Hispanics in the 2008 Election: Rhode Island

Rhode Island’s Hispanic population is the 35th largest in the nation. About 120,000 Hispanics reside in Rhode Island, less than 1% of all Hispanics in the United States. There are 43,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Rhode Island, less than 1% of all U.S. Hispanic eligible voters.¹ This fact sheet provides key demographic information on Latino eligible voters.² It also contains data on other major groups of eligible voters in Rhode Island, with comparative data for the U.S. All data are from the Census Bureau’s 2006 American Community Survey.³

Hispanics in Rhode Island’s Eligible Voter Population

• Rhode Island’s population is 11% Hispanic, ranking as the 12th highest Hispanic population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first with 45%.
• Nearly 6% of eligible voters in Rhode Island are Latinos, the 13th largest Hispanic eligible voter population share nationally. New Mexico ranks first at 38%.
• Almost 36% of Latinos in Rhode Island are eligible to vote, ranking 32nd nationwide in the share of the Hispanic population that is eligible to vote.

  

Characteristics of Eligible Voters

• 

  Rhode Island’s Hispanic eligible voters are younger than all eligible voters in Rhode Island—37% of Hispanic eligible voters in Rhode Island are ages 18 to 29 versus 22% of all Rhode Island eligible voters.

• Latino eligible voters in Rhode Island are much more likely to be naturalized citizens than are all Rhode Island eligible voters—34% versus 8%. They are also more likely to be naturalized than are all Latino eligible voters nationwide (26%).
• The proportion of Hispanic eligible voters in Rhode Island who have attended college or earned at least a bachelor’s degree is less than the proportion of all Rhode Island eligible voters who have this level of education—30% of Hispanics versus 55% of all eligible voters in Rhode Island. They also have a lower level of education than all Hispanic eligible voters nationwide, only 41% of whom have attended college or earned a bachelor’s degree or more.
• Latino eligible voters in Rhode Island are less likely to live in an owneroccupied home than all eligible voters in Rhode Island—36% versus 67%.

Characteristics of Eligible Voters in Rhode Island, by Race and Ethnicity

• 

  White eligible voters outnumber Latino eligible voters in Rhode Island by a margin of nearly 16 to 1–668,000 whites compared with 43,000 Latino eligible voters.

• Hispanic eligible voters are younger than white eligible voters in Rhode Island–37% of Hispanic eligible voters are ages 18 to 29 compared with 20% of white eligible voters.
• Latino eligible voters in Rhode Island are more likely to be naturalized citizens (34%) than are white eligible voters (4%).
• Hispanic eligible voters are less likely than white eligible voters in Rhode Island to live in owner-occupied homes–36% versus 70%