Ethnic Atlas of West Michigan, Volume 2 Community Research Institute, Johnson Center for Philanthropy, Grand Valley State University
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Grand Valley State University ScholarWorks@GVSU Research and Publications Community Research Institute 11-1-2006 Ethnic Atlas of West Michigan, Volume 2 Community Research Institute, Johnson Center for Philanthropy, Grand Valley State University Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/research Part of the Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Family, Life Course, and Society Commons, Human Geography Commons, Race and Ethnicity Commons, Regional Sociology Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Community Research Institute, Johnson Center for Philanthropy, Grand Valley State University, "Ethnic Atlas of West Michigan, Volume 2" (2006). Research and Publications. Paper 1. http://scholarworks.gvsu.edu/research/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Community Research Institute at ScholarWorks@GVSU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Research and Publications by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks@GVSU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Volume 2: Demographic, Economic, Social, and Housing Characteristics of the Hispanic Populations Including Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Cuban, and Dominican Doug La Fave Graduate Student, School of Public and Nonprofit Administration Michigan : y b Mark C. Hoffman red a Associate Professor, School of Public and Nonprofit Administration Prep Jeremy Pyne GIS Specialist, Community Research Institute : U.S. Census Bureau. 2000 Census of on Population and Housing, Summary File 3 d (released 10 September 2002), and Summary File 4 (released 18 June 2003) Base CRI at the Johnson Center Supporting community improvement through research and data sharing : y b Community Research Institute Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership leased Grand Rapids, MI e R November 2006 Ethnic Atlas of West The Community Research Institute (CRI) at Grand Valley State University is a partnership between the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership and the Grand Rapids Community Foundation. CRI’s mission is to assist nonprofit organizations with acquisition of information and technical skills that will help them to understand the evolving needs of the community, plan programs, solve problems, and measure outcomes. For additional information visit our web site at www.cridata.org or contact us directly by calling (616) 331-7585. The Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley State University was established in 1992 with support from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to promote effective philanthropy, community improvement, and excellence in nonprofit leadership through teaching, research, and service. The mission of the School of Public and Nonprofit Administration (SPNA) at Grand Valley State University is to educate students for lives of active citizenship and for professional careers in public and nonprofit organizations. SPNA offers a NASPAA accredited Master of Public Administration, with concentrations in public management, nonprofit management and leadership, urban and regional planning and policy, health administration, and criminal justice. SPNA also offers a Master in Health Administration and a Baccalaureate in Public and Nonprofit Administration. For additional information visit our web site at www.gvsu.edu/spna or contact us directly by calling (616) 331-6575. The College of Community and Public Service at Grand Valley State University includes the School of Criminal Justice, the School of Public and Nonprofit Administration, the School of Social Work, the Department of Hospitality/Tourism Management and the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership. The mission of the college is to educate students for professional careers through excellent teaching, learning, scholarship and service that promote just and democratic communities, and ethical and effective leadership. Grand Valley State University attracts more than 23,000 students with high-quality programs and state- of-the-art facilities. Grand Valley is the comprehensive regional university for the state's second largest metropolitan area and offers 70 undergraduate and 26 graduate degree programs. It has campuses in Allendale, Grand Rapids, and Holland and centers in Muskegon and Traverse City. The university is dedicated to individual student achievement, going beyond the traditional classroom experience, with research opportunities and business partnerships. Grand Valley State University is an affirmative action/equal opportunity institution. It encourages diversity and provides equal opportunity in education, employment, all of its programs, and the use of its facilities. It is committed to protecting the constitutional and statutory civil rights of persons connected with the university. Ethnic Atlas of West Michigan ISSN 1555-2551 Suggested Citation: Doug LaFave, Mark C. Hoffman, and Jeremy Pyne. Ethnic Atlas of West Michigan, Volume 2: Demographic, Economic, Social, and Housing Characteristics of the Hispanic Populations, Including Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Cuban, and Dominican. Grand Rapids, MI: Community Research Institute, Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, Grand Valley State University, November 2006. This report documents the demographic, social, economic and housing conditions of the Hispanic/Latino populations residing in West Michigan’s Kent, Ottawa, Muskegon and Allegan counties, as enumerated in the 2000 U.S. Census. Knowledge about the Hispanic/Latino populations is important as they collectively constitute one of the fastest growing segments of West Michigan’s population due to both immigration and birth rate. Although they are often lumped together, Hispanics/Latinos often identify themselves with many different nationalities with distinct cultures and histories. Thus this report includes details of West Michigan’s five largest Hispanic/Latino heritages: Mexican, Puerto Rican, Guatemalan, Cuban, and Dominican. The authors hope that the maps and tables that are presented in this report will help determine the need for special services; expose unfounded assumptions and stereotypes; and provide insight into patterns of assimilation, economic activity and residential dispersion. Mexican : The Mexican-heritage population is the largest among the Hispanics/Latinos. Mexicans/ Mexican-Americans account for about 68 percent of all Hispanics/Latinos and 4.3 percent of all persons in West Michigan. The majority (63%) of the West Michigan Mexican-heritage population was born in the U.S. About 42 percent was born in Michigan; and another 6.6 percent are naturalized U.S. citizens. The overall citizenship rate is about 70 percent. Of the foreign-born West Michigan Mexican-heritage population, about 65 percent came to America during the economic boom of the 1990’s. Some Mexicans came as migrant workers, but many others came for jobs in manufacturing. Mexicans/Mexican-Americans have the lowest median age (22.6 years old) among the five Hispanic/Latino heritages in this study. This suggests that West Michigan’s Mexican- heritage population will likely continue to grow in number and influence. Mexicans/Mexican-Americans trail the general population in educational attainment. Only about 47 percent of persons over age 25 have earned a high school diploma. Only about 10 percent have earned an Associates degree or a Bachelors degree. Low educational attainment is partially the reason that almost 20 percent of the Mexican-heritage population in West Michigan lives in poverty. Puerto Rican : The Puerto Rican-heritage population is the second largest among the Hispanics/Latinos in West Michigan. The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is legally part of the United States, which means that persons born in Puerto Rico are native-born U.S. citizens. Page 1 English language difficulties are relatively low among persons with Puerto Rican heritage. Only 10 percent report speaking English “not well” or “not at all.” English is the first language for many, with over one-third speaking only English at home. Among the five Hispanic/Latino heritages examined, Puerto Rican-heritage households have the highest rate of families without children (32%). Puerto Ricans also have a relatively high rate of female-headed households (23%). Surprisingly, for full-time workers, the median income is higher for females than for males with males earning $25,962 and females earning $26,042. The Puerto Rican female workforce has a median income ($26,042) almost equal to that of the general female workforce ($27,877). Other than manufacturing, the Puerto Rican-heritage workforce is prominent in the health care and food service industries. Only 42 percent of Puerto Rican-heritage households are homeowners, which is low compared to all Hispanics/Latinos (54%) and the general population (75%). Guatemalan : Most of the Guatemalan-heritage population is a relatively recent addition to West Michigan, with 80 percent arriving in the 1990’s. Because most Guatemalans/Guatemalan Americans are relatively recent immigrants, about three quarters are not U.S. citizens. A relatively large portion of this population (20%) is under age five. This is partly because of international adoption. In 1990, Guatemala was the eighth most common foreign source for adopted orphans. By 2000, Guatemala had risen to fourth. (By 2005, it was third, with 3,783 immigrant visas issued to Guatemalan orphans.1) About 7 percent of Guatemalan-