Photo: Libertystreeteconomicsnewyorkfed.org
By Isaac Cohen*
For Metro Economics
At the end of the Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated every year by congressional mandate from September 15 to October 15, the Hispanic minority has reached almost one fifth of the total population of the United States. According to the Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2023, with 65.2 million, the Hispanic population of the United States is the nation’s largest minority, at “19.5 percent of the total population.” The median age of the Hispanic minority increased in 2023 to 31.0, from 30.7 in 2022, with almost one third, 30.2 percent, under 18 years.
Hispanic Heritage Month: 2024 (census.gov)
However, other indicators reveal that the Hispanic minority still has a long way to go. According to a study by economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, in the United States “disparities in wealth are pronounced across racial and ethnic groups.” The purpose of the study was to observe the evolution of these disparities from the first quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2023, to obtain “a pandemic-era picture.” In the population sample studied, at the start of 2019, 11 percent were Hispanic households that “held just 2.7 percent of total wealth.” By contrast, 73 percent of white households “held 92.4 percent of the wealth.” In 2019 dollars, “the average Hispanic household held $205,000 in wealth,” while “the average white household held $1.06 million.”
Federal Reserve Bank of New York Liberty Street Economics , June 28, 2024, https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2024/06/racial-and-ethnic-inequalities-in-household–wealth-persist/
*International analyst and consultant, former Director ECLAC Washington. Commentator on economic and financial issues for CNN en Español TV and radio, UNIVISION, TELEMUNDO and other media.
