Hispanics in Rural America

Of all minority groups in the 1980’s, Hispanics had the greatest numerical growth in rural areas and in the United States as a whole. Although only a small percentage (8.5 percent) of all Hispanics lived in rural counties, those who did were concentrated in the Southwest. Such concentration made them an important minority, and in some cases a majority, in rural counties of that region. The poverty rate among rural Hispanics rose from 27.2 percent in 1980 to 32.1 percent in 1990, the largest increase for any rural group and larger than for urban Hispanics. Part of the increase in poverty for rural Hispanics appears to have been related to the effects of continuing immigration, lack of proficiency in speaking English, and concentrated employment in agriculture.