Latinos in Chicopee, Massachusetts

Authors

Daniel W. Vasquez, University of Massachusetts Boston

Document Type

Research Report

Publication Date

1-2003

Abstract

Census 2000 data include changes in the way people were counted. The most significant change is to allow persons to select more than one race, creating a new multiracial category of “two or more races,” but meaning people may not be included in the race with which they most identify. There was, however, no way to choose more than one ethnicity; one must choose either Latino or not. Throughout this profile, numbers reflect Latinos of all races, or non-Latinos by race, with persons of two or more races counted separately. All categorizations are based solely on self-identification. All of this complicates comparisons between 1990 and 2000 data. However, the concepts are similar enough to make trends and patterns clear.

In Chicopee, the general population changes from 1990 to 2000 were similar to national and state trends. The population of people of color — African Americans, Asians, Latinos, Native Americans, and Pacific Islanders — grew at a higher rate than did the population of non-Hispanic Whites, which actually shrank. The total population of Chicopee decreased by 3.5%, but its composition changed substantially. Latinos had a larger numerical growth than any other group, increasing by 2,740 or 133.7%. Latinos now represent 8.8% of the population, an increase of 5.1 percentage points and the largest gain of any group. Chicopee has the 17th largest population of Latinos in Massachusetts and the 33rd largest in the New England states. As a percentage of the total population, the Latino population in Chicopee ranks 17th in the state.

Comments

Part of a series of profiles of Latinos in New England, by the Gaston Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Recommended Citation

Vasquez, Daniel W., "Latinos in Chicopee, Massachusetts" (2003). Gastón Institute Publications. 80.
https://scholarworks.umb.edu/gaston_pubs/80