Census: Latinos go BIG but remain small in New Hampshire

Hugo Balta

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Hispanics-Latinos make up 62.1 million of the U.S. population, a 23-percent increase from 2010 to 2020; the Census Bureau announced this month.

The group accounted for more than 50-percent of the country’s growth, rising to nearly 20-percent of the population.

The population in New Hampshire grew by 4.6-percent to 1,377,529. The biggest growth came in Belknap, Rockingham, and Strafford counties, which each grew by 6-percent.

The percent of the population identifying themselves as Hispanic-Latino increased by more than 60-percent, but the population remains small at 4.3-percent. Nevertheless, that number is helping the Granite State become a bit more diverse, shifting from 94-percent white to 88-percent.

Nashua in Hillsborough County has the most Hispanic-Latinos in the state with nearly 13-percent of the population of more than 88,000, according to HomeSnacks’ “Top Ten” list of most popular cities the community calls home.

Not far behind is Manchester, the most populous city in New Hampshire with 111,657 residents; nearly 10-percent of them are Hispanic-Latino.

At number three, Hispanics-Latinos call Berlin home – the city along the Androscoggin River. They make up nearly 6-percent of the total population.

Lebanon and Franklin round up the top 5 most popular New Hampshire cities for Hispanics-Latinos with 5 and 3-percent of the city’s population, respectively.

The first group of Latinos to immigrate to New Hampshire in large numbers were Uruguayans, who came to work in the textile mills. But, according to the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire report, in recent years, many Puerto Ricans and Dominican have moved to the state along with a growing group of Mexicans lured by jobs in the construction, landscaping, and service industries – and there is a smattering of immigrants from places like Honduras, Brazil, and Venezuela across the state.

Regardless of advancements in diversifying the make-up of its populace, New Hampshire is the fourth whitest state, behind New England neighbors Vermont and Maine, as well as West Virginia.

The Census also reports the state remains one of the oldest states, ranking fourth behind Washington, D.C., Vermont, and Maine for its percentage of residents age 18 and over.


Cover photo credit: WFISD