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Table G. Income in 1975 of Persons of Spanish Origin 14 Years Old and Over with Income by Type of Spanish Origin and Sex, for the United States: March 1976

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average of about 4 persons per family. Moreover, about 10 percent of all Spanish families in the United States had 7 or more members per family in March 1976.

Differences in average family size were also evident by type of Spanish origin; for instance, although Mexican families had, on the average, 4.19 persons in the family, Puerto Rican families had an average of 3.76 persons per family in March 1976 (tables I and 17).

Spanish families may be getting smaller, however, because a small but significant decline in the average number of persons living in families of Spanish origin occurred between 1970 and 1976: in 1970, the average was 4.26 persons per family2, but in March 1976, the average was 3.96 persons per family.

Family Income. Families of Spanish origin were not as prosperous as other families in the Nation; median family income in 1975 for Spanish origin families was $9,551, while median income of all families in the United States was $13,719 in that year.

2U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population: 1970, Subject Reports, PC(2)-1C, "Persons of Spanish Origin", August 1973, table 9, pp. 107.

Moreover, a substantial proportion of Spanish families were in the lower income brackets; about 16 percent of all Spanish origin families had incomes below $4,000 in 1975, but for all families in the Nation, the proportion with income below $4,000 was about one-half of that (8 percent).

In 1975, families of Puerto Rican origin had lower family income than did any of the other Spanish origin families. For instance, median income of Mexican origin families was $9,500; Cuban families had a median income of $11,800; and median income of Central or South American origin families was $10,000-these incomes were all substantially higher than that of Puerto Rican origin families at $7,300.

Family size and number of earners in the family directly affect family income. Two-person families of Spanish origin, for example, had a relatively low median income of $7,400; these families are usually either new families composed of young couples, or families of elderly couples. Five-person Spanish families, however, had a median family income of $10,600 in 1975; these families are primarily families with young working adults and with the husband and his wife in the paid labor force.

Families of Spanish origin residing in metropolitan areas were more prosperous than Spanish families living outside of metropolitan areas. Median income of Spanish families in metropolitan areas

Table H. Residence of Spanish Origin Families by Type of Spanish Origin, for the United States:

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families in which the head had less than 8 years of school completed was $7,100; in contrast, the median income of Spanish families where the head had completed 8 years of school was substantially higher, at $9,600. In general, as the educational level increased, so did the family income; if the head had completed high school, the median family income was $12,500, but if he or she had completed 4 years of college or more, the median family income was $20,000. Furthermore, only 12 percent of Spanish families where the head had completed less than 8 years of school had incomes of $15,000 and over, but about 72 percent of all Spanish families where he or she had completed 4 years of college or more had incomes of this amount.

For Spanish families with many children, there was, in specific instances, an inverse relationship between family income and number of children in the family. For instance, the median income of Spanish families with many children (those with 6 children or more) was extremely low, at $7,300, compared to the median family income of Spanish families with 4 or fewer children (tables J, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, and 29).

Poverty Status. Of the 2.5 million families of Spanish origin in the United States, about 630,000, or one of every four, were below the poverty level. Whether or not a Spanish origin family was below the poverty level was partially dependent on specific family characteristics. For example, 32 percent of Spanish families in which the head was not a high school graduate were below the poverty level, compared to 10 percent of Spanish families in which he or she was a high school graduate. Although 29

Table I. Spanish Origin Families by Type of Spanish Origin and Size of Family,
for the United States: March 1976

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Table J. Income in 1975 of Spanish Origin Families by Type of Spanish Origin,
for the United States: March 1976

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Table K. Summary Characteristics of Spanish and Mexican Origin Families by Poverty Status,

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1

Mean based on persons of Spanish or other origin in Spanish origin families. 2Head 25 years and over.

percent of Spanish families with related children under 18 years old were below the poverty level, only 13 percent of Spanish origin families with no related children were below the poverty level in 1975. Moreover, the stage of the Spanish origin family in the family life cycle had a bearing on the position of the family relative to the poverty level; although one of every five middle age Spanish families (head 45 to 64 years old) were in poverty status, about one of every three elderly Spanish families (head 65 years old and over) were below the poverty level.

Families supported by a woman of Spanish origin were more likely than other Spanish families to be below the poverty level; about one of every two of the former were in poverty in 1975 (tables K, 30, and 31).

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0.05 percent. The symbol "B" means that the base for the derived figure is less than 75,000. An "X" means not applicable, and "NA" and "NA" means not available.

Rounding. The numbers in this report are in thousands. The figures may differ slightly from table to table since individual numbers were rounded to the nearest thousand without being adjusted to group totals. Similarly, individual percentages were rounded and parts may not always add to 100 percent.

