Solamente Mexicanos? Patterns and sources of Hispanic diversity in U.S. metropolitan areas

Abstract

Rapid Hispanic growth has been a major source of increasing ethnoracial diversity in the United States. However, diversity within the Hispanic population is frequently obscured by the tendency to lump all Latinos together. Our study examines Hispanic diversity at the local level, drawing insights from the Mexican dominance, Caribbean-centric settlement, spatial assimilation, and economic opportunity perspectives. Measures of the magnitude and structure of Hispanic origin-group diversity during the 1990–2010 period are constructed for 363 metropolitan areas based on each area’s shares of Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Colombians, and ‘others’. We find that diversity magnitude varies markedly across metropolitan Hispanic populations. Although the most diverse metro areas lack a majority origin group, Mexicans often constitute a majority or plurality of local Latinos. Diversity levels and structures have remained relatively stable over time. In both 1990 and 2010, metro areas with more diverse, multigroup Hispanic communities are distinguished by their larger size, smaller proportion of Hispanics, location farther from Mexico and closer to the Caribbean, and greater odds of being a military hub. They also exhibit higher rates of housing construction and lower rates of agricultural and manufacturing employment. We use weighted data to show that Dominican metro dwellers experience the highest Hispanic diversity while the average Mexican lives in an area where four-fifths of all Latinos are Mexican. Overall, our results provide primary support for the Mexican dominance perspective but some support for the other three perspectives as well.

Whither the urban diaspora? The spatial redistribution of Latino origin groups in metropolitan America since 1990

“…Because distinct origin groups continue to be spread unevenly across metro areas, local Hispanic communities should differ in the number and sizes of the origin groups constituting them. For example, a recent study shows that many communities consist of one dominant group (Mexicans) while others are more equally divided among a few groups (Lee et al, 2017). The magnitude and structure of Latino diversity in a metro area may have implications for everything from group members' ethnoracial self-identification (in panethnic or origin-group terms) to service needs and the ability of groups to engage in collective political action.…”

“…A corollary to this question has to do with changes in Latinos' exposure to members of their own country-of-origin group compared with their exposure to other such groups. Rather than posit a common bond among all origin groups inhabiting the same metropolitan area, one could argue that many outcomes attributed to diversity are also shaped by the relative size of an origin group, its members' affinity toward each other, and their aversion to other groups (Lee et al, 2017). A Mexican-origin political candidate, for example, would likely fare better in a community with a large Hispanic population dominated by Mexicans rather than Dominicans.…”

“…Mexicans are distinctive in another way: their exposure to their own group in the 40 secondary destinations as well as the 10 primary Mexican gateways far exceeds the own-group exposure of all other focal origin groups. The simple reason for this is that Mexicans tend to inhabit metro areas with many Mexicans, who dwarf every other origin group in size (Lee et al, 2017).…”

Assessing Diversity across Cultures: A U.S.-Hispanic Perspective

“…Subconsciously, it would be easy to assume that Hispanics as a group would tend to be unduly homogenized based on a single dimension of their identity (Rodriguez, Parrish, & Parks, 2017). Regrettably, this tendency seems also present in the literature, where Hispanics are many times mistakenly lumped as a single identity despite significant cultural differences (Lee, Martin, & Hall, 2017). Here the educational and business disciplines can benefit from Sociology, where inter-cultural dynamics of group diversity, attitudes, behaviors, and experiences-if openly recognized and properly managed-are known to have a positive impact on organizational effectiveness (Rivera, 2014).…”

“New White Ethnics” or “New Latinos”? Hispanic/Latino Pan-ethnicity and Ancestry Reporting among South American Immigrants to the United States

“…For the models of both Hispanic/Latino identity and ancestry, birthplace is the key predictor variable assessing the impact of being born in a South American country (versus Mexico) on the probability of reporting Hispanic/Latino ethnicity. Mexicans are the reference category, as they are the largest immigrant group in the United States and culturally dominant among Hispanic/Latino subgroups (Lee, Martin, and Hall, 2017). They are also most likely to identify as Hispanic/Latino (see Table 1).…”