Latino numbers in county on the rise

YAKIMA, Wash. -- New U.S. Census Bureau estimates put Yakima County's Latino population last year at 41.4 percent, up from 35.9 percent in 2000.

Between July 2007 and July 2008, the Latino population grew 3 percent to 97,174.

The county's total minority population was 48.9 percent, or 114,699 people, about a 3 percent growth rate over the same period. Latinos are the largest minority group, but the designation also includes blacks, Native Americans and Alaska Natives and Asians.

The figures shouldn't surprise anyone who has lived in the Yakima Valley for any length of time, said Vickie Ybarra, a health planning expert and chairwoman of the Yakima School Board.

"The national trend is what we're seeing locally and it's driven by children who are born here," Ybarra said.

Yakima County's Latino population is neither as large on a percentage basis nor as fast-growing as those in Adams or Franklin counties.

Franklin County, which includes Pasco, is 49.2 percent Latino, with 35,778 Latino residents out of 72,783 people. Adams County is 55.1 percent Latino, or 9,528 Latinos out of 17,285 residents. Their Latino growth rates were 6.1 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively.

Yakima County's total population last year was 234,564.

Yakima Mayor Dave Edler said the latest Census figures should remind policymakers that the changing population brings "unique and special challenges." Edler said there is work to do on improving the representation of Latinos in government.

"I'm always concerned that everyone has a voice. We're trying and I think the addition of Sonia Rodriguez to the City Council is a positive first step."

The 34-year-old family law attorney became the first Latino to serve on the council when she was appointed in December to replace outgoing Councilman Norm Johnson.

Latinos make up the state's largest minority group, totaling 643,687 residents, about 10 percent of the state's 6.5 million population.

Among other minority groups, there were 437,783 Asians; 245,000 blacks; 112,965 Indians; and 31,833 Pacific Islanders. There were 201,254 people who identified themselves as two or more races.

As a state, Washington is 24.5 percent minority, well below the national average of 34.4 percent, but substantially more diverse than neighboring Oregon (20 percent) and Idaho (14.9 percent).

On July 1, 2008, Washington had 1.6 million minority residents, up 3.8 percent from 1.55 million in 2007. That was higher than the 2.3 percent national growth rate for minorities for the year.

Franklin County was the only majority-minority county in the state after the 2000 Census. It also has the fastest-growing minority population, up 6.2 percent in the past year, according to the Census Bureau.

Other counties above 30 percent minority included Grant (39.6 percent) and King (31.3 percent). King County, the largest county, had the most minorities at 586,906 people.

Majority-minority is defined as more than half the population being of a group other than single-race, non-Latino white. Nearly 10 percent of the nation's 3,142 counties were majority-minority as of July 1, 2008. There were 48 majority-Latino counties nationally.

Latinos were also the largest and fastest-growing minority group nationally, with a population reaching 46.9 million in 2008, up 3.2 percent from 2007.

Other new Census data shows the median age of Washington residents is 37.2 years, up from 35.4 in 2000. The national median was 36.8.

* Material from The Associated Press was included in this report.