how much of the us population speaks spanish
About 12–14% of the U.S. population speaks Spanish, which works out to roughly 40–45 million people today, depending on how you define “Spanish speaker.”
Key numbers (quick scoop)
- Around 43–45 million people in the U.S. speak Spanish at home, about 13–14% of the total population.
- If you include bilingual and second‑language speakers, estimates rise to about 18% of the population (around 59 million people).
- Spanish is the second most spoken language in the U.S., after English.
Recent data and trends
- A 2023 demographic snapshot shows about 43.4 million people speaking Spanish at home, or 13.7% of the U.S. population.
- Another 2026 language-use summary puts Spanish-at-home speakers at about 13% of the population, aligning closely with that figure.
- Looking at state-level data for 2023, the combined percentage of Spanish speakers across all states comes to about 12.13% of residents, illustrating how concentrated Spanish speakers are in certain regions.
Where Spanish is most spoken
Here is a brief look at how much of each state’s population speaks Spanish (at home) versus the national average, using recent compiled statistics.
| Area | % of population that speaks Spanish (approx.) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| United States (overall) | About 12–14% | [9][1][3]≈43–45 million speakers at home; more if you include all bilinguals. | [3][9]
| California | ≈26% | [1]Over 10 million Spanish speakers. | [1]
| Texas | ≈24% | [1]Nearly 7.8 million Spanish speakers. | [1]
| New Mexico | ≈23% | [1]Longstanding Hispanic and bilingual traditions. | [1]
| Florida | ≈19% | [1]Large Cuban, Puerto Rican, and other Latin American communities. | [1]
| Nevada | ≈17% | [1]Spanish use growing quickly. | [1]
Why this is a trending topic
- The U.S. is now the second-largest Spanish‑speaking country in the world, after Mexico, when counting total speakers.
- Some projections suggest that by around 2050, roughly one in three people in the U.S. could speak Spanish (including bilinguals), which fuels ongoing discussion about bilingual education, media, and marketing.
- Spanish also ranks among the fastest‑growing languages in the U.S., driven by immigration and growing bilingual communities.
Bottom note
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.