Data from the US Census on population trends show that the Latino population is booming across the US, but in West Virginia Latino immigrants are still a rarity. That means that those that do live there say that they have had to learn English fast and well as a result, because everywhere they go they rarely encounter other Spanish speakers.
The Census figures show that Latinos make up just over 1% of the West Virginia population today. That number is still up from what it was a decade ago, though, according to the census data. In sharp contrast to West Virginia, in most other parts of the country the Latino population is booming. This ethnic group alone has accounted for the lion's share of the total population growth in the US over the past decade.