Wednesday, September 22, 2021

SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL HISPANIC HERITAGE MONTH 


History of the Month

Hispanic Heritage Month recognizes and celebrates U.S. Latinos, their culture, history, and contributions. The observance was started in 1968 by Congress as Hispanic Heritage Week. It was expanded to a month in 1988. The celebration begins in the middle rather than the start of September because it coincides with national independence days in several Latin American countries: Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica celebrate theirs on September 15, followed by
Mexico on September 16, Chile on September 18, and Belize on September 21. Here are some key facts about Maryland’s Latino population:


Fats & Figures

Some facts about the Hispanic population in Maryland:
  • Families: 78% of households are family households.
  • Languages: 78% speaks English well, 6% doesn’t speak English, and 0.7% speaks a language other than English or Spanish.
  • Education: 40% of Hispanics have some college experience in 2019. Up from 38% in 2010.
  • Jobs: Hispanic workforce: 208,308 jobs or 8.2% of Maryland’s workforce (Source: U.S Census Bureau, Center for Economic Studies, Longitudinal Employer-Household Dynamics, 2019).
  • Income and Poverty: $74,631 median household income in 2019, up from $60,878 in 2010. 11.7% poverty rate in 2019, down from 13.7% in 2010.

Talented Minds

The next time you slide your pencil or pen onto your shirt pocket or stack of papers, give a nod to Mexican inventor and revolutionary, Victor Ochoa. The mind behind the pencil clip also invented the
electric braking system, making your train commute to work just a bit safer. (Smithsonian Education)


Did You Know?
  • The Hispanic population of Maryland constituted 643,171 - 10.6% of the state’s total population - as of July 1, 2019. Source: Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2019 1-year estimates.
  • Nine counties in Maryland have a population of 10,000 or more Hispanic residents in 2019: Anne Arundel (48,798), Baltimore County (48,074), Charles (10,211), Frederick (27,367), Harford (12,215), Howard (23,882), Montgomery (210,773), Prince George’s (177,727), and Baltimore City (33,652).
  • There was an increase of 4,432 from 2018 to 2019 in the number of Hispanics in Prince George’s County, the biggest jump in this population during this period. The median age of the  Hispanic population, up from 28 in 2010.
  • The median age of the Hispanic population in Maryland was 29 in 2019, up from 28 in 2010.


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Source: Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing, & Regulation, September 2021.

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