Who are part-Latinos? A demographic portrait of people of partial Latino ancestry

“Part-Latinos” or the offspring of Latino/non-Latino unions account for half of all mixed births in the United States. Yet very little is known about their demographic makeup due to conceptual and methodological challenges to identifying people of partial Latino ancestry in large surveys. In this study, I adopt an “ancestry approach” to capture part-Latinos in the American Community Survey and examine the demographic profiles of six part-Latino groups. Moreover, I assess the placement of Latino/White people, Latino/Black people, and Latino/Asians on the US color line by drawing on color line theories and comparing their demographic and socioeconomic profiles with Latinos and their non-Latino counterparts. Findings reveal significant variations in demographic makeup across part-Latino groups, underlying their diverse experiences and social conditions. Results also show that Latino/White people and Latino/Black people resemble their non-Latino groups, while Latino/Asians occupy a status between Latinos and Asians. Implications of findings are discussed.