Barry County came in just behind McDonald, with a 1,027 percent jump. The county's Hispanic population went from 152 in 1990 to 1,713 last year. Lawrence, Taney and Jasper counties also made the top 10, with increases of 466.4 percent, 395.9 percent and 353.6 percent respectively. Christian County's Hispanic population grew from 216 to 714, an increase of 230.6 percent. Lorge believes Hispanics are also finding more acceptance.
People are inclined to know more instead of to judge more.
But acknowledgement and acceptance only go so far, Lorge said. Hispanics are still hampered by the language barrier and by the complicated process of immigration. She said she hopes the census numbers will help those who want to extend services to the Hispanic community. Like most of the state, the Ozarks became a more diverse place over the past 10 years. Hispanic is an ethnic category, not a racial category, so people could classify themselves as white Hispanic, black Hispanic, etc.