Expert predicts state’s Hispanic population may double by 2050

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A new report says one-in-five Americans will be an immigrant or a direct descendant by 2050, up from the 1-8 ratio today.

Experts say Wisconsin will not see that kind of change. But the percentage of Hispanic residents could double in that time.

Enrique Figueroa of University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee says the Badger State has a large immigrant base already.

He says their children will make up most of the Hispanic growth, while their other relatives will keep moving here from Mexico.

And that could make a ratio of 1-10 Wisconsinites being Hispanic by 2050.

The new national predictions were released Monday by the Pew Research Center. They said the U.S. population would grow to 438 million in the next four-plus decades, up from 300 million today.

And by 2025, the percentage of foreign-born Americans will be greater than in the last major immigration wave 100 years ago.

Also, Pew said the number of seniors would double to around 19 percent.

Tags: wisconsin, news, hispanic, population