Latino Voices: Beyond the Numbers of America’s Fastest-Growing Demographic

Lilian Coral

Oscar Pocasangre

Vanessa Rangel

Elena Silva

Leslie Villegas

This is the first in a two-part blog series aimed at cultivating a deeper understanding of the Latino community's roots, priorities, power, and economic opportunities. Read the second parthere.

For its entire history, the United States has been a majority-white nation. In the coming decades and beyond, it will not be. The "new America" will be a pluralistic nation: a far more diverse and complex country where no single racial or ethnic group will have a majority. The 2020 Census revealed that almost 40 percent of Americans were of an ethnic or racial minority, a figure that will only continue to grow given the younger age profile of minorities. This change has-and will continue to have-a profound effect on our culture and society.

The 2024 presidential election is taking place in a moment of great political division against the backdrop of these major demographic shifts. One of the country's fastest-growing demographic groups-those who identify as Hispanic or Latino-is garnering attention again for how voters within this populace might influence election outcomes. To begin to capture the views of this diverse community and understand what inspires them during this electoral inflection point, we interviewed six leaders of Latino or Hispanic heritage working in various sectors-education, politics, philanthropy, immigration, and the climate. These leaders shared their observations and frustrations about how Latinos are represented by the media and politicians, the wide range of policy issues impacting these communities (and ideas for addressing them), and their hopes for a more pluralistic, inclusive America.

The stories we heard during the interviews add context to the trends revealed by population data of Latino and Hispanic people found in recent censuses. The narratives, combined with the data presented in this piece, illuminate the rising power of Latino communities in a rapidly diversifying America.

A Young and Diverse Demographic

The Latino population in the United States is undergoing rapid growth and diversification. Census projections show that it is one of the fastest-growing demographics, expected to increase from 19 percent to around 26 percent by 2060. Projected growth is fueled in part by the high number of young Latinos, with one in four children under 18 in the United States now of Latino origin.

Latinos are among the most heterogeneous demographic groups in the country, with diverse origins spanning the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, and Europe, resulting in rich racial, cultural, and linguistic diversity. While "Latino/Latina" and "Hispanic" remain the most common terms used to self-identify, there are many other terms used including "Latine," "Latinx," "Afro-Latino," and many more tied to specific countries of origin like "Boricua," "Chicano," or "Salvadoreño." Although Mexicans remain the largest origin group for U.S. Latinos at 37.2 million, Mexican Americans now have the slowest rate of growth among Latinos (13 percent), with Venezuelans now the fastest-growing group. Pew Research Center shows the other significant populations in the United States include Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Salvadorans, Dominicans, and Guatemalans.

Speaking Spanish remains a cornerstone of Latino identity, even if many who identify have never learned or lost the language over time, due to factors such as inadequate bilingual education and pressures to assimilate to English-language spaces (third- and higher-generation Latinos are far less likely to say they speak Spanish well).

Growing Economic and Political Power

The strength of the Latino community is derived not only from its size. In the United States, Latinos are emerging as a significant economic engine, contributing prominently to the nation's GDP growth. In 2020 alone, the GDP of Latinos was estimated at $2.8 trillion, up from $2.1 trillion in 2015. For context, this growth was measured to be the third-largest GDP growth as compared to the 10 largest nations. Much of this growth is driven by the spending power and labor market engagement of Latino workers. Both during and following the economic downturn of the pandemic, the labor participation rates of Latinos exceeded the national average.

The younger age profile and projected growth of the Latino labor market also play a crucial role in its economic influence. As older workers retire, young Latinos will disproportionately step into the labor market and boost both spending and tax revenue, making them integral to future economic growth.

Still, Hispanic households trail behind white and Asian ones in terms of wealth. According to Pew Research data, Hispanic households had a median network of $48,700, compared to $250,400 among white households and $320,900 among Asian households. Within Hispanic communities, wealth disparities exist based on country of origin. In 2020, the median household net worth was $9,340 among Dominican households, $30,600 among Salvadoran households, $52,440 among Mexican households, $92,700 among Cuban households, and $141,200 among Colombian ones.

Misaligned Electoral Power and Vulnerability to Misinformation

Despite their growing numbers and economic influence, Latinos remain underrepresented in the electorate. About 19 percent of Latinos in the United States are not citizens, compared with 6 percent of the overall U.S. population, and about 29 percent of Latinos are under 18 years of age, compared with 22 percent of the overall U.S. population, according to Pew Research data. This translates to an underrepresentation in the electorate-only 53 percent of Latinos are eligible to vote compared to 72 percent of all Americans-that negatively impacts the political representation of Latinos. In most state legislatures, the share of Latino legislators is far below the share of eligible Latino people of voting age. Latinos have made tremendous strides at the national level, but there is still ground to cover. The current meeting of Congress has the highest share of representatives of Hispanic descent yet (11 percent), a few points lower than the 15 percent of Latinos who are eligible to vote.

Nonetheless, the influence of the Latino vote is already a powerful driver in elections and is projected to grow stronger as more Latinos become eligible to vote. The Pew Research Center estimates that 36.2 million Latinos were eligible to vote this year-up from 32.3 million in 2020. Moreover, Latino voters comprise a significant share of eligible voters in current key swing states for presidential elections, like Arizona (25 percent) and Nevada (22 percent).

Promoting media literacy and ensuring access to reliable information is also more important than ever to ensure engaged and thoughtful political participation among Latino communities. Latino communities face significant challenges from misinformation, which is particularly prevalent in Spanish-language media. Latinos are reportedly more likely than other demographic groups to get their news from Spanish-language radio and social media, including YouTube, WhatsApp, Telegram, and other channels with unverified information.

Rising Need for Equitable Education

With Latinos now comprising nearly 30 percent of all preK-12 school enrollment, their future economic and political engagement hinges on access to equitable education opportunities. Latino students attend schools with higher rates of poverty concentration and these schools also receive less funding-a reality that undoubtedly shapes their K-12 experience. As a group, Latinos face myriad challenges in education, including low access to preschool programs, less qualified and experienced teachers, and limited access to advanced coursework that would open the door to education beyond high school. Latinos are less likely than other racial groups to graduate from high school or to attend colleges, and overall have lower educational attainment levels compared to the general population, with only 21 percent holding a bachelor's degree or higher, although that rate has been steadily increasing over the past 20 years.

Latino students are more likely to live in families where English is not the primary language and are more likely to be identified as part of the growing population of English learners (EL). In 2021, more than three-quarters of students identified as English learners were Hispanic, roughly four million students. Schools and districts play a crucial role in supporting the home language and English language development of these students. Programs that would benefit EL-identified students, like dual language and bilingual education programs, are expanding across the country, although evidence shows EL-identified students still do not have equitable access.

Toward Understanding a More Diverse Population

The multifaceted nature of the Latino population-diverse, young, politically emerging, and far from monolithic-is poised to influence all aspects of American life. Understanding and embracing the complexity of the Latino demographic will be crucial for creating educational systems, economic strategies, and political opportunities that reflect and serve an increasingly diverse America.

Editor's note: The terms "Latina/o" and "Hispanic" are used interchangeably by the U.S. Census Bureau and throughout this blog post to refer to persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central and South American, or Spanish culture or origin. While the authors recognize that this usage comes with limitations, the current Census definitions shape the data available.