Teton County’s 5 percent population growth between 2000 and 2006 has been driven by an increase in the number of Hispanics.

In April 2000, 18,251 people lived in the county, with an estimated 1,185 Hispanics, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The overall Teton County population increased to 19,288 as of July 2006, with 2,253 Hispanics.

The total population increased 1,037, while the Hispanic population increased 1,068. The population of what the census calls “not Hispanic” — whites, blacks, Asians and others — decreased 31 in the last six years, from 17,066 to 17,035.

While Teton County saw its Hispanic population nearly double in the past six years, that population has increased 12.8 percent in Wyoming during the same period.

The increase in Hispanics in northwest Wyoming has spread to communities surrounding Teton County, a state economist said.

“Demand for labor was the main reason” for the increase in the Hispanic population, said Wenlin Liu, senior economist with the Economic Analysis Division of the state’s Department of Administration and Information. “Due to the high cost of living in Jackson Hole, many Hispanics probably lived in the Star Valley area of Lincoln County and commute to work in Teton County.”

The U.S. Census Bureau released the population estimates for the nation’s counties Thursday. The data estimates the population in July 2006.

The number of Hispanic men increased 91 percent in the last six years, from 694 to 1,332, while the number of Hispanic women increased 88 percent, from 491 to 921. Given those estimates, the Hispanic population in the county is 60 percent male, 40 percent female.

The census estimates there are 10,439 men and 8,849 women in the valley, for an overall ratio of 54 percent men to 46 percent women.