Latinos account for more than half of U.S. population growth, according to the PEW Research Center, and they’re no longer settling only in Los Angeles and New York. In industrial towns across the Northeast and farming regions of the South, U.S.-born and recently arrived Latino families are putting down roots, opening businesses and supporting local economies. Latinos are the country’s second-largest ethnic group.
Holyoke, Massachusetts, shows that shift clearly.
A Cultural District on Main Street
Holyoke has the highest percentage of Puerto Ricans per capita of any U.S. city outside the Caribbean archipelago. Boricua families have made it a center since the 1950s, and the community has grown steadily ever since. In 2021, voters elected Joshua A. Garcia, born and raised in the city, as its first Puerto Rican mayor.
Last January, the city designated a Puerto Rican cultural district along an eight-block stretch of Main Street. It celebrates nearly 20,000 people, about 52.4% of the city’s total Boricua population, with murals, new businesses and regular events.
Ismarie Rivera and her husband Manuel opened Jireh Delights Bakery & Restaurant downtown around the district’s launch. The family moved from Puerto Rico to Holyoke in 2015 after an invitation from their church, Fyre House. Rivera doesn’t speak English, so a bilingual employee shared her comments. She said the couple felt connected to the community because so many people speak Spanish, and cited religion as a reason for the move. “God sent me and my family here,” she said. “Kindness and cultural closeness make us feel close to home.”
Customers drive in from around the state. Business is booming. Jireh, Rivera said, means “the Lord will provide.”
Starting Over in North Carolina
In Tar Heel, North Carolina, Diego Yoel Inestroza Lara runs Inestroza’s Tree Service with his father, Cesar Inestroza. Cesar came to the United States from Silca, Olancho, Honduras, under Temporary Protected Status in 1998, after Hurricane Mitch devastated his home country. Many Hondurans received U.S. work permits after the storm. A recent Supreme Court ruling, the article notes, may limit the program moving forward.
“North Carolina has given my dad a chance to rebuild his family’s life,” Diego Yoel Inestroza Lara said. Extended family, including uncles, cousins and grandparents, followed for work and farming opportunities familiar from Honduras. “Food, music, faith and family gatherings help keep the culture alive,” he said. North Carolina, he added, still offers a chance to work hard and start over.
Close to 900,000 residents with Latin American ancestry live in the state, including people with Mexican, Salvadoran and Honduran roots. The article points to growth in Mecklenburg County, Wake County, Siler City in Chatham County, Robbins in Moore County and Kenansville in Duplin County.
Atlanta, the ‘New Ellis Island’
Georgia’s Hispanic population grew rapidly between 1990 and 2000, particularly around Atlanta, according to the U.S. Census. The city has welcomed immigrants from more than 50 countries and carries the nickname the New Ellis Island. Hispanic migration in the state has risen 33% since 2010 and keeps climbing. Georgia counts nearly 900,000 Latino families, with more than half a million concentrated in Atlanta, largely because of Mexican and Puerto Rican migration.
Santiago Marquez, CEO of the Atlanta-based Latin American Association, leads an organization offering immigration legal services, workforce development, family stabilization, youth services and economic empowerment. “We are committed to helping all people that come to our door to overcome barriers, access opportunities, and achieve self-sufficiency,” he said. “Atlanta’s strength comes from its diversity.”
Marquez was born in Cuba and immigrated in 1971. He said Atlanta’s economy has drawn people from across Latin America, who’ve brought their stories to local stages, including the Alliance Theatre and Aurora Theatre. The city’s culinary scene has expanded over recent decades, too. Along Buford Highway, visitors can find cuisine from Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Peru, Argentina and other countries. Restaurants and small businesses contribute to the economy, Marquez said, and serve as cultural gathering places where people preserve and share traditions.
Why This Matters:
These are families whose futures hang on public policy, not abstract demographic trends. Cesar Inestroza rebuilt his life under Temporary Protected Status, and the article notes a recent Supreme Court ruling may limit that program going forward. That puts a legal question over households that have anchored a tree-service business in Tar Heel for decades. Groups like the Latin American Association fill gaps with legal help, job training and family support, helping newcomers reach self-sufficiency. When Latinos account for more than half of U.S. population growth, immigration program stability, access to legal services and investment in local institutions shape whether small towns and big cities alike can keep growing.