Rural Hispanics at a Glance

Population Change and Geography Population Composition Economic and Social Indicators Definitions and sources

< Back to Index Page | View PDF Version >

William Kandel

Economic Information Bulletin Number 8,
December 2005

Between 1980 and 2000, the Hispanic/Latino population in rural and smalltown America nearly doubled from 1.4 to 2.7 million and is now the most rapidly growing segment of the population in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) counties. In 1980, Hispanics constituted just over 3 percent of the nonmetro population, a figure that rose to 5.5 percent in 2000. Since 1980, growth in the Hispanic population has contributed over 25 percent of the total nonmetro population increase and over 50 percent of the nonmetro minority population increase.

Hispanic population growth has helped to stem decades of smalltown population decline in some States, demographically and economically revitalizing many rural communities. Hispanic population growth in new destinations outside traditional Hispanic settlement areas in the nonmetro Southwest can drive change in local economies and can raise questions about social service provision, socioeconomic adaptation and integration, and other important public policy issues for nonmetropolitan counties.

USDA’s Economic Research Service (ERS) analyzes ongoing changes in rural areas and assesses Federal, State, and local strategies to enhance economic opportunities and quality of life for all rural Americans. As part of this analysis, ERS researchers compare current demographic, social, and economic indicators for rural Hispanics with those for other nonmetro residents.

Population Change and Geography

Hispanics Are the Fastest Growing Population in Rural America

While Hispanics make up less than 6 percent of the entire nonmetro population of 46 million, their growth rate since 1980 outpaces that of all other major racial and ethnic groups. Of the four major minority groups, only nonmetro Blacks outnumber nonmetro Hispanics (4.1 million to 2.7 million). At current growth rates, however, Hispanics are projected to become the largest minority group in rural America by about 2025, as they did for the entire Nation in 2003.

The sizable and recent Hispanic (and Asian) population growth nationally stems from changes in immigration laws and economic growth. In addition, because many foreign-born minorities tend to be relatively young, they are more likely to have children, further increasing their share of the population.

Nonmetro Hispanics Are Dispersing Nationally and
Concentrating in New Rural Destinations

For the first time in 2000, half of all nonmetro Hispanics lived outside the Southwest. While almost all nonmetro counties experienced Hispanic population growth, roughly a third of this growth occurred in just 150 counties dominated by low-skill industries. Between 1990 and 2000:

• The nonmetro Hispanic population more than doubled in 20 (mostly Southern and Midwestern) States, with growth rates ranging from 120 to over 400 percent.
  
• Of 2,052 nonmetro counties, the number in which Hispanics constitute at least 1 percent of the population grew from 817 to 1,387; the number in which Hispanics constitute at least 10 percent grew from 211 to 287.

Hispanics Help To Slow Population Loss in Rural America

Hispanic population growth has checked long-term population decline in many rural counties, especially in Midwestern and Great Plains States where natural decrease and outmigration by young native-born adults have been reducing population in some areas since the 1950s or earlier.

All else being equal, over 100 nonmetro counties would have lost population between 1990 and 2000 if not for growth in the Hispanic population. Nearly 500 other nonmetro counties with Hispanic population gains experienced a net population loss, nonetheless, because of non-Hispanic population declines.

Population Composition

U.S. Hispanic Population Is Diverse

In rural areas, as elsewhere, Hispanics comprise many nationalities and range widely across virtually every socioeconomic indicator. These dimensions include education, occupation, median age, citizenship, race, and history in the United States—even within groups. For example, the largest ethnic group, Mexicans, includes many citizens who trace their ancestors’ U.S. settlement back for hundreds of years, as well as new residents. Hispanic residents in newer rural destinations, while ethnically diverse, include larger proportions of recent U.S. migrants than are found in more established settlement areas.

Recent inmigration helps explain differences in the demographic and socioeconomic profile of nonmetro Hispanics compared with non-Hispanic residents. The foreign-born represent at least a third of all nonmetro Hispanics, and their presence is more highly concentrated in the newer destination regions of the Southeast and Midwest. Like young adults everywhere, recent nonmetro Hispanic inmigrants often relocate for new jobs.

• Recent Hispanic arrivals to nonmetro counties are more likely than other nonmetro residents to be younger and male, which explains the significantly higher male/female ratio between the two groups. Because many nonmetro Hispanics work at lower paying jobs and send money back to their families in their home countries, they are also more likely than other nonmetro residents to live in shared and often crowded housing.
  
• The foreign-born proportion varies inversely with the percentage of Hispanics who speak English fluently and who have U.S. citizenship, two clear measures of socioeconomic integration. Data from the 2003 Census indicate that almost three-quarters of all nonmetro Hispanics reported that they spoke English “very well” or exclusively, a tendency that increases with more time in the United States and especially with exposure to U.S. schooling.
  
• Hispanics trail the U.S. average in years of schooling. Recent migrants often originate from poor rural communities with few educational or career options. Consequently, while Hispanics represent a small proportion of the nonmetro population, their growing importance to the nonmetro labor force will depend on their educational attainment, particularly for second-generation Hispanic children growing up as United States citizens.

Economic and Social Indicators

Use of Nonmetro Social Services Varies by Program

Despite limited economic resources, Hispanic participation in national safety-net programs remains relatively modest. Such participation and eligibility often depend on household economic status, citizenship, and individual legal status, and requirements for some programs may vary by State. For medical care, Hispanics and non-Hispanic Whites have participation rates that reflect their respective age profiles: while Hispanics are twice as likely to enroll in Medicaid, they are half as likely to participate in Medicare. However, for food stamps and the USDA’s WIC program (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children), Hispanic participation rates are substantially higher than rates for non-Hispanic Whites. Participation in public housing programs does not differ substantially.

School enrollment is an important indicator of changes in rural demography. Lower median ages and relatively higher fertility rates of Hispanic residents have yielded a
Hispanic school-age population that is growing far more rapidly than that of other groups. Hispanic children still constitute a small proportion of the nonmetro school-age population, and their growing numbers benefit rural school districts with declining enrollments that receive State funding on a per capita basis. Yet, high growth rates of this population may foreshadow challenges for these schools as they seek to address this population’s needs.

Nonmetro Hispanics Lag on Economic Indicators

In nonmetro counties, Hispanic men have employment rates comparable with non-Hispanic White men, but Hispanic women trail non-Hispanic White women by roughly 10 percentage points. Nonmetro Hispanics are more likely to work in lower skilled sectors such as agriculture, construction, and manufacturing and are less likely to hold occupations that require college degrees. As a result, average personal incomes differ substantially between the two groups. Hispanics are more likely to live in poverty and less likely to own homes than non-Hispanic Whites.

• While incomes are effective measures of current economic well-being, homeownership points to long-term economic security and wealth accumulation. Non-Hispanic Whites have higher rates of homeownership than all other groups in both nonmetro and metro areas. Homeownership rates in nonmetro areas are, however, notably higher than in metro areas across all racial and ethnic groups, because of the older median age of the population and lack of rental housing.
  
• Prospects for Hispanics in rural America hinge on the same mechanisms for social and economic mobility as used by generations of U.S. immigrants. These mechanisms include acquiring U.S. citizenship, work experience, English skills, training, and education, as well as overcoming discrimination and prejudice. Long-term mobility prospects depend critically on whether the educational attainment of Hispanic children matches that of their non-Hispanic peers. In rural America, these circumstances occur against a backdrop of an aging, mostly White, population that will retire from the work force in large numbers in the coming decades. Consequently, the social and economic adaptation, integration, and mobility of new rural residents and their children are critical public policy issues.