The changing geography of Hispanic children and families

The Hispanic population in the United States has grown rapidly over the past few decades and continues to do so. In 2014, nearly 17 percent of the population was Latino, almost double what it was in 1990. By 2050, Latinos are projected to be one in four of all individuals in the United States, making up 26 percent of the general population. As the Latino population continues to grow, it has become increasingly diverse across a range of individual characteristics, including nativity status, country of origin, and, among immigrants, citizenship status.

The communities in which Hispanics live are also increasingly diverse, both in location and character. The characteristics of the communities in which Latino children and families live and grow up have implications for their well-being, both positive and negative. For example, the communities in which children and families live can determine the type and quality of schools that children attend, the availability of family and other social networks, the availability and accessibility of social services, access to healthy food and green space, and exposure to violence.

Where Hispanics live

Notably, many Hispanics have lived in certain parts of the United States for centuries, with roots reaching back prior to statehood. Others immigrated to various regions across the United States or are descended from these immigrants. Because of this history, Hispanics have generally been concentrated in certain states and cities:

The Southwest: Many Hispanics live in the areas of the Southwest that became states in the 1800s—in particular, California, Texas, and Arizona. Nearly half (46 percent) of U.S. Hispanics, in 2014, lived in two states: California and Texas.

Gateway cities: Many Hispanics also live in cities that have served as arrival sites, at various points in time, for large numbers of immigrants from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba, among other countries. These include large urban areas such as Los Angeles, Houston, Miami, Chicago, and New York City.

Since the 1990s, Hispanics have become increasingly geographically distributed across the United States. For example, some of the fastest growth in the Hispanic population between 1990 and 2010 occurred in North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia. Currently, cities in the Southeast, such as Charlotte, N.C., have the highest rates of Hispanic growth in the United States. Moreover, Hispanics also increasingly live in different types of communities—that is, they are less likely to live in city centers and are more likely to live in rural areas and suburban towns. Since 1990, the Hispanic population in rural areas of the United States has more than doubled.

The Hispanic population is relatively large, and the movement of Latinos into rural and suburban areas alters the demographic landscape of the nation substantially. In contrast to older immigration patterns, some recent Hispanic immigrant groups have bypassed traditional urban gateway cities and have settled directly into rural and suburban communities. These newer patterns are playing a critical role in counteracting the population decline that has been occurring in many parts of rural United States.

Drivers of Hispanic geographic diversity

A large body of research has focused on the changing geography of Hispanics in the United States and describes the types of communities in which Hispanics live. Over the past few decades, these communities have been classified primarily based on three factors:

• the size of the Hispanic population,
• the rate of growth of the Hispanic population, and
• whether the area is rural, suburban, or urban.

New or emerging communities are umbrella terms that refer to communities that have experienced an influx of Hispanics since the 1990s. Hispanics in established gateway cities are often compared to their counterparts in rural or suburban emerging destinations across ranging dimensions, including, for example, exposure to violence, residential segregation, and health.

However, emerging communities can also occur in large cities that have preexisting Hispanic populations. For example, in New York City—a city with strong immigrant ties and well-established Puerto Rican and Dominican populations—the number of residents of Mexican heritage has increased six-fold since 1990, from about 56,000 in 1990 to 354,000 in 2014. Thus, for Mexican-origin Hispanics, New York City is an emerging community.

Source: National Research Center on Hispanic Children & Families, The Changing Geography of Hispanic Children and Families, by Kimberly Turner, Elizabeth Wildsmith, Lina Guzman, and Marta Alvira-Hammond, January 2016.