According to a Sept. 23, 2008 press release from the Census Bureau, in 2007 12.3 percent nationally and one in five residents of Arizona, California, New Mexico and Texas spoke Spanish at home. About 12.6 percent of the population of the United States or 38.1 million people were foreign-born residents with the largest number (12 million people) coming from Mexico.
The survey also showed that among the 20 largest metropolitan areas San Francisco had the highest median home value ($706,000) while Houston had the lowest ($135,800). Geographically, a higher percentage of people born in the Midwest stayed in their current state of residence (70.3 percent) than in any other region, while only 48.5 percent remained in the West.
