The release of Census 2010 data is underway. Most of these data will be released throughout this year and next. County-level data for a few states were released in recent weeks. County-level totals are required to aggregate Census results by Catholic diocese. CARA will be crunching the numbers as they come in. As an example, we show some county-level data for the dioceses in New Jersey below.
Overall, the population of New Jersey grew 4.5% from 2000 to 2010 (8.4 to 8.8 million) while the growth of people self-identifying their ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino(a) increased by 39.2% (1.1 million to 1.55 million). Without growth in this population group, New Jersey would not have grown at all in the last decade and in fact would likely have experienced population loss.
Growth in the Hispanic/Latino(a) population has implications for the Church as the majority of this population in the United States self-identifies as Catholic (more than 60%). This growth is important in New Jersey where already about 42% of the total population is estimated to self-identify as Catholic in recent telephone surveys.
In the dioceses of Trenton (67%), Camden (55%), and Metuchen (52%) the Hispanic/Latino(a) population grew by more than 50% in the last decade.
Still the largest numbers of individuals self-identifying as Hispanic/Latino(a) reside elsewhere in the state. More than 64% of all those identifying as Hispanic/Latino(a) live in the Archdiocese of Newark and the Diocese of Paterson where growth was slower (29% and 34%, respectively).
In reports to The Official Catholic Directory, the dioceses of the state of New Jersey collectively estimate growth in the number of Catholics from 2000 to 2010 to be 287,501 (8.6%). This percentage may be slightly underestimated given Census totals and specifically growth in the overall Hispanic/Latino(a) population.
As the Census data come in, CARA will continue to release interesting results by diocese here. Specific reports by diocese and indicator can be ordered by contacting Mark Gray at 202-687-0885 or mmg34@georgetown.edu.
