Southern Hispanic population growing fast

The CDC's National Center for Health Statistics reports: "the states with the fastest growing Hispanic population are Arkansas, Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee; these same four states lead the nation in increases in the number of total live births among Hispanic mothers."

According to an AP story about the report:

Hispanic births are skyrocketing in the Southeast, where an increase of at least 40 percent was recorded in five states between 2000 and 2003, according to a new government report.

Among the states with the largest increases were Kentucky (80 percent), South Carolina (62 percent), Alabama (53 percent), Tennessee (53 percent) and Arkansas (40 percent), the report found. ...

[T]he relative increase in the Southeast states is notable, and may have implications for health-care facilities and state budgets, particularly if some or many Hispanic families are uninsured.