SEATTLE - As part of its effort to financially and educationally empower the Latino community in the United States, the Hispanic Wealth Project published its 2024 report analyzing with key findings on how the community is faring in terms of building its wealth.
Celebrating the 10th anniversary of the HWP Blueprint, the project reached its target of tripling Latino household wealth two years ahead of schedule. According to the 2024 report, the Latino community in the United States outpaced any other racial or ethnic group between 2013 and 2024 in terms of wealth growth, surpassing the general population's wealth by 1.9 over a 10-year period.
By 2022, the median net worth of Hispanic households reached $63,400, 3.17 times higher than in 2013, when adjusting for inflation.
Although Latino household wealth is on the rise, a significant gap remains when compared to non-Hispanic White households, with the report arguing that the gap is even larger today that it was two decades ago.
In 2022, the median net worth for Latino households was almost $64,000, but Non-Hispanic White households averaged $283,300 while the general population's wealth finished at $192,160.
This year's HWP's report argues that, although household wealth over the last decade has been significant for Latinos, it does not fully account for age, a major factor when it comes to wealth.
Latinos are the youngest racial or ethnic group in the United States with a median age of 30. They are eight years younger than the overall population and 14 years younger than non-Hispanic Whites.
This means that Latinos have had less time to build wealth, consequently, a portion of the wealth gap can be attributed to age. For example, the report found that, for every dollar a Latino household holds, non-Hispanic Whites have $3.63 while the general population has $2.43.
When age is factored in, the proportional wealth gap between Latinos and other groups narrows by nearly one-fifth. Latino households under 35 have a median net worth of $16,060, compared to $58,350 for non-Hispanic White households and $39,040 for all households under 35.
How can Hispanics/Latinos close the wealth gap?
Due to their young median age, HWP says that Latinos are yet to fully reach their potential in home ownership, business ownership, savings and investments, all key factors that contribute to a household's wealth.
Homeownership is the single greatest multiplier for advancing that, as Latino households that own their homes have 26.4 times the net worth of those who are renting ($233,100 compared to $8,840).
Since 2013, the total number of Latino households has grown by 4.6 million and, altogether, Latinos accounted for 30 percent of overall U.S. household growth despite comprising only 15 percent of the total U.S. population. Today, this year's report says that over 9.5 million Latinos are homeowners.
When the Hispanic Wealth Project was launched 10 years ago, one of its initial goals was to achieve a Latino homeownership rate of 50 percent or greater by 2024. In 2023, that number reached 49.5 percent.
Geography plays a key role in wealth building
Housing costs and home equity potential can vary depending where you live. When it comes to Latinos, they tend to be concentrated in higher-cost areas. The top five metro areas with the largest Latino populations are home to 30 percent of the total Latino population in the country, and four out of the five have home prices above the national average.
For example, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metro area is home to the largest Latino population in the U.S., yet listing prices are nearly three times the national average.
© 2024 Latin Times. All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
