Hispanics in Chicago are Moving

According to the 2010 census, the number of Hispanics in Chicago has gone up, but the neighborhoods in which they live are changing, as many are moving further from the downtown area.

Nearing the population size of the non-Hispanic white and black communities, a Medill map analysis of 2000 and 2010 census data shows that concentrations of Hispanic-majority populations on the Northwest Side and West Side of the city crept toward the city’s border.

In the 13th and 14th Wards east of Midway airport, the older white population has moved out of single-family homes, and that has left affordable and desirable housing unoccupied.

“That’s where Latino families with children have been moving,” said community development analyst Rob Paral. The Hispanic population in the 13th Ward increased 95 percent in the past decade.

In areas like South Lawndale, the Hispanic population decreased, because children have grown up and moved up, and there has been a limited number of immigrants coming in.

The 13th, 18th and 23rd wards on the Southwest Side saw between an 89 to 109 percent increase in their Hispanic populations. The 19th Ward saw a 58 percent increase in Latinos.

The 2nd, 4th and 34th wards (Downtown) saw increases between 53 and 82 percent, despite the general shift west across the city.

However, it was the wards in the North lakefront wards that saw the largest drops in their Hispanic populations.

Hispanics now make up 29 percent of the city’s population, but just 22 percent of the wards have Latino-majorities.