According to the Census 2000, the U.S. Hispanic population, now 12.5 percent of the total population, has just surpassed the black population in number and has become the nation’s largest minority group. The Hispanic population also grew at a rate of 57.9 percent between 1990 and 2000, more than four times the national rate of 13.2 percent.

While more than one-half of the US Hispanic population resides in just two states, California and Texas, Hispanics are making their presence known in many parts of the country that have for a long time been relatively culturally homogenous. The Midwest Census region (footnote), which is now home to 8.8 percent of the US Hispanic population, experienced the highest rate of increase of Hispanic population during the past decade (80.1 %). Further, some of the largest percent gains in Midwest Hispanic population are occurring in small, rural, and previously homogeneous communities.

Data from the 1990 Census of Population and Housing and the Census 2000 were mapped by county for the entire Midwest region. Figure 1 shows absolute growth in Hispanic population between 1990 and 2000 and Figure 2 shows percent growth in Hispanic population between 1990 and 2000. These data reveal several overarching trends in Hispanic population increase: Hispanic population is not evenly distributed throughout the Midwest, and there are sub-regional differentials as well as urban-rural differentials in both absolute and relative growth.

The largest absolute gains in Midwest Hispanic population are clustered in and around metropolitan areas of the region. Chicago, Detroit and Minneapolis metropolitan areas are at the forefront in terms of absolute increases. Several counties containing medium-sized cities have also had large absolute gains, such as Grand Rapids, Michigan; Milwaukee, Waukesha and Madison, Wisconsin; Gary, Indiana; Des Moines and Sioux City, Iowa; Kansas City and Wichita, Kansas; Kansas City and Joplin, Missouri; Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Rates of Hispanic population growth were mapped in three categories: those that had growth less than the regional average, those with higher growth rates (up to 162 %) and those with more than double the growth rate of the Midwest (> 162 %) (Figure 2). These data show that dramatically high rates of Hispanic population growth in counties were rather widespread throughout the Midwest.

The majority of counties in the region experienced Hispanic population growth in excess of the regional rate (80.9 %). However, the urban and metropolitan focus of Hispanic population growth turned toward rural and non-metropolitan areas of the region. Within the Midwest, some very definite patterns emerged on the sub-regional scale.

In the East North Central Division, the major metropolitan areas each experienced rates of Hispanic population growth that were on par with the national average (57.7 %) but that were well below that for the region (e.g. Chicago = 54.4% and Detroit = 52.9%). Notable, however, are the extremely high rates of growth in several of the metropolitan areas of the West North Central Division. Minneapolis, Minnesota (Hennepin County = 255.1%), Omaha, Nebraska (Douglas County = 127.1%), Sioux City, Iowa (Woodbury County = 249.1%) and Sioux Falls, South Dakota (Minnehaha County = 391.8%) all had extremely high rates of Hispanic population growth.

The dramatically high rates of Hispanic population growth in non-metropolitan counties in the Midwest is striking. These high rates are due in large part to a low baseline population of Hispanics in 1990, especially in the West North Central Division.

Rapid demographic, social and economic transformations such as those occurring in the Midwest region create many opportunities and challenges for rural communities that are affected by them. The ramifications of these transformations are far-reaching for these communities. These changes can impact the quality of life, provision of services, and economic opportunities for native-born residents and for newcomers alike.

Immigrants usually arrive in rural communities because of employer demand for labor there. Many of these workers have either been recruited directly by employers or employment intermediaries, or have heard of these jobs from relatives or friends that have come before them. These immigrants make positive contributions to their new communities by promoting economic expansion, filling the demand for labor, establishing businesses, celebrating their culture through festivals, and strong adherence to cultural family values.

The fiscal impacts of new immigrant populations are disproportionately borne by the local communities in which they reside. When rapid demographic and cultural changes in communities are ignored or handled ineptly, tensions and conflicts between native-born residents and newcomers can result.

Policy makers who understand the nature of the demographic changes occurring in their communities are better equipped to make effective and relevant policy. Although the magnitude of the Hispanic presence in the Midwest may seem relatively insignificant to the ports of entry in other regions of the US, this rapid growth has far-reaching implications for the communities involved, the immigrants, local government officials, service providers, and local and national policy makers.