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Cubans
in the United States
Compared with the rest of the Hispanic population in the United States,
Cubans are older, have a higher level of education, higher median
household income and higher rate of home ownership, according to a
study released by the Pew Hispanic Center on August 26, 2006.
While there are important differences among Cubans, particularly between
those who arrived before 1980 and those who arrived in subsequent
years, as a group Cubans in the United States are distinct in many
ways from the rest of the Hispanic population.
There are approximately 1.5 million Cubans in the United States. Cubans
make up about 4% of the Hispanic population, which in 2004 was estimated
at about 40.5 million people, the Pew Hispanic Center says.
More than two-thirds of Cubans (68%) live in Florida, home to about
990,000 Cubans. The state with the next highest concentration of Cubans
is New Jersey (81,000), followed by New York (78,000), California
(74,000) and Texas (34,000).
More than a third of all Cubans (37%) were born in the United States.
Among the approximately 913,000 Cubans who are foreign born, 30% entered
the United States before 1980, 12% entered between 1980 and 1990 and
21% entered after 1990.
Among Cubans in Florida, 70% are foreign-born. Of these, about 31%
entered before 1980, 14% entered between 1980 and 1990 and 26% entered
after 1990.
The median age of Cubans is 41, considerably higher than the rest
of the Hispanic population (27) but about the same as non-Hispanic
whites (40). The median age of Cubans who entered the United States
before 1980 is 63. Among those who entered between 1980 and 1990,
the median age is 50 and among those who entered after 1990 it is
38. Cubans in Florida have a higher median age than Cubans elsewhere
in the country (42 vs. 38).
One of the characteristics of the Hispanic population is that Latinos
tend to be younger than the rest of the U.S. population. But this
is not the case with Cubans.
Among Cubans, 29% are under 25, compared with 46% among all Hispanics
and 31% among non-Hispanic whites. About 27% of Cubans in Florida
are under 25, compared with 32% outside Florida.
Reflecting their unique welcome under U.S. immigration policy, about
60% of Cubans are U.S. citizens, more than double the rate for other
Hispanics (26%) and higher than for non-Hispanic, foreign-born whites
(56%). About nine out of every 10 Cubans who arrived before 1990 are
U.S. citizens. Among those who arrived between 1980 and 1990, 60%
are citizens and among those who arrived after 1990 18% are citizens.
Economic Characteristics
The median household income for Cubans is $38,000, higher than for
other Hispanics ($36,000) but lower than for non-Hispanic whites ($48,000).
Native- born Cubans have a higher median income than non-Hispanic
whites ($50,000 vs. $48,000). Among foreign-born Cubans, those who
arrived before 1980 have the highest median income ($38,000). However,
those who arrived between 1980 and 1990 have a lower median income
compared with those who arrived in 1990 or later ($30,000 vs. $33,000).
Cubans living outside Florida have a higher median income than those
living in Florida ($44,000 vs. $36,000).
Poverty rates for Cubans are generally lower than for other Hispanics,
with some notable exceptions. About 13% of Cubans under 18 are in
poverty, less than half the rate for other Hispanics (27%). About
11% of Cubans between 18 and 64 are in poverty, also lower than among
other Hispanics (17%). However, older Cubans, those 65 and above,
have considerably higher poverty rates than Hispanics or non-Hispanic
whites. (24% vs. 18% and 7%, respectively).
Identity
Cubans are far more likely than other Hispanics to identify themselves
as white when asked about their race. In the 2004 Census data, about
86% of Cubans said they were white, compared with 60% among Mexicans,
53% among other Central and South Americans and 50% among Puerto Ricans.
In the Census data, a third or more of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and
other Hispanics chose “some other race” when answering
this question. But among Cubans, only 8% chose “some other race.”
The analysis is based on the 2004 American Community Survey (ACS),
a nationwide survey conducted monthly by the Census Bureau. The 2004
ACS public use micro sample included 4,622 respondents of Cuban origin
(2,812 foreign born and 1,810 native born).
The term “Cuban” is applied to persons who identified
themselves as such in responding to a question on Hispanic or Latino
origins. This includes both persons born in Cuba and those born elsewhere
who identified themselves as being of Cuban origins, e.g. persons
of Cuban parentage born in the U.S. The terms “other Hispanics”
and “other Latinos” refer to non-Cubans.
To read the study released by the Pew
Hispanic Center in a pdf file...
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