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Population Review

Census ACS 5-Year · 52 states

States With Most Spanish Speakers at Home

Source·US Census ACS 5-Year 2023Updated·Reviewed by·PopulationReview Editorial Team
By PopulationReview Editorial Team
Raw data·Download states.csv· no email required ·all datasets

Spanish is the most-spoken non-English language in the US, with over 41 million speakers nationally. New Mexico, Texas, California, and Arizona lead the nation in Spanish-speaking population share, reflecting deep historical roots that long predate modern US-Mexico borders. Florida ranks high too, anchored by large Cuban, Puerto Rican, Venezuelan, and other Latin American communities. Spanish-speaking populations shape education, healthcare, retail, and political life: states with high shares typically invest heavily in bilingual education, multilingual government services, and Spanish-language media.

Key Findings

  • 1California leads with a Spanish-speaking share of 10.92%, followed by Texas (10.65%) and Florida (9.43%).
  • 2The national median across all states is 2.50% (Arkansas at the midpoint).
  • 3The top 10 states are: California, Texas, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Arizona, Rhode Island, Illinois.

Full Ranking: States With Most Spanish Speakers at Home

Source: Census ACS 5-Year Estimates

#StateSpanish %Spanish SpeakersPopulation
1Wyoming155.4%8,515579,761
2Wisconsin182.0%101,4105,892,023
3West Virginia29.5%4,9961,784,462
4Washington350.9%256,2507,740,984
5Virginia323.5%264,0468,657,499
6Vermont18.3%1,127645,254
7Utah361.9%111,9433,331,187
8Texas1065.5%2,952,65629,640,343
9Tennessee242.4%159,3996,986,082
10South Dakota99.3%8,356899,194
11South Carolina219.3%108,0185,212,774
12Rhode Island549.7%57,2571,095,371
13Puerto Rico--3,254,885
14Pennsylvania223.2%274,60312,986,518
15Oregon328.9%132,4414,238,714
16Oklahoma298.0%111,6613,995,260
17Ohio97.2%107,97411,780,046
18North Dakota59.3%4,316779,361
19North Carolina346.9%346,39310,584,340
20New York641.0%1,203,08819,872,319
21New Mexico688.0%137,7172,114,768
22New Jersey767.9%671,1899,267,014
23New Hampshire94.7%12,5431,387,834
24Nevada770.3%228,3073,141,000
25Nebraska350.5%64,4481,965,926
26Montana33.8%3,5351,105,072
27Missouri100.2%58,1906,168,181
28Mississippi116.1%32,2112,951,438
29Minnesota156.8%84,2685,713,716
30Michigan102.6%97,47010,051,595
31Massachusetts410.4%272,5826,992,395
32Maryland429.8%249,7936,170,738
33Maine22.1%2,8991,377,400
34Louisiana212.2%91,9434,621,025
35Kentucky143.2%60,7534,510,725
36Kansas319.4%88,0892,937,569
37Iowa184.5%55,4813,195,937
38Indiana204.6%130,9456,811,752
39Illinois539.2%646,14212,692,653
40Idaho278.3%49,5411,893,296
41Hawaii44.6%6,0781,445,635
42Georgia359.7%366,27610,822,590
43Florida943.0%1,962,87821,928,881
44District of Columbia322.3%20,344672,079
45Delaware344.9%32,8101,005,872
46Connecticut504.8%172,4873,598,348
47Colorado386.5%212,4015,810,774
48California1091.9%4,043,20739,242,785
49Arkansas249.9%71,2393,032,651
50Arizona607.9%417,5677,268,175
51Alaska82.5%5,659733,971
52Alabama167.0%79,4925,054,253

Methodology

Rankings are based on American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates from the US Census Bureau. All 50 states and the District of Columbia are included. The ACS surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually and provides detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data. 5-Year estimates offer the most reliable data for state-level comparisons by averaging responses over a 60-month period. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

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Related Rankings & Top Entities

#1 California

Ranked #1 by Spanish-speaking share

#2 Texas

Ranked #2 by Spanish-speaking share

#3 Florida

Ranked #3 by Spanish-speaking share

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Frequently Asked Questions

California has the highest Spanish-speaking share at 10.92%, according to latest Census ACS data. Texas and Florida round out the top three.

Puerto Rico has the lowest Spanish-speaking share at -. Vermont is second-lowest at 0.18%.

The median across all 52 states is 2.50%. Note that the national median and the state-level median are calculated differently, the state median represents the midpoint when all states are ranked.

This data comes from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates published by the US Census Bureau. The ACS surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually and provides the most comprehensive demographic data available between decennial censuses.

Rankings are based on the latest available Census ACS 5-Year estimates. The Census Bureau releases new ACS data annually. Our data was last updated on April 12, 2026.

Sources: US Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates

Rankings are based on American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year estimates from the US Census Bureau. All 50 states and the District of Columbia are included. The ACS surveys approximately 3.5 million households annually and provides detailed demographic, social, economic, and housing data. 5-Year estimates offer the most reliable data for state-level comparisons by averaging responses over a 60-month period. Percentages may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS, 2026.