Data Drop: 5 Charts to Understand Media Use of US Hispanics

Hispanic buying power is expected to grow to $2.8 trillion by 2026, representing 12.1% of total US buying power—up from 6.7% in 2000, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth. With increased disposable income in the hands of this young, diverse, and growing cohort, marketers need to understand their shifting media usage habits.

The US Hispanic Population Is Bilingual, Young, Upwardly Mobile, and Growing Faster Than the General Population

Gen Z represents over a quarter of the US Hispanic population. The US Hispanic population will grow to 67.7 million people this year, representing nearly 20% of the total population, according to the US Census Bureau. And 44% of the group were born after 1997, versus 31% of non-Hispanics. Over the next decade, the Hispanic population will sustain larger growth than the overall US population will, at 21% versus 7%.

More speak only English at home. About 39 million US Hispanics (67.6% of the total Hispanic population) ages 5 and older speak Spanish at home, based on the latest available data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. But among the US-born population, roughly 45% speak English only. As the US-born population grows larger, the share of those who can speak English “very well” increases. English becomes more dominant than Spanish by the third generation of Hispanics (i.e., Hispanic individuals born in the US to parents who were also born in the US).

Over 10% of the affluent population are Hispanic. Ipsos defines the affluent population as those with household incomes of $125,000 or more, and its Spring 2022 Affluent Survey found that the share of Gen Z affluent who are Hispanic rises to 20%. Rates of home ownership and college graduation have improved since 2000, although they’re still lower than the general population. Additionally, Hispanic entrepreneurship is increasing: The number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew over 8% YoY in 2020, to 375,256, per the latest Annual Business Survey (ABS) from the US Census Bureau.