Thread: Missouri follows national trend of Hispanics fueling growth

Missouri follows national trend of Hispanics fueling growth

By Didi Tang, USA TODAY
Updated 37m ago |

Following what is becoming a nationwide trend, population growth in Missouri in the past decade was fueled by a spike in the number of Hispanic residents, 2010 U.S. Census data released Thursday show.

Missouri's Hispanic population grew by 79% to 212,470, while the state's total population increased 7%.

Despite that growth, the Hispanic community makes up only 3.5% of Missouri's total population, compared with 81% for non-Hispanic whites.

"It's still not shifting the partisan allegiance of the state," says Dan Ponder, associate professor of political science at Drury University in Springfield, Mo.

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Yolanda Lorge, president of Grupo Latinoamericano, a community organization for Hispanics living in southwest Missouri, attributed the growth to both high birth rates and immigration.

"The majority has been the growth in children," Lorge said. Hispanics also continued to move into the state to reunite with family members or join friends, Lorge said.

The state's black population grew by 10% and remains Missouri's largest racial minority at 11.6% of the total population. The number of Asian Missourians grew by 59% during the past 10 years.

In the metro areas, Kansas City solidified its place as the state's largest city, posting a 4.1% gain in population to 459,787.

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Jeff Pinkerton, senior researcher for Mid-American Regional Council, says the city has seen a net increase in immigration, which means more people moved in than moved out.

"People are finding opportunities," Pinkerton said. "It's an affordable region to live in. We have a very diverse economy."

St. Louis continued to slide, losing 8.3% of its residents since 2000. The city's population stands at 319,294, the lowest since 1870.

"It's certainly disappointing," said Dick Fleming, president and chief executive officer of St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association. "My understanding is, after six decades of decline, the city was starting to show an uptick in the positive direction before the recession."

The state's rural counties, especially those in the north, continued to lose residents. The migration from rural to urban towns is nothing new, says Mike Stout, a sociologist at Missouri State University. "It's been going on for at least 100 years," Stout says.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/cen ... nsus_N.htm

it's amazing how many kids Hispanics are able to make at teh same time or... could it be that the growth is basically bc of illegal immigration?

People, the media etc please wake up and lets stop this utter nonsense and insulting American's intelligence!