One of the main characteristics of Latino families living in the United States and Michigan is their composition and size. This paper analyzes the household composition and family characteristics of Latinos, and compares them to the total population. In addition, the authors analyze the three largest Latino groups in the country: Mexicans, Cubans, and Puerto Ricans. According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Latino family households’ were larger than any other ethnic or racial group. The average Latino household had 3.62 people compared to 2.59 for non-Latinos. In Michigan, the average size was 3.29 and 2.56 for Latino and non-Latino households, respectively. Family size of Latino households in the United States is larger than that of all other family households. About 35% of all Latino families had a family size of five or more people in their household, compared with 16% for non-Latino families. In the United States, married-couple families comprised 55.1 percent of Latino households, compared to 52.3 percent of all non-Latino households. About 17 percent of Latino households were headed by women (no husband present) compared to 11 percent for non-Latinos.

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