Census finds more Hispanics than originally estimated - The Washington Post

Census finds more Hispanics than originally estimated - The Washington Post: More Hispanics were counted in the census than anticipated, reflecting the difficulty of calculating the size of the Hispanic population in states where the communities are small and growing rapidly, according to a new study.

The 2010 Census counts of Hispanics were higher in 23 of the first 33 states whose population counts were released, including Virginia and Maryland, the Pew Hispanic Center’s analysis showed. Most of the growth was in states that have fewer than 1 million Latinos and that are relatively recent destinations for large numbers of Hispanics, underscoring how Hispanics have spread to communities where they haven’t lived before.

The Pew analysis compares the actual count made in April with annual estimates the Census Bureau makes using birth and death records. The estimates are useful to demographers and planners. More importantly, they are the basis for determining how billions of dollars in federal funds are distributed.