This is the fourth of a series of snapshots from Prosperity Now's Racial Wealth Divide Initiative providing key data on racial wealth disparities in America.

1. 8/2/19, 4)37 PMRacial Wealth Snapshot: Latino Americans | Prosperity Now
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2. 8/2/19, 4)37 PMRacial Wealth Snapshot: Latino Americans | Prosperity Now
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EDITOR'S NOTE: This is the fourth of a series of
snapshots from Prosperity Now's Racial Wealth Divide
Initiative providing key data on racial wealth disparities
in America. The first snapshot looked at the racial
wealth divide facing Black Americans, the second
presents important facts for understanding how wealth
divides play out at the intersection of race and gender
and the third looks at the wealth outcomes of Asian
Americans.
Latinos in the United States are those with ancestral
roots from nations in the Americas whose primary
language is of Latin origin, including Mexico, Central
America, South America and much of the Caribbean.
Demographics
Latinos are one of the largest and fastest-growing
communities in the United States with a population of
56.6 million people. As of 2016, roughly 63 percent of
Latinos were of Mexican descent, 9.5 percent were
Puerto Rican, 3.8 percent were Salvadoran, 3.7 percent
AUTHORS
Jose Macias,
Former Intern,
Racial Wealth
Divide Initiative

3. 8/2/19, 4)37 PMRacial Wealth Snapshot: Latino Americans | Prosperity Now
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Puerto Rican, 3.8 percent were Salvadoran, 3.7 percent
from Cuba, 3.3 percent Dominican and 2.4 percent
were of Guatemalan origin. Many Latin Americans tend
to reside in California, Florida, New York and Texas.
California alone has a population of 15.3 million
Latinos, the highest in the United States, followed by
Texas, with 10.9 million Latinos and Florida, with 5.1
million.
Income
Though America’s Latino population is growing, it is
still one of the most socioeconomically insecure. In
2016, Latino Americans had a median income (in 2016
dollars) of $46,882, about 20 percent less than the
national median, which is $59,039. This is about $8,000
more than African American median income ($39,490)
and $18,000 less than White median income
($65,041).
Interestingly, foreign-born Latinos (34 percent of total
Latino population) and native-born Latinos (66
percent) have very similar median incomes: $44,338
and $47,400, respectively. But a closer look at earnings
by national origin reveals more substantial di!erences:

4. 8/2/19, 4)37 PMRacial Wealth Snapshot: Latino Americans | Prosperity Now
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Poverty Rates
The poverty rate for Latinos decreased from 23.2
percent in 2008 to 19.4 percent in 2016. Yet, the
poverty rate for non-Hispanic White Americans is only
8.8 percent, less than half the poverty rate of Latinos.
For almost 40 years, the Latino poverty rate has
consistently hovered around 20 percent, with a 1980
“Spanish Origin” poverty rate at 21.3 percent, a 22.3

5. 8/2/19, 4)37 PMRacial Wealth Snapshot: Latino Americans | Prosperity Now
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percent poverty rate in 1990 and a 20 percent poverty
rate in 2000.
Employment and Unemployment
The Latino unemployment rate has dropped from 5.6
percent to 4.7 percent between 2016 and 2017 while
the national average unemployment rate was about 4.4
percent. 2017 data from the Bureau Of Labor Statistics
shows that native-born Latinos have an unemployment
rate of 6.8 percent, whereas foreign-born Latinos have
a lower rate of 4.7 percent.
The di!erence in employment rates between foreign-
and native-born Latinos could be due to the steady
demand for blue collar jobs foreign Latinos fill because
they have lower educational attainment. With respect
to labor participation, White Americans sit right above
the national average with 62.9 percent participation,
while Latinos and Black Americans participate at a rate
of 65.9 percent and 59.9 percent, respectively.
Latinas and Gender Inequality
Beginning with educational attainment, Latinas hold
more bachelor’s degrees (16.8 percent) or higher
compared to Latinos (13.8 percent), but they don’t earn
as much as Latino men. According to census data,

6. 8/2/19, 4)37 PMRacial Wealth Snapshot: Latino Americans | Prosperity Now
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Latinas have a median income of $30,482, versus
$35,069 earned by males. According to 2016 data from
the American Community Survey (ACS), 7.5 percent of
Latinas are unemployed and 19.5 percent of Latino
households are led by women. By comparison, 9.4
percent of African American women are unemployed
and 27.4 percent of African American households are
led by women. Asian women have a 4.6 percent
unemployment rate and 9.1 percent of Asian
households are women-led. White women have a 4.7
percent unemployment rate and 9.9% rate for White
women led households.
Educational Achievement
Latinos have the lowest attainment of bachelor’s
degrees or higher. According to 2016 data from the
American Community Survey (ACS), as of 2016, only
about 15.3 percent of Latinos had a bachelor’s or
higher. In contrast, 35.7 percent of Whites had a
bachelor’s degree or higher, and 21.6 percent of
African Americans and 49.7 percent of Asian Americans
had the same. Foreign-born Latinos had a higher
proportion of adults with less than a high school
education at 28 percent compared to native born
Latinos at 8 percent. Interestingly, foreign-born Latinos
were just as likely as the native population to hold an

7. 8/2/19, 4)37 PMRacial Wealth Snapshot: Latino Americans | Prosperity Now
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advanced degree: 13 percent versus 12 percent among
native-born Latinos.
Wealth
In 2016, the wealth of a Latino household was only
$6,300 compared to White Americans, who held
$140,500. However, in 2015, Latinos accounted for
some of the highest increases in homeownership – 69
percent of the net growth in the US. Currently, about
46 percent of Hispanic Americans own a home.
Nevertheless, Latinos still lag behind White Americans,
72% of whom own a home. The Latino
homeownership is slightly higher than that of African
Americans, which is 40 percent.
Stay up to date with our work on America's racial
wealth divide by joining the Racial Wealth Equity
Network!
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