Richey Piiparinen, Director of Urban Theory and Analytics at the Maxine Goodman Levin School of Urban Affairs, has published a report, “Reflections on the 2020 Census: Trends in Cleveland’s Hispanic and Latino Population.” According to Piiparinen, data from the 2020 Census shows that from 1990 to 2020, the United States grew by nearly 83 million people, and that nearly 40 million, or 48% of that growth, was due to increases in Hispanic and Latino populations. In 1970, 4.6% of the country was Hispanic or Latino. By 2020, that number rose to nearly 19%.  

Similarly, while the five-county Cleveland Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) lost 10% of its population from 1970 to 2020, the Cleveland MSA’s population grew by nearly 1% from 2010 to 2020. This is only the second time since 1970 the area has experienced decade-over-decade growth. Piiparinen notes this growth would not have occurred but for the increase in Cleveland’s Hispanic and Latino population. As he illustrates in the report, the Cleveland metro’s non-Hispanic/Latino population declined by 8.4% from 1980 to 2020, with Cuyahoga County leading the way (-19.9%). Conversely, from 1980 to 2020, the Cleveland metro’s Hispanic and Latino population grew 243%, and in Cuyahoga County, the totals increased from about 24,000 to 83,300—a gain of 247%.  

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