2011.05.11
A closer look at Virginia’s Hispanic population
The University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center has done some crunching on the census data and come out with a report on Virginia’s Hispanic population.
Here’s a summary:
Hispanics are the fastest-growing and second-largest minority group in Virginia, according to a new report released today by demographers at the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service.
The report, “Hispanics in Virginia,” presents analysis of the latest 2010 Census and 2009 American Community Survey data and includes these findings:
o The Hispanic population in Virginia almost doubled in the past 10 years.
o More than half of Virginia’s Hispanics were born in the United States; most are under age 18.
o Hispanics have a high labor force participation rate.
“One in every three new Virginia residents in the last 10 years was Hispanic, ”
Qian Cai, director of the Cooper Center’s Demographics & Workforce Group, said.
The report explores demographic characteristics; citizenship and immigration; family and personal life; education and language; employment and economic well-being; and geographic location. While Hispanics are found in all localities in Virginia, they, like the population overall, are concentrated in Virginia’s major metropolitan areas. The report also found that Hispanic households are more likely than non-Hispanic households to contain young children and two or more families.
The study includes comparisons between foreign-born and U.S.-born Hispanics. “On almost all dimensions, place of birth is an essential factor in understanding the characteristics of Virginia’s Hispanics,” said demographer Susan Clapp, author of the report. “Native-born Hispanics more closely resemble non-Hispanics than their foreign-born counterparts.”
You can find the entire report — which is loaded with nifty charts and graphs — here.
