Benton, Washington counties draw most Hispanics

By Associated Press

LITTLE ROCK — Northwest Arkansas continues to draw more new Hispanic residents than any other part of the state, as work on poultry lines grew into jobs on construction sites and fueled new small businesses, a report released Thursday show.

A study by the Pew Hispanic Center shows Benton and Washington counties drew nearly 28,000 new Hispanic residents from 2000 to 2007. That represents about 44 percent of more than 63,000 new Hispanics coming into the state during that time.

The two other counties with the greatest Hispanic growth were Pulaski County with 6,311 new residents and Sebastian County with 5,466.

The report says 45 percent of state Hispanic residents live in homes they own.

First drawn by jobs cutting meat from bone on poultry lines, the Hispanic population in northwest Arkansas quickly grew on the back of service industry jobs on construction sites and restaurant kitchens, said Steve Striffler, an anthropology professor at the University of New Orleans. Striffler, who studied Hispanic immigration while at the University of Arkansas, said small businesses later sprung up to serve the families that followed the initial wave.

"It was poultry that got it started, then it was sort of sustained by the economic boom of the region," he said. "They've also opened up small businesses now and are filtering into all kinds of sectors in the economy. My impression is it's much more diffuse than just poultry, though poultry might have been the kind of initial impetus for it all."

U.S. Census Bureau estimates suggest more than 150,000 Hispanics now live in the state. The rapid population growth has sparked concerns about the effects of illegal immigration in the state, including a failed attempt this year to bring a measure banning some public benefits for those living illegally in the country.

Several studies have estimated that about half of the state's immigrant population lives illegally in the U.S.

The report by the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonprofit group based in Washington, D.C., found that half of Arkansas' Hispanic population is foreign born, with the majority coming from Mexico. The average age of a Hispanic resident is 25, as compared to 40 for whites and 30 for blacks.

In economic terms, Hispanics in the state earn a median salary of $18,111, the same as blacks in the state, the report found. White earned median salaries of $24,149. The report shows that 45 percent of Hispanics own homes in the state, compared to a white homeownership rate of 73 percent and a black rate of 49 percent.