Persons of Spanish origin. Persons of Spanish origin in this report were identified by a question that asked for self-identification of the person's origin or descent. Respondents were asked to select their origin (and the origin of other household members) from a "flash card" listing ethnic origins. Persons of Spanish origin, in particular, were those who indicated that their origin was Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or some other Spanish origin.

Five Southwestern States. Data provided in this report for the five Southwestern States refer to the States of Arizona, California, Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas.

Age. This classification is based on the age of the person at his or her last birthday.

Marital status. The marital status classification identifies four major categories: single, married, widowed, and divorced. These terms refer to the marital status at the time of the enumeration.

The category "married" is divided into "married, spouse present," and "married, spouse absent." A person was classified as "married, spouse present" if the husband or wife was reported as a member of the household, even though he or she may have been temporarily absent on business or vacation, visiting, in a hospital, etc., at the time of the enumeration. The group "married, spouse absent" includes married persons living apart because either the husband or wife was employed and living at a considerable distance from home, was serving away from home in the Armed Forces, was residing in an institution, had moved to another area, had separated from their spouse because of marital discord, or had a different place of residence for any other

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contains at least one city of 50,000 inhabitants or more, or "twin cities" with a combined population of at least 50,000. In addition to the county, or counties, containing such a city or cities, contiguous counties are included in an SMSA if, according to certain criteria, they are essentially metropolitan in character and are socially and economically integrated with the central city. In New England, SMSA's consist of towns and cities rather than counties. The metropolitan population in this report is based on SMSA's as defined in the 1970 census and does not include any subsequent additions or changes.

Family. The term "family" as used in this report, refers to a group of two or more persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption and residing together; all such persons are considered as members of the same family. Thus, if the son of the head of the household and the son's wife are in the household, they are treated as part of the head's family. On the other hand, an unrelated lodger and his wife or an unrelated caretaker and his wife who are members of the household are considered as additional families, and not a part of the household head's family. The term "size of family" refers to the number of household members who are living together and are related to each other by blood, marriage, or adoption.

Spanish origin family. A Spanish origin family is defined as a family in which the head of the family is of Spanish origin.

Primary family. A primary family is a family that includes among its members the head of a household.

Household. A household consists of all the persons who occupy a housing unit. A house, an apartment or other groups of rooms, or single room, is regarded as a housing unit when it is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters; that is, when the occupants do not live and eat with any other persons in the structure and there is either (1) direct access from the outside or through a common hall or (2) a kitchen or cooking equipment for the exclusive use of the occupants.

A household includes the related family members and all the unrelated persons, if any, such as lodgers, foster children, wards or employees who share the housing unit. A person living alone in a housing unit, or a group of unrelated persons sharing a housing unit as partners, is also counted as a household. The count of households excludes rooming houses, college dormitories, military barracks, institutions, and other group quarters. Inmates of institutions (mental hospitals, rest homes, correctional institutions, etc.) were not included in the 1976 survey.

Head of household or family. One person in each household (and in each family) is designated as the "head." The number of such persons, therefore, is equal to the number of households (or families). This person is usually the one regarded as the head by the members of the group. Married women are not so classified if their husbands are living with them at the time of the survey.

Primary individual. A primary individual is a household member living alone or with nonrelatives only.

Secondary individual. A secondary individual in a household is a person such as a guest, lodger, or resident employee (excluding primary individuals) who is not related to any other person in the household. All persons in group quarters who were covered in the survey are counted as secondary individuals even though a small number of them were living with relatives.

Unrelated individual. The term "unrelated individuals," as used in this report, refers to persons (other than inmates of institutions) who are not living with any relatives. An unrelated individual may constitute a one-person household, may be part of a household including one or more other families or unrelated individuals, or may reside in group quarters such as a rooming house. Thus, a widow living by herself or with one or more other persons not related to her, a lodger not related to anyone else in the household, and a private household worker living in an employer's household with no relatives are examples of unrelated individuals.

Own children and related children. "Own" children in a family are sons and daughters, including stepchildren and adopted children, of the family head. "Related" children in a family include own children and all other children in the household who are related to the family head by blood, marriage, or adoption. For each type of family unit identified in the CPS, the count of own children under 18 years old is limited to single (never married) children; however, "own children under 25" and "own children of any age," as the terms are used here, include all children regardless of marital status.

Years of school completed. Data on years of school completed in this report were derived from the combination of answers to two questions: (a) "What is the highest grade of school...has ever attended?" and (b) "Did...finish this grade?"

The questions on educational attainment apply only to progress in "regular" schools. Such schools include public, private, and parochial elementary and high schools (both junior and senior high),

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