Latino Population Moves Further From The Border
A new analysis of population trends confirms the obvious, the Latino population is growing everywhere. The Pew Research Hispanic Trends Project’s study shows parts of the Southwest have seen big changes.
Latinos tend to be concentrated in just three U.S. states: California, Texas and Florida. But as people move seeking better job opportunities, the population share of Latinos has shifted.
"Clark County, Nevada which is home to Las Vegas, that has been one of the faster growing counties in the country, a lot of the growth there in the last decade was in part due to growth in housing construction," said Mark Hugo Lopez, Director of Hispanic Research at the Pew Research Center.
The population of Latinos in Clark County Nevada has grown by 93 percent since 2000. Lopez said the housing crash caused many Latinos to lose jobs in Las Vegas, but he said not many have left.
Other places away from the border have also seen Latino population growth. Several rural counties in Texas have had their population share of Latinos increase by more than 100 percent.
New Mexico has the highest share of Latinos at 47 percent of the state’s population.
