Hispanics are now the largest minority group in Wisconsin, according to figures released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.
People who identified as Hispanic make up 6.34% of the population, compared to 6.26% for African-American, the next largest minority group.
"It happened earlier than I thought," said Enrique Figueroa, an associate professor and director of the Roberto Hernández Center at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
From 2010 to 2013, Wisconsin's population increased by 53,653 people — slightly less than 1%. Hispanics accounted for roughly half of that growth.
The non-Hispanic white population declined by less than a percent to 4,739,713, and makes up 82.5% of the state's population.
Strong growth in the Hispanic population is a trend that goes back decades. It nearly quintupled since 1980, increasing from 62,972 to 363,925.
The increases have been particularly noticeable in younger populations.
Statewide, the overall number of people age 19 and under decreased by 2.2% since 2010. But the number of Hispanics in that age group increased by 5.7%.
Figueroa said the figures show there needs to be more focus on Hispanic students in higher education. If you look 20 years out, he said, a large portion of the workforce will be Hispanic.
"Those workers' access to education and training is critical now," he said.
Since 2000, the largest increases in the Hispanic population have been in Milwaukee County (+50,842), Dane County (+16,820) and Brown County (+11,004).
Julie Seefeldt is the director of the English Language Learners program for the Green Bay Area Public School District in Brown County.
She said in 1990 the district had 17 students in the ELL program, and today the number tops 3,000.
"We've been hiring many bilingual teachers, coaches, paraprofessionals," Seefeldt said. "And up here in Green Bay, it's difficult for us to fill those positions."
Seefeldt said there are pluses that come with the increase, including opportunities for students from monolingual English-speaking families to become bilingual.
And as a Green Bay resident, she said the Hispanic growth has translated into cultural diversity in stores, restaurants and festivals.
"With any growth there is pain," Seefeldt said. "But this is a positive growth."
D. García, the English as Second Language program director for the Waukesha School District, said she's seeing the same trend. The district used to have two elementary schools dedicated to dual languages, but it now has four.
She said it can be challenging to fill bilingual teaching positions. She said, "Simply being bilingual is not enough. You need a background in pedagogy. We might have hundreds of applicants for regular teaching positions, but only a handful for (dual language positions)."
And just like in Green Bay, she said, the growth of Hispanic students is a good thing. "It allows little girls and boys to be multicultural," she said.
In Waukesha County, the Hispanic population increased by 83% to 17,724 from 2000 to 2013. It also accounted for a quarter of the county's total growth during that period.
Hispanics have also buoyed what would otherwise be declining populations in a number of counties in the state. In Milwaukee County, for example, the number of Hispanics increased by 50,842, while the total population only increased by 16,254.
There has been growth in the younger populations of Hispanics, Asians and people who identify as multiracial. But Wisconsin, overall, is getting older.
The median age of non-Hispanics statewide increased by about half of a year to 40.5 from 2010 to 2013. For Hispanics, the median age is 24.
Statewide, the population of people ages 65 and older increased by 9%, while the total number of people younger than 65 declined by 0.4%.
Only seven states in the U.S. saw their median ages decline — Alaska, Hawaii, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Oklahoma and Wyoming.
