Latino consumers are the most important part of USHAA. USHAA believes that the Hispanic
purchasing power may be leveraged to provide effective advocacy, meaningful benefits
and helpful information to help Hispanics succeed in the United States.
The combined purchasing power of the U.S. Hispanic population ranks it among the
world's largest economies. According the latest census numbers, the Hispanic population
is now the largest minority group representing 42.6 million people in the United
States , including Puerto Rico . Its size is larger than the population of Canada
, Spain or Argentina and it is estimated to grow by more than 1.7 million a year,
100,000 every three weeks or 5,000 people a day. These figures are not just a reality,
but a wake up call. There are several key characteristics of the US Hispanic Market
that differ from the general population:
Growth
Today, there are approximately 40 million U.S. Hispanics representing 13% of the
total U.S. population. Not only is this population large, it is growing at four
to five times the rate of growth of the overall U.S. population. As a result, based on U.S. Census data, over the 1900-2000 period, Hispanics accounted for approximately
40% of the overall U.S. population growth. Recent data from the U.S. Census reveals
that Hispanics have accounted for 50% of overall U.S. population growth since 2000.
Youth
Almost half of U.S. Hispanics are under 25 years of age; 67% are under 35. Although
Hispanics represent approximately 13% of the overall population, they are close
to 20% of the U.S. population under 30.
Purchasing Power
Growth in disposable income within the U.S. Hispanic population since 1990 has substantially
outpaced growth in the general U.S. population. The buying power of the Hispanic
population is expected to grow from $716 billion today to $l trillion by 2008 - one out of every ten dollars of U.S. buying power.
Entrepreneurship
The number of U.S. Hispanic-owned businesses grew at an 11% compounded annual rate
between 1987 and 1997. Hispanic owned businesses exceed 1.5 million firms which
generate aggregate revenues in excess of $200 billion.
In leveraging Hispanic purchasing power to advocate for Hispanics on Green Agenda issues, USHAA looks to capitalize on these trends.