The Hispanic or Latino population in the St. Louis metropolitan area is significantly rising.
According to the latest U.S. Census data, there are now about 13,900 more in the region than in 2022, and it is the largest Hispanic or Latino population increase the area has ever seen.
American Community Survey data shows nearly 110,400 people of Hispanic or Latino origin in the area in 2023, up from just under 80,000 a decade ago.
St. Louis County has about 38,300 Hispanics or Latinos, while the St. Louis population is around 14,800 and nearly 17,700 in St. Charles County.
Latinos account for a significant percentage of the overall population growth in the U.S. today. This one-year increase labels the region as a growing metropolitan area, said Ness Sandoval, demographer and sociology professor at St. Louis University.
“We're in the league of Charlotte, Nashville and Orlando. We're not leading it, but we're definitely not one of these cities that are seeing little impact,” Sandoval said. “But we can do much better.”
To compete with metropolitan areas such as Charlotte, Nashville or Orlando, Sandoval said the St. Louis region needs to increase its population by at least 25,000 people per year. This growth pattern will help offset the demographic winter that is approaching, he said.
St. Louis' challenges
The population in the St. Louis region is getting older and is experiencing more deaths than births. Missouri has one of the highest mortality rates in the country and is ranked 44th in birth rates, with a declining fertility rate.
“The challenge here is we can't really do anything about death. What we can bring in is new residents, younger residents, where they start their families here and they have babies,” Sandoval said. “We need more children born in our region, and the way you're going to get it is by bringing a younger population in, and this is typically bringing African Americans, Asians and Latinos, and so that's why you see cities who are not facing this problem have very large Latino and African American populations.”
The foreign-born population in the region is seeing historic population growth. In 2022, there were about 129,600 immigrants living in the area. In 2023, that population had grown by roughly 30,000, to about 159,700. This is the largest number of immigrants ever living in the St. Louis region.
Over the past few years, there’s been a collective effort from business leaders, elected officials and community members to bring more immigrants and Latinos to the region. In 2023, St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones created the Office of New Americans to help streamline resources for new arrivals, including asylum seekers and refugees.
That same year, the International Institute of St. Louis launched its Latino Outreach Program to attract Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans to the region. A host of other community organizations over the years, including the St. Louis Mosaic Project, have implemented programs to lure Hispanics and Latinos from heavily populated metro areas.
It's good to see St. Louis' Latino community grow, but community organizations and leaders have to work on retaining them, said Suzanne Sierra, assistant director of the St. Louis Mosaic Project.
“We know from our work over the years that people stay when they find community, people stay when they find belonging,” she said. “That starts with, where are the people that look and sound like me and can understand where I'm literally and figuratively coming from.”
Sierra said the St. Louis Mosaic Project is working hard to provide resources to immigrant and Latino or Hispanic families looking for new jobs, community groups, restaurants, schools or religious organizations. It relaunched its digital campaign, STLPara Ti, this summer to give immediate access to resources that can help welcome newcomers and create community.
“We're all working together to make sure that there's housing, that we can help individuals get to the jobs that they want to be doing and that we can be working together to look for solutions,” Sierra said. “That is what is going to make foreign-born individuals, and really any individual, want to come and stay in St Louis.”
