Angi Adams, Anne Pollpeter, Jason Rossi

Hispanic Affairs in Iowa

December 9, 1998

There will be no shockwave, but prepare for a boom to be felt all over Iowa. Hispanic immigration, once a concern in large border states, is now an issue in smaller Midwestern states and the communities within their borders. When actually going into the heart of Iowa’s communities, the presence of Hispanic Americans is felt. Whether you are in the local supermarket or shopping downtown, it is clear that Iowa is a hot spot for these people who come here to work and then decide to stay.

What is even more impressive is how their own individual communities remain their own. This goes deeper than just location. It also goes into the culture that they bring with them. Projections indicate that Hispanic Americans are going to be within our communities for times to come, and in larger numbers.

The last seven years data from the United States Census Bureau shows that Iowa counties populations when it comes to Hispanic Americans is on the rise. What is also striking is that the counties in Iowa with the largest Hispanic populations are not all in one area, but are spread out within the state.

<Top ten counties in Iowa for Hispanic population and the Hispanic pop., 1995>

1. Polk-9235	6. Johnson-2170
2. Muscatine-4102	7. Pottawattamie-2133
3. Scott-6119	8. Cerro Gordo-1350
4. Woodbury-3791	9. Blackhawk-1241
5. Linn-2373	10. Story-1131

Just two years ago the Census Bureau data showed many of the same counties also had the largest Hispanic populations. The increases from that set of data were not monumental, but showed that the Hispanic population in Iowa is on the rise.

Current data shows that Iowa’s population is on the rise, but the significance can only be speculated on. The United States Census Bureau’s Projection Department shows that in 1995 Iowa had a Hispanic American population of 46, 000. Projections for 2000 indicate that Iowa’s Hispanic population will rise to 54,000 and in 2025, Iowa’s Hispanic population is expected to rise to nearly 96, 000.

This rise in population of Hispanic Americans in the United States grew to a surprising 30 million last year and in expected to become the United States’ largest minority group early in the next century. These steady increase, along with projections for the future, will certainly impact the economic future of Iowa.

Minority population growth is no longer concentrated in large states. Though population increases in the Hispanic population has been well observed in border states such as California, Florida, Texas and New Mexico, increases in population are now spreading to states in the Midwest. Iowa in the farm belt and Georgia in the south, along with several other states, have experienced growth of over 50 percent between 1990 and 1997. An economic boom accounts for some of the growth in the large states, and explains why Hispanic population growth in states like Nebraska and Iowa has risen 83 percent and 63 percent, respectively, in recent times.

With the increased flow of Hispanics into the nation in general and the Midwest in particular, the number of Hispanic workers and Hispanic-owned businesses has also risen.

Willis Goudy, a population expert at Iowa State University, says many Hispanics have been specifically recruited for certain jobs.

A low unemployment rate in Iowa has made the state ideal for Hispanic immigrants looking for work. In some cases, Hispanic immigrants have been targeted to work specific positions or jobs such as construction and meat packing. Goudy goes on to say that at a construction site for a new pasta plant, many of the workers are Hispanics who were recruited, and "it’s likely some will stay once the plant is completed," most likely to raise a family.

Goudy also contends that the census bureau significantly understates the growth of Hispanic residents in Iowa and the effect they have on business and employment.

"It used to be that Hispanics were clustered in a few meat-packing towns in Iowa. Now it’s more widespread."

In Des Moines, Oscar Flores opened his El Rey Burritos restaurant specializing in Mexican cuisine. Flores is just one of many Hispanic business owners that are starting up all over Iowa.

Cathie Nickel, marketing manager of the Targeted Small Business Program at the Iowa Department of Economic Development, remarks, "Small businesses are the backbone of Iowa’s economy and are crucial to our economic success. Their diversity provides the work force with numerous opportunities."

Outside of retail services and business services, construction companies number the most Hispanic-owned firms.

In Iowa, Hispanic-owned businesses are emerging so fast that "we can’t keep track of them," says Sylvia Tijerina, administrator of the Iowa Division of Latino Affairs.

