U.S. Hispanics of Dominican Origin in the United States, 2007 -
A total of 1.2 million Hispanics of Dominican origin resided in the
United States in 2007, according to the Census Bureau’s American
Community Survey. Dominicans in this statistical profile are people who
self-identified as Hispanics of Dominican origin; this means either
they themselves are Dominican immigrants or they trace their family
ancestry to the Dominican Republic. Dominicans are the fifth-largest
population of Hispanic origin living in the United States, accounting
for 2.6% of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2007.
This statistical profile compares the demographic, income and economic
characteristics of the Dominican population with the characteristics of
all Hispanics and the U.S. population overall. It is based on Pew
Hispanic Center tabulations of the 2007 American Community Survey. Key
facts include:
Immigration status. Six-in-ten of Dominicans (60.1%) in the
United States are foreign born, compared with 39.8% of Hispanics and
12.6% of the U.S. population overall. Most immigrants from the
Dominican Republic (56.5%) arrived in the U.S. in 1990 or later. Nearly
half of Dominican immigrants (46.3%) are U.S. citizens.
Language.
A majority of Dominicans (52.2%) speak English proficiently.2 Some
47.8% of Dominicans ages 5 and older report speaking English less than
very well, compared with 38.8% of all Hispanics.
Age.
Dominicans are younger than the U.S. population and older than
Hispanics overall. The median age of Dominicans is 29; the median a
Marital status. Dominicans are less likely than Hispanics overall to be married—37.5% versus 47.3%.
Fertility.
Half (49.9%) of Dominican women ages 15 to 44 who gave birth in the 12
months prior to the survey were unmarried. That was greater than the
rate for all Hispanic women—38.1%—and the rate for U.S. women—33.4%.
Regional dispersion. Eight-in-ten Dominicans (80.3%) live in the Northeast, and more than half (52.4%) live in New York.
Educational
attainment. Dominicans have slightly higher levels of education than
the Hispanic population overall. Fifteen percent of Dominicans ages 25
and older—compared with 12.6% of all U.S. Hispanics—have obtained at
least a bachelor’s degree.
Income. The median annual
personal earnings for Dominicans ages 16 and older were $20,238 in
2007; the median earnings for all U.S. Hispanics were $21,048.
Poverty
status. The share of Dominicans who live in poverty, 24.2%, is double
the rate for the general U.S. population (11.9%) and higher than the
19.5% share among all Hispanics.
Homeownership. The rate of
Dominican homeownership (27.9%) is lower than the rate for all
Hispanics (49.9%) and the U.S. population (67.2%) as a whole.
About the Data - This statistical profile of Hispanics of
Dominican origin is based on the Census Bureau's 2007 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 2007 ACS Integrated Public
Use Microdata Series (IPUMS), representing a 1% sample of the U.S.
population.
