Where Latinos live

Contrary to long-held beliefs that the Latino population tends to cluster in densely packed communities dominated by mostly Spanish-speaking residents, Hispanics are in fact more likely to live in neighborhoods where they are the minority, according to a study conducted by the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Hispanic Center. Nationwide, 57 percent of all Hispanics, or about 20 million Latinos, live in neighborhoods where they make up less than half the population, according to the Pew Center's analysis of 2000 census data. Interestingly, though, the settlement pattern of Hispanics tends to follow one of two extremes. For those who live in communities where Hispanics are not in the majority, they make up a mere 7 percent of the population. And in those neighborhoods where Hispanics constitute the majority, they accounted for 71 percent of the population in 2000. By analyzing where Hispanics have chosen to settle, the Pew Hispanic Center will help dispel what have been overly simplistic generalizations about the Latino population, researchers say. [more]