Flores’ has employed mostly family members at his El Rey Burritos in Des Moines. Except for one employee, all of the employees are related to Flores. Flores moved from Chicago to Iowa to avoid the traffic, trouble and pollution of big city life. Flores, like many other Hispanics in Iowa, hopes to raise a family away from the distractions in the city.

With a surge in Hispanic-owned businesses and the owners hiring within a family or hiring Hispanics, concerns about future job rates for the rest of the population are justified.

Hispanic-owned businesses in Iowa in 1992 only made up one half of one percent of the total firms in the state, with only 859 of 206,840 total. Future trends are uncertain, but with the Hispanic population on the rise it is conceivable that Hispanic-owned businesses will also experience growth. However, Hispanic-owned businesses have brought a sense of stability and familiarity to communities in Iowa where Hispanics are choosing to settle.

The Hispanic population is not only growing in Iowa, but the numbers are staying. The question is why are they numbers increasing in the first place? The Midwest has become more diverse in culture not only in larger cities, but in smaller towns and communities as well.

Iowa has been rated one of the best states to raise children in the United States and Oscar Flores, owner of his own El Rey Burritos in West Des Moines, Iowa moved here because of it.

"It’s more safe," Flores says. "I don't like the highways or gangs in Chicago. I feel better here," he says. Of his seven siblings, two are in Des Moines with him, two are in Chicago and three live in Mexico.

Flores first moved to Iowa from Chicago in September 1996 and worked there for 14 months as a delivery driver at Paul Revere's Pizza. He quit delivering in 1997 to start his business. Flores is independent but patterned after the King Burritos restaurant in Joliet, Illinois, owned by his brother-in-law.

He established his business through family, without the help of government-sponsored programs, memberships, financing, or celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month.

He changed the name to El Rey Burritos from King Burritos because it sounded more Mexican. The majority of the menu and restaurant equipment are also from his brother-in-law.

Flores' burritos consists mainly of meat and have only a thin layer of beans, unless a special request is made. Flores says the bean burritos served at Taco Bell are not Mexican food to him. He has eaten at Taco Bell only once in his life.

"Why would I want to eat at Taco Bell?" Flores says. "If I want foreign food, I eat Chinese."

Most of the jobs that Flores has created through El Rey burritos have gone to family members. His wife, children, brothers, cousins, and in-laws all put in hours. There are no time cards or posted schedules. He said his dream is to have more of his family working with him in Iowa.

Hispanics have significantly added to Iowa's economy by beginning many small businesses. Sylvia Tijerina, administrator of the Iowa Division of Latino Affairs, says Hispanic owned businesses are increasing so fast that they are hard to keep track of. Most of the businesses are smaller restaurants, beauty shops, auto body shops, construction firms and roofing businesses.

Targeted Small Business Program at the Iowa Department of Economic Development expects that Hispanic owned firms is expected to show continued increases when the new census figures are released. Hispanic businesses in Iowa play a vital role in job creating and their diversity also provides the work force with numerous opportunities.

The main reason found why many Hispanic-Americans have begun to move into Iowa has to do with a low employment rate and that it is a good environment to raise a family in. Many demographers say the booming economy of the 1990's explains some of the sudden growth in places such as Iowa and other Midwestern states.

"The unemployment rate has been extremely low in the Midwest, and in some cases Hispanic workers have been specifically targeted for recruitment," According to Willis Goudy, a population expert at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.

Goudy also talked about a pasta plant that has just gone up there where many of the members of the construction crew were Hispanic Americans who were recruited. He believes that it is likely some will stay.

William Frey, a demographer at the University of Michigan said that he believes the overwhelming number of Hispanic Americans will continue to live in "gateway states," like California and Texas, but he believes that kind of concentration may or may not continue.

"It will depend on Hispanic families' abilities to make significant leaps forward in education and training. That kind of upward mobility is likely to be a prerequisite to further geographical mobility," Frey says to know.

Whether the current decade marks the beginning of a wider-settlement of Hispanics, or temporary blip caused by good economic times, is impossible to tell.

BACK TO OPENING PAGE