Hispanic population continues boom ... except in West Virginia

The U.S. Census Bureau is set to release new population estimates today (as of this posting at 9:25 a.m. EST their web site is not yet updated, I will continue to monitor their newsroom).

Called the American Community Survey, the annual survey of about 3 million households provides yearly data on communities of 65,000 or larger, and covers, race, immigration, education and age characteristics, according to an AP article on MSNBC.com. The survey doesn't include the 3 percent of people who live in nursing homes, hospitals, college dormitories, military barracks, prisons and other dwellings known as group quarters, the article reports.

Here are some key statistics:

-- Hispanics increased their hold as the country’s largest minority group, at 14.5 percent of the population, compared with 12.8 percent for blacks.

-- Hispanics grew by 48 percent in Arkansas, the most of any state

-- California, New York, Texas and Florida have the nation’s largest immigrant populations. The new data show that immigrants will travel beyond those states if there are jobs available.

-- West Virginia is the only state that did not see an increase in the percentage of its immigrant population