A record 33.7 million Hispanics of Mexican origin resided in the United States in 2012, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data by the Pew Research Center. This estimate includes 11.4 million immigrants born in Mexico and 22.3 million born in the U.S. who self-identify as Hispanics of Mexican origin.
Mexicans are by far the largest Hispanic-origin population in the U.S., accounting for nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of the U.S. Hispanic population in 2012. Hispanics of Mexican origin are also a significant portion of the U.S. population, accounting for 11 percent overall.
The size of the Mexican-origin population in the U.S. has risen dramatically over the past four decades as a result of one of the largest mass migrations in modern history. In 1970, fewer than one million Mexican immigrants lived in the U.S. By 2007 it reached a peak of 12.5 million. Since then, it has declined as the arrival of new Mexican immigrants has slowed significantly. Today, 35 percent of Hispanics of Mexican origin were born in Mexico. And while the remaining two-thirds (65 percent) were born in the U.S., 52 percent of them have at least one immigrant parent.