The statistics have prompted many Midwestern stations to switch to Spanish or bilingual programming, according to NBC.
"[Latinos are] the only growing population that exists in those markets, and there was nothing for them," Murray Hill Broadcasting director of advertising Josh Guttman said.
Cleveland was one of the most recent to convert a station, and as of Jan. 1, 87.7 FM La Mega WLFM-LV began playing Latino music. The Hispanic population has increased by 63 percent to about 10 percent of Cleveland's total population in Cleveland.
And a majority of that population includes radio-listeners, according to Nielsen statistics. Over 93 percent of the U.S.' Hispanic population, about 40 million people, listen to the radio for more than 12 hours a week, according to the Nielsen data.
But they aren't the only ones listening to the music on Spanish language stations.
"I honestly think music has no language," said Daniel Melendez, programming director of La Mega's parent company, TSJ Media, told NBC.
He said that a large portion of the audience may not understand Spanish, but that doesn't deter them from tuning in.
"We want everybody to listen and appreciate the station and be part of it, and that's very hard to do when you're talking about so many different types of music and cultures," Guttman said.
Even states like Wisconsin are seeing a growth in their Hispanic population.
"It's such a good way to be in touch with a high [portion] of the population," said Romilia Schlueter, an El Salvador native living in Madison, Wisconsin, who works at La Movida radio station.
The number of Spanish stations grew from about 500 to more than 800 in 2012, but some reports as recently as May estimate more than 1,000, according to NBC.
Source: Published originally on LatinPost as More FM Radio Stations Broadcast in Spanish in Response to Growing Latino Populations,July 20, 2014.