U.S. Census Bureau

Though St. Louis and Missouri's Latino population is still relatively small, it’s growing rapidly. Political watchers say the vote could be increasingly influential in the years to come.

The number of Hispanics or Latinos in the St. Louis region has significantly increased over the past year, according to U.S. census data released last week. The data shows there are more than 13,900 Hispanics or Latinos in the area.

Biden officials approved proposals for the U.S. census and federal surveys to change how Latinos are asked about their race and ethnicity and to add a checkbox for "Middle Eastern or North African."

According to new U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the St. Louis region lost more than 3,200 residents in the year ending July 1, 2023. The population decline caused the region to drop from the 21st-largest U.S. metro area to the 23rd, now behind Charlotte and Orlando.

The region bucks the norm in most other major metropolitan areas: people from India make up the largest share of foreign-born people in the St. Louis region over people from Mexico.

The head of the U.S. Census Bureau says the latest census data can make health more equitable in Illinois and across the country.

New census data shows the St. Louis metropolitan region lost around 19,000 people between April 2020 and July 2022. St. Louis and St. Louis County led the declines while suburban and exurban counties, like St. Charles, Lincoln and Jefferson, posted gains as they have in the past.

An annual report by the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the St. Louis metropolitan region saw a population drop of about half of one percent last year. Much of the estimated decrease came from the City of St. Louis.

The study examined migration patterns for young adults across the country, tracking where residents born between 1984 and 1992 were living when they were 16 years old and then again when they were 26.

The 14-county region hovered around 2.8 million people only shedding about 10,000 between 2020 and 2021, but the changes weren’t evenly distributed.