Here are the 22 US cities and towns with more Spanish than English speakers
- September 15 marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month in the US.
- The US is home to 41 million Spanish speakers, and Hispanic visibility has grown in politics and media.
- Here are the cities where more people speak Spanish than English-only.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
September is Hispanic Heritage Month.
Hispanic-Americans are described as people who descend from Spanish-speaking countries. According to the Pew Research Center, 41 million people speak Spanish in the US, and the majority of Latino adults are bilingual. In some areas of the US, especially in cities around the Southwest, you're more likely to hear Spanish than English.
Hispanic influence in politics has grown, as Hispanic Americans are projected to make up a little over 13% of the electorate for 2020, and 69% of Latinos voted democratic during the 2018 midterms.
The US Census Bureau's American Community Survey asks over a million Americans each year dozens of questions about their social, demographic, and economic situations. One of the questions asks respondents to indicate what primary languages they speak.
Based on results from the 2013-2017 American Community Survey, the 22 metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas highlighted in the map above have more residents who speak Spanish than who just speak English and nothing else.
Here are the areas where there are more Spanish speakers than people who only speak English.
Salinas, California: 47.5% of this county speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 45.9%
Total population (over age 5): 400,322
Las Cruces, New Mexico: 49.6% of this city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 48.3%
Total population (over age 5): 199,100
Deming, New Mexico: 50% of the population speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 48.6%
Total population (over age 5): 22,523
Española, New Mexico: 50.6% of the population speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 38.8%
Total population (over age 5): 36,772
Othello, Washington: 51.3% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 45.1%
Total population (over age 5): 17,276
Uvalde, Texas: 51.5% of this city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 47.7%
Total population (over age 5): 24,887
Hereford, Texas: 51.9% of this city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 47.4%
Total population (over age 5): 17,232
Yuma, Arizona: 51.9% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 46.2%
Total population (over age 5): 18,9176
Liberal, Kansas: 53.6% of the area speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 41.%
Total population (over age 5): 20,871
Las Vegas, New Mexico: 54.7% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 42.6%
Total population (over age 5): 26,812
Raymondville, Texas: 58.7% of the area speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 40.4%
Total population (over age 5): 20,442
Pecos, Texas: 61.2% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 37.3%
Total population (over age 5): 13,869
Del Rio, Texas: 67.2% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 31.6%
Total population (over age 5): 44,777
El Paso, Texas: 69.7% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 28.2%
Total population (over age 5): 772,589
Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas: 72.5% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 26.6%
Total population (over age 5): 38,4007
El Centro, California: 74.6% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 23.9%
Total population (over age 5): 164,834
Nogales, Arizona: 77.6% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 21.4%
Total population (over age 5): 43,062
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas: 83.2% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 15.7%
Total population (over age 5): 759,143
Zapata, Texas: 89.7% of the area speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 9.6%
Total population (over age 5): 12,969
Laredo, Texas: 90% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 9.4%
Total population (over age 5): 242,931
Eagle Pass, Texas: 92.2% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 6.9%
Total population (over age 5): 52,025
Rio Grande City, Texas: 96.3% of the city speaks Spanish.
Share of the population that speaks only English: 3.6%
Total population (over age 5): 56,972
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7o8HSoqWeq6Oeu7S1w56pZ5ufony2v4ycoK2hlah6orrDZquor56oeri106Fkpqeimnq0vMCnoKygXam1orqMnqWgpJmotW6%2Fz56YpJ2iqHpzfJByZG8%3D