Atlas of Hispanic-American History

Northeast, Florida and Illinois. The

Hispanic-American population in

California grew by nearly seven percent

from 2000 to 2007; in Florida during the

same period, the Hispanic population

grew by more than 2 million, or by more

than 12 percent. Nonetheless, other

regions have also seen dramatic increases:

Arkansas, Georgia, South Carolina,

Tennessee, and North Carolina were the

five fastest growing from 2000 to 2006,

with growth rates ranging from 54.9 per-

cent to 60.9 percent.

As of 2002, over 90 percent of

Latinos lived in urban areas, compared to

less than 80 percent of whites. Almost

half lived in a central city, compared to 21

percent of whites. In fact, in 2000, about

31 percent of all Hispanic Americans

lived in one of 10 metropolitan areas—

Los Angeles, New York City, Chicago,

Miami, Houston, Riverside-San Berna-

dino, California, Orange County, Cali-

fornia, Phoenix, San Antonio, and Dallas.

Yet, smaller Latino destination cities like

Raleigh, Atlanta, Greensboro, Charlotte,

and Orlando are all growing faster in

Hispanic population than the more tradi-

tional destinations.

One of the main reasons for the rapid

growth of the Hispanic-American popu-

lation is a high rate of immigration. All

told, as of 2005, just 59.5 percent of all

Hispanic-Americans were born in the

United States.

Income, Poverty, Health,

and Employment

High rates of immigration help explain

why a 2002 study showed that nearly 73

226 ATLAS OF HISPANIC-AMERICAN HISTORY

Cuban

Central American

Mexican

Puerto Rican

Dominican

12.9%

12.9%

21.2%

22.8%

29.9%

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Source: U.S. Census

Hispanic Median Annual Income, 1997 vs. 2006

Percentage of Families in Poverty, 2002