Photo by Eric Keith / St. Joseph News-Press / Purchase this photo

Sylvia Garcia sells lunch at La Palma Tienda Mexicana grocery store and deli Thursday afternoon. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, St. Joseph has the fastest growing Hispanic population in the country.

St. Joseph is No. 1. Or perhaps numero uno is more appropriate.

New data from the Census Bureau shows that St. Joseph has the fastest-growing Hispanic community in the United States.

The Hispanic population in Buchanan County grew from 2,397 people in July 2006 to 2,980 in July 2007, a 24 percent increase. The majority of the growth occurred in St. Joseph, where a 21 percent jump was the largest by percentage in the nation.

“I think it is true, especially in the last year,” Gloria Sandoval said.

Ms. Sandoval owns and operates La Palma Tienda Mexicana on King Hill Avenue. Her store and others like it in St. Joseph have popped up in response to the growing Hispanic community.

La Palma offers grocery options that Hispanic customers cannot find at conventional American retailers. Banana leaves wait in a cooler to become wrappers for tamales. Bottles of pop from Mexico, Guatemala and other Latin American countries offer a welcome taste of home. And the meat case is full of steaks sliced less than an inch thick — American cuts are too thick for some Hispanic tastes. The store also sells items like phone cards and money orders that customers are sometimes reluctant to buy elsewhere.

“They feel more comfortable here because of the language,” Ms. Sandoval said.

Ms. Sandoval’s boyfriend, Francisco Ochoa, recognizes the language barriers Hispanic customers face. His new auto shop, Ochoa’s Auto Service & Detail at 3607 Lafayette St., gives Spanish-speaking customers a mechanic that speaks their language.

“If you’re Hispanic and you don’t speak English, you cannot tell the mechanic what is wrong,” Mr. Ochoa said. “How do they tell them their water pump isn’t working if they only speak Spanish? I’ve also seen a lot of people get cheated, or someone takes advantage of them.”

Mr. Ochoa and Ms. Sandoval each ran similar businesses in Marshalltown, Iowa, before they moved to St. Joseph more than two years ago. Both said that they like St. Joseph because it’s the perfect size. Neither of the two has encountered problems with discrimination, racial tension or anything else to make them rethink their decision to move. In fact, they hope to make St. Joseph their permanent home.

“We have more chances to go up. There are more opportunities here,” Ms. Sandoval said.

The opportunities for Ms. Sandoval and Mr. Ochoa were the direct result of a growing population. But why is the population growing?

Many people attribute the increase to Triumph Foods, which opened a pork-processing plant on Stockyards Expressway in January 2006. Triumph employs 2,660 people and 1,488 of the workers — 59 percent — are Hispanic, according to Chief Administrative Officer Patt Lilly.

Hispanics account for less than 10 percent of the population in Buchanan County and St. Joseph. The St. Joseph Public School District enrolled 581 Hispanic students before the 2007-08 school year, up from 351 students the year before, according to the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.

Despite the influx of workers and students, the Census Bureau shows an increase in the local Hispanic population of less than 900 people since the 2000 Census. The actual number of Hispanics could be much higher. The latest data from the Census Bureau reflects population totals that are more than a year old. It takes a long time to count heads, and the current population won’t be known until 2009.

One fact is unmistakable: St. Joseph is changing.

“You can see new faces every day,” Ms. Sandoval said.

Clinton Thomas can be reached at

clintonthomas@npgco.com.