Virginia counties have some of the nation’s fastest-growing Hispanic populations, but also some of the quickest-dropping, according to a new report.
Frederick and Culpeper counties were ranked first and second, respectively, in Hispanic population growth between 2000 and 2007, in the Pew Hispanic Center report.
Other counties in the top 25 were Fauquier, Spotsylvania, Stafford, Loudoun and Prince William.
The Hispanic population increased by 335 percent — from 1,004 to 4,371 — in Frederick and 312 percent — from 858 to 3,533 — in Culpeper. Prince William County, though ranked 23rd in growth rate, saw its Hispanic population increase from 27,338 to 69,222.
However, Arlington County and Alexandria City had drops in the Hispanic population and were the only areas in the state to post declines. Arlington had the third-highest rate of decline, and Alexandria had the tenth-highest.
Report author Richard Fry attributed the decline to a combination of increased employment opportunities in the outer Virginia suburbs and rising home prices in the two areas during the time period.
Frederick County, Md., was the only county in the Old Line State to crack the top 25, with a growth rate of 177 percent, and the District of Columbia’s Hispanic population increased by 9 percent.
The report identified 676 “fast-growing” Hispanic counties out of 3,141 nationwide, with a “fast-growing” county defined as having a 2007 Latino population of at least 1,000 and an “above-average” Hispanic growth of at least 41 percent from 2000 to 2007.
The study also identified a new trend in Hispanic population growth: The difference between births and deaths is now accounting for more growth than immigration, a reversal from trends during the 1990s.
Alan Kraut, an American University professor who specializes in immigration history, said historically, the trend has dampened as generations pass.
“You hear all of this alarmist talk about how the immigrant population is taking over,” he said. “A lot of this is nonsense. History would go in the opposite direction — you never have the same high birth rate in later generations.”
