Wednesday, June 01, 2011

Oregon's population distribution a case study in immigrant convergence

A local newspaper reports that Census figures show that “36 percent of Yamhill County households include children between the ages of 5 and 17, compared to only 30 percent statewide and 25 percent in Portland”, due to the county’s high Latino population.

The report also quotes a researcher at PSU’s Population Research Center to the effect that:

“Latino women have a 50 percent higher fertility rate than Anglo women…averaging 2.7 children, compared to Anglo women’s 1.8… fertility rates are higher for Latino women who immigrated here than for Latino women born here. And among immigrants, the longer the time they’ve spent in the U.S., the more their childbearing rate drops toward the American cultural norm. The shorter the time, the wider the divide.”

Further:

"Only one county tops Yamhill — Morrow at 38 percent. Only four match it — Washington, Marion, Hood River and Umatilla. Only two others top the one-third mark — Malheur at 35 and Jefferson at 34. The common thread among these eight child-blessed counties? Large Latino populations."



The other common factor for the eight counties that is not mentioned in the report is the fact that these counties have agriculture as a primary economic sector.

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