A new report from the University of Georgia – Terry College of Business reveals that Hispanic market buying power in the United States exceeded the gross domestic product of Mexico last year.
The news comes from Terry’s most recent ‘Multicultural Economy Report,’ which estimates the country’s buying power at $13.9 trillion last year, predicting an increase of up to $16.6 trillion in 2021.
In the United States, Hispanic buying power grew exponentially from 2000 to 2016, increasing from $495 billion to $1.4 trillion. At this number, the Hispanic market is greater than the GDP of Mexico and bigger than the economies of all but just fourteen countries across the globe.
A big part of the recent gains in Hispanic buying power comes from an increase in the number of Americans who can claim Hispanic origin. Indeed, more than one in six Americans today can claim Hispanic descent. Among the population, those identifying as Mexican-American account for $797 billion worth of the buying power. They are followed by those of Puerto Rican decent at $146 billion.
Jeff Humphreys, Director of the Selig Center for Economic Growth at Terry, authored the report. “As America grows more diverse, minority groups are reaping great economic dividends, and business owners would do well to pay attention,” he said. “Minority buying power is growing at a faster pace than the white consumer market for a number of reasons, such as demographics, increases in educational attainment and entrepreneurial activity.”
African-Americans and Asian-Americans are among the other groups which make up a significant portion of the country’s buying power. Buying power of African-Americans, the nation’s largest racial minority market, is expected to increase from $1.2 trillion to $1.5 trillion over the next five years. Asian-American buying power has witnessed the largest increase of any U.S. minority group, increasing 222% between 2000 and 2016.
The full report can be purchased here.