Economic Contributions

Latinos have long been the backbone of America's economy, driving progress and prosperity through their essential labor in diverse sectors. Their work ethic, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit have been central to our past and present success. With high rates of workforce participation, growing business ownership, and rapidly growing educational levels, Latinos are poised to elevate our economy to new heights.

If Latino Americans were a country, they would have the fifth largest GDP in the world.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

If Latino Americans were a country, they would have the fifth largest GDP in the world, just behind Japan and ahead of India.

U.S. Latino GDP was $4.1 trillion in 2023.

Latinos were responsible for nearly one-third (31%) of total national GDP growth from 2019 to 2023, though only 19% of the population

Real Latino consumption grew more than 2½ times faster than non-Latino consumption between 2010 and 2023 ¹

DID YOU KNOW?

Latinos are launching businesses faster than any demographic — up 34% from 2007 to 2019, compared to just 1% for all other small businesses. ²

Workforce Participation

Latinos are substantially more likely than non-Latinos to be part of the work force, and are the fastest growing group of U.S. workers.

• Latinos 2023 labor force participation rate was 67%, compared to 62% for non-Latinos – an all-time high.³

• Latinos accounted for about two-thirds of labor force growth over the past two decades. ⁴

Latinos serve as the backbone of essential industries in the US, representing⁵ 78% of agricultural workers⁶

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of agricultural workers

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of construction workers

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of food preparers and servers

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of home health aides

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of service workers

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of childcare workforce ⁷

Business Ownership and Job Creation

Latinos – especially Latinas – are more likely than other U.S. residents to start businesses.

• From 2018-2022, in spite of the pandemic, the number of Latino-owned businesses increased by 44% and had a 36% increase in total revenue, while the number of White Non-Latino owned businesses decreased by 3%.

• As of 2023, according to Forbes, Latina/o entrepreneurs “have established a staggering five million businesses across the country, collectively generating over $800 billion in annual revenue.”⁸

Latinos - especially Latinas - are more likely than other U.S. residents to start businesses.

• Latinos created well over one-third (36%) of all new businesses in the U.S. in 2023 — they are more likely to start businesses than any other racial or ethnic group.⁹

• Latinas own more than 2 million businesses, which employed 845,000 people in 2023 and generated more than $175 billion in revenues, though they were hurt by the pandemic and are still recovering.¹⁰

• Latino-owned business owners are more likely than their White Non-Latino counterparts to offer employer-paid benefits (89% vs. 75%) and skill development opportunities for growth and advancement (90% vs. 77%).¹¹

DID YOU KNOW?

During the COVID-19 years from 2019 to 2022, the U.S. Latino GDP grew faster than the GDP of any of the world’s top 10 economies, including China and India. ¹²

Footnotes

1. 2025 U.S. Latino GDP Report,” UCLA and California Lutheran University, 2025, https://latinogdp.us.
2. “Latino/a businesses are the fastest growing demographic in the US, Stanford finds,” SSTI, October 12, 2023, https://ssti.org.
3. “Employment trends of Hispanics in the U.S. labor force “ U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024, https://www.bls.gov.
4. “Employment Trends of Hispanics in the U.S. Labor Force, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 8, 2024, https://www.bls.gov; and “The top 10 largest economies in the world in 2023,” 360tf, https://www.360tf.trade; and “2025 U.S. Latino GDP Report, “UCLA and California Lutheran University, 2025, https://latinogdp.us.
5. Unless otherwise noted: “Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey,” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2024, https://www.bls.gov.
6. “Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 2021–2022: A Demographic and Employment Profile of United States Crop Workers,” JBS International, https://www.dol.gov.
7. “Connection & Community: Elevating The Impact of Latina Early Educators,” National Women’s Law Center, October 2024, https://nwlc.org.
8. “The Unstoppable Growth Rate Of Latino-Owned Businesses In America,” Forbes, April 2, 2024, https://www.forbes.com.
9. “The economic state of Latinos in America: Building up small businesses,” McKinsey & Company, 2024, https://www.mckinsey.com.
10. “The 2023 Impact of Women-Owned Businesses -- A focus on Hispanic/Latino women,” Wells Fargo, 2023, https://www.wippeducationinstitute.org.
11. “State of Latino Entrepreneurship,” 2024 Research Report, Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Institute, Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2025, https://www.gsb.stanford.edu.
12. “2025 U.S. Latino GDP Report,” The Latino GDP Project, September 2024, https://blogs.callutheran.edu.

Economic Contributions

Economic Contributions

If Latino Americans were a country, they would have the fifth largest GDP in the world.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

DID YOU KNOW?

Latinos are launching businesses faster than any demographic — up 34% from 2007 to 2019, compared to just 1% for all other small businesses. 2

Workforce Participation

Latinos serve as the backbone of essential industries in the US, representing5 78% of agricultural workers6

Business Ownership and Job Creation

Latinos - especially Latinas - are more likely than other U.S. residents to start businesses.

DID YOU KNOW?

During the COVID-19 years from 2019 to 2022, the U.S. Latino GDP grew faster than the GDP of any of the world’s top 10 economies, including China and India. 12

Latinos are launching businesses faster than any demographic — up 34% from 2007 to 2019, compared to just 1% for all other small businesses. ²

Latinos serve as the backbone of essential industries in the US, representing⁵ 78% of agricultural workers⁶

During the COVID-19 years from 2019 to 2022, the U.S. Latino GDP grew faster than the GDP of any of the world’s top 10 economies, including China and India. ¹²