Hispanic, Asian populations nearly doubled since 2000

Dan Ivers
Record-Journal
April 2, 2011

WALLINGFORD - The town's Hispanic and Asian populations are close to twice what they were a decade ago, although more than nine out of 10 residents still identify as white, non-Hispanic. 

According to recently released figures from last year's census , the number of Hispanics who call Wallingford home rose from 1,946 to 3,562 - an increase of 83 percent. The entire population still makes up 7.9 percent of the town's 45,135 residents, which is up from 43,026 in 2000. 

While still making up just a small fraction of the community, Asians are carving out a place as the town's third most prevalent ethnic group. Their numbers more than doubled from just 753 in 2000 to 1,526 last year, although that still makes up just 3.4 percent of the total population. 

The black population saw very minor growth of just over 200 residents over the last decade, accounting for just 1.4 percent of the population. The white, non-Hispanic population remains the overwhelming majority at 91 percent, but saw an increase of only 303 residents. 

In 2000, the majority of the town's small Asian population identified themselves as being of Indian descent, although recent school enrollment numbers may reflect a shift toward those who identify as Chinese, Japanese or other eastern Asian extraction. 

In 2009, out of the school district's 1,213 minority students, just nine identified as Indian, while 308 identified as "Asian." Hispanics made up a larger portion of the student population at 703. In 2007, school officials were warned that Parker Farms School was close to violating the state's racial balance law when it was found that the 34 percent of minority students there was nearly twice as high as most of its other schools. 

Maria Harlow, director of the Spanish Community of Wallingford, said a town survey had estimated the Hispanic population at around 7 percent in 2008. She said the majority of residents she was aware of are Mexican, with numerous Ecuadorian and Columbian families also beginning to establish themselves. 

Many of the families are concentrated in the downtown and Yalesville areas, she said, where a more visible presence of Mexican groceries and other businesses geared toward Hispanics has been growing for years. 

"It's a vibrant population," she said. 

Harlow submitted that the community probably included some undocumented workers who might be among those more likely not to return census forms, but said that the approximately 3,500 Hispanic residents seemed like an accurate number. 

Workers in the U.S . Census Bureau 's public information office said that respondents are not asked to disclose their residency status. The agency estimated that Hispanics were undercounted by just .71 percent during the 2000 census , although that estimate has a .44 percent margin of error. 

Carmen Sierra, the executive director of the Connecti-