Idaho

History

The first Latinos in Idaho were primarily people from Mexico who came in the early 1800s in search of adventure and profit from natural resources.  After the U.S.-Mexico War ended in 1848, Mexicans migrated to Idaho from bordering territories which previously belonged to Mexico.  Among these immigrants were miners and vaqueros (cowboys), as well as, a variety of other types of laborers.

Immigrants came to Idaho in the 1920s, many as railroad and agricultural workers, to escape the civil war in Mexico. In the 1940s, people migrated to Idaho from Mexico, sparked by a demand for workers that resulted from the U.S. labor shortage during World War II.  Many of these immigrants were brought by The Bracero Program, which was responsible for bringing more than 15,000 agricultural workers to the state and increasing Idaho's Mexican population from 2,700 to 18,000 between 1940 and 1947.

In 1987, the Legislature established the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs as an independent entity of state government. One of its duties is to advise the governor, legislature, and state departments and agencies of the nature, magnitude, and priorities of Latinos in Idaho.

Recently, the Latino population in Idaho has seen  significant change.  Between 1990 and 2000, Idaho's Latino population nearly doubled from 53,000 to 102,000, with people working in a variety of occupations.

Sources:
El Otro Norte: Latinos and Latinas in the Pacific Northwest The Latinization of the Pacific Northwest, http://www.josealamillo.com/latinos%20northwest.htm
Survey of Latino Folk Life, http://www.arts.idaho.gov/folk/survey.aspx
Invisible People Mexicans in Idaho History,
http://www.boisestate.edu/history/issuesonline/fall2005_issues/1f_mexicans.html
Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs, http://www2.state.id.us/icha/menus/history.asp

Latino Population in the State

Along with northwestern states, Idaho has seen tremendous increases in the Latino population in recent years. The U. S. Census reported 101,690 Latinos lived in Idaho in 2000, representing 7.9 percent of the total Idaho population. By 2005, the Latino population had increased by almost 30 percent, bringing the total to more than 130,000.

Source: U.S. Census, 2000 Census Population Survey, 2005

Latino Population's Language Profile

In 2000, 80,241 Latinos living in Idaho, aged 5 and older, reported speaking Spanish at home.
54.6 percent reported  speaking English "very well".

Latino Education Background

The U.S. Census (2000) indicated that 19,768 Latinos from Idaho had finished high school, which means that 44.4 percent of Latino's over the age of 25 have a high school diploma. In the same report the Census says that 2,946 Latinos in Idaho have a Bachelor’s degree which represents 6.6 percent of Idaho Latinos aged 25 and older.

Source: The Hispanic Data book, 2004.