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LAS CRUCES - If Las Cruces and Doña Ana County were only identified by a color, it would probably be brown.

That's because the city and county are "browner" than they were 10 years ago. There are more Hispanics or Latinos living in Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, according to the 2010 U.S. Census, and that has increased the majority of residents who have listed themselves as Hispanic or Latino in the census.

"It's a little surprising, I guess, because a lot of people have thought that a lot of the people who have retired here from other parts of the country aren't Hispanics," said Rey Delfin, a Las Cruces auto mechanic. "I guess it means that since the majority of the population is still young enough to be adding to their families they're doing just that."

According to 2010 Census figures released Tuesday, there are slightly more than 17,000 Hispanics or Latinos living in Las Cruces today than there were in 2000. In the county, the number is even greater, with almost 27,000 more Hispanics or Latinos. The percentage of Hispanics or Latinos in the city accounts for almost 52 percent of the population, and that swells to almost 66 percent of county residents who are Hispanics or Latinos.

"It's just part of the cultura, part of the way we were raised," said Vivian Esparza, a Las Cruces homemaker. "We grew up knowing there was a significance placed

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on staying close together as a family. If that meant living in the same place with the rest of the family, so be it. A lot of people I know and grew up with have done the same thing. We've all stayed pretty close to our roots. Even if we did go out on our own, somehow, some way, a lot of us found our way back home."

Delfin and Esparza, now in their mid and late 30s, respectively, agreed they have seen the city's and county's populations substantially grow in their lifetimes. Growth the past 20 years has definitely been more noticeable, but even in the 10 years before that there were signs the days of Las Cruces and Doña Ana County getting bigger were coming.

"My parents, and especially my grandparents, weren't that thrilled to see it getting bigger," Esparza said. "They liked the idea that most people knew who their neighbors were. It's not nearly like that any more."

According to the 2010 Census, the number of African-Americans living in the city and county has risen slightly. There are now 2,385 African-Americans who call Las Cruces home, accounting for 2.4 percent of the city's total population. In 2000, there were 1,738 African-Americans in Las Cruces, or 2.3 percent of city residents, according to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey.

The 2010 Census lists the number of Anglos living in the city at 36,577, or 37.5 percent of all city residents. In 2000, there were 31,208 Anglos living in the city, and that was 42 percent of the population.

Interestingly, the number of Asians and native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders living in the city has almost doubled in the past 10 years. There are now 1,541 Asians and 106 native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in Las Cruces, compared to 863 and 55, respectively in 2000. However, the percentages of those races compared to the remainder of the city's overall population remains pretty low.

The number of Asians in Las Cruces has increased from 1.2 to 1.6 percent from 2000 to the present, while the percentage of native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders in Las Cruces has remained the same, .01 percent.

Steve Ramirez can be reached at (575) 541-5452.

Hispanic influence

Changes in Hispanic or Latino populations for Las Cruces and Doña Ana County, 2000 to 2010:

2010 2000 Change (%)

•City 55,443 38,421 17,022 (44.3% increase)

•County 137,514 110,665 26,849 (24.3% increase)

Source: 2010 U.S. Census and American Community Survey