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Hispanics among fastest-growing populations in the West

Census: Hispanic population in 13 western states increased 34 percent in last decade

By: Larry Swanson, director
O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West
University of Montana
for Mountain West News
June 27, 2013

The U. S. Census Bureau defines the Hispanic or Latino population of the U.S. as composed of persons of "Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race." The Census Bureau first began formally compiling data on persons of Hispanic origin in 1970 and has included such data in every 10-year census since then.

The 2010 Census found that "The Hispanic population increased by 15.2 million between 2000 and 2010, accounting for over half of the 27.3 million increase in the total population of the United States. Between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population grew by 43 percent, which was four times the growth of the total population at 10 percent."

Hispanics of Mexican origin had the largest numeric gain at 11.2 million or 54 percent. Mexicans also accounted for three-fourths of the total increase in the U.S. Hispanic population over the period. In 2010 Hispanics represented 16.3 percent of the total U.S. population as compared to 12.5 percent in 2000.

The "West census region" of the U.S. includes 13 states: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. In this defined region, Hispanics accounted for 29 percent of the total population. This compares with 16 percent in the South, 13 percent in the Northeast, and 7 percent in the Midwest. And in the West, "the Hispanic population grew by 34 percent, more than twice the growth of the total population (14 percent)."
Among states, just three account for over half of the U.S. Hispanic population: California, Texas, and Florida. And eight states account for 75 percent (adding to the previous three the states of New York, Illinois, Arizona, New Jersey, and Colorado).

In the Rocky Mountain West, Hispanic shares of the total population are: Colorado, 21 percent, up from 17 percent in 2000; Utah, 13 percent, up from 9 percent; Idaho, 11 percent, up from 8 percent; Wyoming, 9 percent, up from 6 percent; and Montana, 3 percent, up from 2 percent.

The map shows the relative size of the Hispanic population in the U.S. at the county-level, using data from the 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 Censuses. In 1980, the Hispanic population was concentrated in the Southwest (Texas and New Mexico and also in Colorado, Arizona, and California). Hispanic growth in these areas continued and intensified in subsequent decades. But rising Hispanic populations extended and spread this growth into other western states from Washington, Oregon, and Idaho and into Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming.

This steady rise in the U.S. Hispanic population has many implications. Because of aging in the U.S. population as a whole, the growth in the labor force will slow as many more people (aging “boomers”) reach ages of retirement. In 2010, those under 21 years of age accounted for 28.6 percent of the total population, but over 40 percent of Hispanics. The more rapid growth in a younger Hispanic population will serve to offset some of this slowing in labor force growth nationwide in the years ahead.

When you look at health care statistics for the U.S., you also find that while 16.3 percent of the total U.S. population had no health insurance in 2010 (totaling nearly 50 million people), among U.S. Hispanics nearly 31 percent had no health insurance. However, according to a study done by Harvard Medical School published in the June, 2012 issue of Health Affairs, because Hispanics have fewer elderly (5.7 percent of Hispanics are 65 and older vs. 12.8 percent of all the U.S. population), they generated an estimated $13.8 billion surplus for the U.S. Medicare program in 2009, paying more into the program than the amount they received in benefits.
The U.S. Census Bureau's Annual Social and Economic Supplement released in November of 2012, found that the U.S. poverty rate for all of the population in 2010 was 15.1 percent, but for Hispanics only it was 26.6 percent. For Hispanics under 18 years of age, 35 percent were living in poverty in 2010.

Finally, if you look at educational attainment, 5.1 percent of the U.S. population has less than a 9th grade education, as compared to 20.7 percent for Hispanics. Among the total population 12.4 percent are not high school graduates. This compares with 35.7 percent for Hispanics. Over 30 percent of the total population has a Bachelor’s degree or more as compared to 14.1 percent among Hispanics.

Hispanics also are playing an increasing role in U.S. elections. According to the "Latino Voters in the 2012 Election," released by the Pew Research Hispanic Center, Hispanics, who made up 10 percent of the electorate, voted for Barrack Obama 71 percent to 27 percent for Mitt Romney.

Bill Clinton got 72 percent of the Hispanic vote in his 1996 election win. While Hispanics made up only 10 percent of the total nationwide electorate in 2012, in certain states where Hispanic populations are concentrated, they are becoming pivotal in terms of which direction particular states may swing. For Republicans who tend to be on the short end when this swing does occur, this helps partly explain the party’s longstanding opposition to immigration reform in the U.S.

Immigration reform by the U.S. Congress remains one of the nation’s central issues. Democratic representatives as a whole are pushing hard for liberalization measures. Republican resistance is increasingly measured, because the party can ill-afford to further alienate Hispanic voters in upcoming elections, particularly in crucial battleground states like Florida and, increasingly, many western states like Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Nevada.

Larry Swanson is a Ph.D. economist and Director and Senior Fellow in Regional Economy at the O’Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West. The O’Connor Center is a regional studies and public education program at The University of Montana.