State's Hispanic Population Jumps Nearly 50%

Advocates for Latinos will gather in Hartford on Wednesday to talk with lawmakers about issues affecting the state’s Hispanic community. As WNPR’s Diane Orson reports, 2010 census figures show a big jump in Connecticut’s Latino population.   

The number of Hispanics in Connecticut increased nearly 50% in the last decade. State Representative Andres Ayala:

"We’re talking about almost close to a half a million Latinos here in the state of Connecticut. One thing that we can probably say is that because of the number of Latinos that added to our population, the fact that we did not lose another Congressman can be attributed to that growth."

Latinos now make up 13% of state residents. Connecticut’s Asian population also rose sharply, up nearly 65% to more than 135,000 residents. African-Americans  grew by 17%.

Whites make up more 77% of Connecticut’s overall population, but the number of white residents declined slightly.

For WNPR, I'm Diane Orson.