California will cross a historic threshold this year, when the Latino population will begin to outnumber the Anglo population.
Although California has the largest Latino population in the country, with more than 14 million according to the Pew Hispanic Center, it isn’t the most Latino state in the union. That honor belongs to New Mexico, where nearly half of the population identifies as Hispanic, compared to roughly 39 percent in California.
Analysts expect Latinos to become the majority population in the southwestern state by 2020. This would reverse the pattern established when the first Anglo settlers made their way to New Mexico in the late 19th century.
History may be, in a sense, repeating itself. The seven states with the highest Latino populations were all once Spanish colonies. With the exception of Florida, they all also once belonged to Mexico, in whole or in part.
The list doesn't include the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico, with a population of 3.7 million people, nearly all of whom consider themselves Hispanic.
Check out the 11 most Latino U.S. states in the slideshow above.