	60,423	9.4%	35.6%	0
New Hampshire	34,831	2.6%	35.4%	0
Hawaii	27,778	2%	22.8%	0
Wyoming	26,551	4.8%	34.6%	11
Alaska	22,437	3.3%	26.4%	5
South Dakota	22,332	2.6%	44.8%	11
West Virginia	19,863	1.2%	28.2%	1
North Dakota	16,618	2.3%	29.5%	4
Montana	15,285	1.4%	26.7%	8
Maine	13,107	1%	25.5%	0
Vermont	8,063	1.3%	18%	0

How we built this study

Source: the Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey (ACS), 5-year estimates. We used tables C16001, B01003, B19013.
We measure people age 5 and older who speak Spanish at home. That's the question the Census asks, which is why "speaker" doesn't mean "Hispanic".
We reviewed 31,526 places: cities, towns and census-designated places (CDPs). We count those that reach 20%, without adjusting for the margin of error.
We left out Puerto Rico, where Spanish is the majority language, because this study looks for markets within the states and the District of Columbia.
These are survey estimates. In small places, the margin of error can be large, so check it in the table or the file before making an important decision.
Median income covers every household in the place, not only those that speak Spanish.
The threshold leaves out some large markets that come close: Tampa and Albuquerque both register 19.9%. Don't rule them out if your business is there.

See the original Census Bureau files.

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Frequently asked questions

How many Spanish speakers are in the U.S.?

42,869,908 people age 5 and older speak Spanish at home, with a margin of error of ±143,809. That's 13.6% of that population, not counting Puerto Rico.

Which U.S. city has the most Spanish speakers?

New York, with 1,810,363. It's followed by Los Angeles, with 1,439,364, and Houston, with 808,128.

Which large city has the highest share of Spanish speakers?

Among cities of 100,000 or more, Hialeah leads with 91.9%, followed by Laredo at 85.9% and Brownsville at 82.7%.

Is speaking Spanish the same as being Hispanic?

No. The Census asks separately about the language spoken at home and Hispanic origin. Many Hispanic people speak only English at home, and some people who speak Spanish aren't Hispanic.

How often does this data change?

The Census Bureau releases 5-year estimates every year. These numbers cover 2020-2024, and we reviewed them on November 7, 2026.

Can I use this data in my work?

Yes. You can download the file and cite it. Please credit Publicidad.Express and the U.S. Census Bureau as the original source.

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