The 2010 U.S. Census counted 3.7 million Hispanics living in Puerto Rico, a territory of the United States. This was down from 3.8 million in 2000.
By contrast, in the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia (D.C.), the population of Puerto Rican-origin Hispanics increased from 3.4 million in 2000 to 4.6 million in 2010, surpassing Puerto Rico's Hispanic population. Nearly one-third of Puerto Rican-origin Hispanics in the 50 states and D.C. were born in Puerto Rico, according to Pew Hispanic Center tabulations from the 2009 American Community Survey.
Puerto Ricans born in Puerto Rico are U.S. citizens by birth. But because Puerto Rico, like Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is not part of the 50 states or D.C., those who reside in Puerto Rico are not allowed to vote for President or to elect a voting member of the U.S. Congress. Those who move from Puerto Rico to live in the 50 states and the District of Columbia can vote in federal elections.
Read the full report, A Demographic Portrait of Hispanics in Puerto Rico, on the Pew Hispanic Center's Web site.