The Hispanic population in the United States increased by 15.2 million between 2000 and 2010, with Colorado being one of nine states where 16 percent or more of the state population is Hispanic, the U.S. Census Bureau said today.
New Mexico had the highest percentage of Hispanics of any state, with 46 percent of the total population.
Other states with a Hispanic population of 16 percent or more are Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, New Jersey, New York and Texas.
Eight of those nine states — not New Mexico — have Hispanic populations of 1 million or more.
Between 2000 and 2010, Hispanics accounted for more than half of the total U.S. population increase of 27.3 million, according to the Census Bureau.
Between 2000 and 2010, the Hispanic population grew by 43 percent, or four times the nation’s 9.7 percent growth rate.
The Hispanic population grew most significantly in the South and Midwest, while it grew at a slower pace in the West and Northeast.
However, said the report, both the West and Northeast saw significant growth between 2000 and 2010 with the Hispanic population in the West growing by 34 percent and 33 percent in the Northeast.
The growth in the West was more than twice the growth of the total population in the West.
The Census Bureau said Hispanics were the majority of the population in 82 out of the nation’s 3,143 counties. In Colorado, Hispanics were the majority in Conejos and Costilla counties. They were the majority in 12 New Mexico counties.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
