Diversity in Austin: Projected Growth of Spanish Speakers

A study released yesterday predicts Austin's spanish-speaking population to increase by 55% over the next 20 years. The findings, based on census data and national trends, concluded that our roughly 294,000 Spanish speakers will rise to over 456,000 by 2025, which puts our growth in line with similarly booming cities Boston, Las Vegas and Orlando. On a national level, the study sees the total number of Spanish-speaking Latinos growing to over 40 million - which would be contrary to the popularly-held assumption that second- and third-generation offspring of immigrant families tend to abandon their native tongues.

Here in Austin, where we tend to focus so much on diversity issues, this suggests positive implications, albeit gradual. Local Spanish newspapers like El Mundo and Rumbo, as well, will likely gain prominence and increasing sociopolitical clout in the city.