ABSTRACT
Hispanic Americans are the fastest growing ethnic minority and speakers of the second most prevalent language in this country. According to the 1 990 U.S . Census, 1 39,696 of the 22 million Hispanics counted in the United States were residing in Ohio. The state's Latino population was younger than any other group-37.6 percent were under 18 years old. Nearly 74 percent of Ohio Latinos (97,600) were concentrated in the 2 1 northern counties of the state. Cuyahoga County had the largest concentration of Hispanics (3 1 ,447) with Puerto Ricans as the largest Latino subgroup. Be tween 1 980 and 1 990 the Latino population of the city of Cleveland alone experienced an impressive 30 .5 percent growth, while the city's white population decreased by 1 8 .5 percent and the African American popUlation decreased by 6.3 percent.
