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Study: Latino population growth slips behind Asian Americans

FILE - In this May 14, 2015 file photo, Santiago Maestas, 67, a farmer in the South Valley of Albuquerque, N.M., overlooks his land while he discusses how he and other Hispanic farmers are fighting against a planned development over water use. The population growth of U.S. Latinos is slowing thanks to lower immigration and declining birthrates, although states like North Dakota and Tennessee are seeing Latino population spikes, according to a Pew Research Center study released Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File)
FILE - In this May 14, 2015 file photo, Santiago Maestas, 67, a farmer in the South Valley of Albuquerque, N.M., overlooks his land while he discusses how he and other Hispanic farmers are fighting against a planned development over water use. The population growth of U.S. Latinos is slowing thanks to lower immigration and declining birthrates, although states like North Dakota and Tennessee are seeing Latino population spikes, according to a Pew Research Center study released Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File) FILE - In this May 14, 2015 file photo, Santiago Maestas, 67, a farmer in the South Valley of Albuquerque, N.M., overlooks his land while he discusses how he and other Hispanic farmers are fighting against a planned development over water use. The population growth of U.S. Latinos is slowing thanks to lower immigration and declining birthrates, although states like North Dakota and Tennessee are seeing Latino population spikes, according to a Pew Research Center study released Thursday, Sept. 8, 2016. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras, File)

By Associated Press 4 min read

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – The growth of the U.S. Latino population – once the nation’s fastest growing – slowed considerably over the past seven years and slipped behind that of Asian Americans amid declining Hispanic immigration and birthrates, a study released Thursday found.

The Pew Research Center study, which analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data, found that the U.S. Hispanic population grew annually on average by 2.8 percent between 2007 and 2014.

That’s down from the 4.4 percent annual growth from 2000 to 2007, before the Great Recession.

By comparison, the Asian American population grew around 3.4 percent on average annually during the same period.

William H. Frey, a demographer with the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, the slower growth is largely a factor of the economy. A slower economy is influencing families to hold off on having more children, and it’s discouraging migration amid stronger border enforcement, he said.