Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Screen shot of U.S. Census Bureau map showing state-by-state 2010 data, including ethnic populations
The results of the 2010 Census continue to roll out state by state, with California’s due out next week. In the meantime, ethnic and racial data for half the states has been released by now, and the Latino population gains from 2000 to 2010 are impressive.
Of the states whose data has been released, Texas still has the biggest share of Latino residents, followed by Nevada, a new addition to the list. But the biggest percentage growth is still being seen in states that are non-traditional destinations for Latino immigrants and their descendants. States like Alabama, Arkansas and North Carolina among others have seen triple-digit growth in their Latino populations, though the total share of Latinos in these states remains small.
Perhaps not surprisingly, many of these states have seen a spike in anti-illegal immigration activism. Just looking at the top three - Alabama, Arkansas and North Carolina – all have seen the recent introduction of stringent anti-illegal immigration bills, as have other states on the list.
Here are the ten states with the biggest percentage growth in Latino population so far, taken from an interactive census map:
Alabama: + 144.8 percent (3.9 percent of total population)
Arkansas: + 114.2 percent (6.4 percent of total population)
North Carolina: +111.1 percent (8.4 percent of total population)
Maryland: +106.5 percent (8.2 percent of total population)
Mississippi: + 105.9 percent (2.7 percent of total population)
South Dakota: + 102.9 percent (2.7 percent of total population)
Delaware: + 96.4 percent (8.2 percent of total population)
Virginia: + 91.7 percent (7.9 percent of total population)
Oklahoma: + 85.2 percent (8.9 percent of total population)
Iowa: + 83.7 percent (5 percent of total population)
