The Changing Demography of Latinos, 1990-2000

Eileen Diaz McConnell, Indiana University

Census 2000 data documents that the Latino population grew by 57.9 percent between 1990 and 2000. Though Latinos historically have been concentrated in a few states, Census 2000 data also indicates that there are growing proportions of Latinos living in all areas of the United States, especially in non-traditional regions of the country. This paper seeks to address past theoretical and methodological limitations by testing explanations for Latino population growth in both traditional and non-traditional Latino states over the decade. The results are expected to identify the utility of established theories of international migration for understanding the changing demography of the Latino population. In sum, the theoretically driven and comprehensive analyses undertaken in this project are expected to contribute to our understanding of this phenomenon and point to new directions for research about the changing demography of Latinos in the United States.