A new Pew Research Center survey finds that 61% of Hispanic adults in the United States say being Hispanic is an extremely or very important part of how they think about themselves, yet the community is sharply divided on whether that identity is a source of opportunity or an obstacle: 33% say it hurts their ability to get ahead, 26% say it helps, and 40% say it makes no difference. The findings, published July 9, add fresh detail to how one of the country’s largest demographic groups understands itself.
A large and diverse community
Hispanics are the second-largest racial or ethnic group in the United States, accounting for about one in five people in the country.
This Pew Research Center analysis explores the ways U.S. Latinos express and view their national, ethnic and racial identities, building on a quarter century of research about Hispanic identity.
The analysis is based on the Center’s latest National Survey of Latinos, conducted from Oct. 6 to 16, 2025, among a sample of 8,046 U.S. adults, with 4,923 Hispanics surveyed.
SSRS conducted the survey for Pew Research Center via online and live telephone interviewing, with interviews conducted in both English and Spanish.
Identity is personal but outcomes are contested
In the survey, 61% of Hispanic adults say being Hispanic is an extremely or very important part of how they think about themselves. At the same time, 33% say being Hispanic hurts their ability to get ahead, while 26% say it helps and 40% say it makes no difference.
The survey also explored discrimination. About a third (34%) say they personally experienced discrimination or were treated unfairly in the 12 months before the survey because of their Hispanic background by someone who is not Hispanic. Incidents include being criticized for speaking Spanish in public (29%), being told to go back to their home country (26%) and being called offensive names for being Hispanic (25%).
A majority (54%) say they have not experienced any of the four discrimination incidents related to being Hispanic asked about in the survey. And about a third (34%) say that someone expressed support for them because they are Hispanic.
Questions of identity and collective responsibility run through the findings in striking ways.
A majority (57%) of Latino Trump voters say that what happens to Latinos in the U.S. affects what happens in their own lives not too much or not at all. By contrast, 75% of Latino Harris voters say that what happens to Latinos in the U.S. affects what happens in their own lives a great deal or a fair amount. Latino Trump voters also are less likely than Harris voters to say their Latino identity is central to their lives.
Generation and political leaning drive the divide
Hispanics’ views about their identity differ sharply across two factors: political leaning and immigrant generation. Hispanic Democrats and Republicans often express different views about the importance and impact of their Hispanic identity, and the gaps between Hispanics who voted for Kamala Harris in 2024 and those who voted for Donald Trump are often even more pronounced.
Differences also emerge between immigrants and U.S.-born Hispanics, including those in the second generation and third or higher generations.
Hispanic immigrants are more likely than U.S.-born Hispanics to say their Hispanic identity is extremely or very important to how they see themselves (71% vs. 54%). Among U.S.-born Hispanics, 57% of those in the second generation and 47% of those in the third or higher generation say the same. Despite these differences, half or more in each group say their Latino identity is important to how they see themselves.
A majority of Hispanic Trump voters (57%) say that being Hispanic neither helps nor hurts their ability to get ahead in the U.S.
Among Hispanic Harris voters, 39% say being Hispanic hurts their ability to get ahead either a lot or a little, 23% say it helps, and 38% say it doesn’t make a difference.
What the community calls itself
The survey finds that a majority of Hispanic adults prefer the term “Hispanic” (54%) over “Latino” (30%), while very few prefer “Latinx” (1%) or “Latine” (1%), and 14% indicate no preference for any of these pan-ethnic terms. Most groups, regardless of age, education, party affiliation and immigration background, prefer the pan-ethnic term Hispanic to Latino.
Today, Hispanics in the U.S. use a variety of labels to describe their identity, from pan-ethnic ones such as Hispanic and Latino to ancestry-based ones like Cuban American or Mexican; some use “American” on its own. Importantly, many Hispanics have used each of these terms at least once in their lives to describe themselves, highlighting the layers of U.S. Hispanic identity.
That layered sense of self, shaped by family history, generation and personal experience, may continue to shift. The survey took place before subsequent changes in immigration enforcement and shifts in the national economic situation, which may shape how U.S. Hispanics experience identity and opportunity today.
For researchers who study how belonging shapes daily life, including how social roles become automatic over time, the generational gap in identity salience offers a telling window into how group membership is internalized differently across life stages.
