Hispanic Boom

As the Gulf Coast's fastest-growing group, Hispanics represented 55% of Florida's 2.8 million increase in residents over the past decade.

Florida's Hispanic population grew from nearly 17% of the state's population to more than 22%, according to 2010 U.S. Census data.

For the eight Gulf Coast counties from Pasco to Collier, in 2000 one in 10 residents was of Hispanic or Latino origin. In 2010, it was nearly one in six. Of the Gulf Coast counties, only Collier (26%) and Hillsborough (25%) exceed the state's percentage of the population who identified themselves as Hispanic/Latino in the 2010 U.S. Census.