Press Archive

Census 2000: Dramatic Growth in Colorado Latino Population

San Antonio, TX - "The results of Census 2000 for the state of Colorado confirmed the growing presence and rapid growth of Latinos throughout the state," said Antonio Gonzalez, President of the William C. Velásquez Institute, "while the unadjusted numbers are not an accurate representation of the Latino community and its growth, the 73.4% increase is impressive." With the overall population of Colorado increasing 30.6% to 4,301,261 those identifying as either Hispanic or Latino represented 17.1% of the population at 735,601, up from 476,879 or 12.9%. Furthermore, Latinos represented 30.9% of the total population growth in the state during the '90's.

2000 TOTAL/LATINO POPULATION BY TOP 10 LATINO POPULATED COUNTIES

Source: 2000 & 1990 Census

"Latino growth has been evident throughout the state," said Oscar Garza, field organizer for the Institute. "On a county level, the top five concentrations of the Latino population are in Denver, Adams, Arapahoe, Pueblo, and Jefferson," said Garza. With the largest Latino population, Denver County is home to slightly more than 175,000 Latinos, representing 31.7% of the county's total population. Adams County is second with its Latino population at 102,585 or 28.2% of the total population.

Of the political representation, at the federal level, in '90, 0 of the 6 congressional districts were Latino majority. At the state legislative level, out of the 34 State Senate districts, 0 were Latino majority, and out of the 65 State Representative districts, 3 were Latino majority in '90. Please refer to the chart below for a synopsis of Latino majority districts as of '90 Census and current number of Latino elected officials.

Latino Majority Districts in Colorado (as of '90 Census) and Current Number of
Latino Elected Officials (as of General Election 2000)

Source: State Legislative Elections: Voting Patterns and Demographics. Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1998

"While it is unclear what the numbers will mean with regards to Latino political representation, it is clear that all parties involved in redistricting at every level (federal, state, local) need to look at the growth of Latino and other minority communities in their respective areas," said Antonio Gonzalez.