"Our Hispanic community has grown significantly,"said Fayetteville, Ark., Chamber of Commerce President Steve Clark. "That diversity is very good for us. We have a Spanish language radio station now, which is something we would not have had five years ago."
Other Southern states also have increases. In 2007, North Carolina had 21,277 Hispanic-owned businesses, a 135 percent increase from 2002, with 9,043 businesses. Nationally, Hispanic-owned businesses increased by 44 percent, compared to an 18 percent increase in all U.S businesses.
"The diversity is very smart for us. If we want to attract new jobs, you have to have a very culturally and diverse community to do that,"Clark said.
North Carolina and Arkansas still have low numbers of Hispanic-owned businesses compared to some other states.
California has the highest number of Hispanic-owned businesses, 566,000.
Florida had the second-highest number of Hispanic-owned businesses, 450,000, followed by Texas, with 447,000.
The boom in business can be attributed to the growth of the Hispanic community in these states. In 2008, 7 percent of North Carolina's population was Hispanic, up from 4.7 percent in 2000, according to the
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