Hispanic Market

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the terms Hispanic (and Latino) refer to people “whose origins are from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Caribbean, or those identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, etc. Origin can be viewed as ancestry, nationality, or country of birth of the person or person’s parents or ancestors prior to their arrival in the United States.” Hispanics can be of any race.

There are more than 48 million Hispanics in the United States.

Latinos now account for 16% of the American population. The 32 million Latinos of Mexican origin account for around 66% of the Hispanic population. Hispanics accounted for more than half of all of the growth in the U.S. population that occurred between 2000 and 2009. Latinos also are expected to be responsible for more than half of the growth in the U.S. population between 2010 and 2015.

With an estimated buying power of $616 billion, Latinos of Mexican heritage represent the single most influential segment of the Hispanic market. Mexicans in the United States account for 59% of all Hispanic buying power. On a per capita basis, however, Cubans are the most affluent of the major Hispanic population segments. Their per capita buying power is substantially higher than that of Mexicans ($32,724 vs. $19, 426).

The vast majority (92%) of Hispanics under 18 were born in the United States as were about 47% of those 18 and over. Mexicans are most likely to be U.S.-born.More education leads to higher-paying jobs and increasing affluence among high-acculturation Latinos. High-acculturation Hispanics are more likely than their low-acculturation counterparts to work as managers and professionals (19% vs. 6%). They are twice as likely to have a household income of $75,000 or more (37% vs. 19%) and are much more likely to own their home (62% vs. 40%).