Annual DATOS report shows impact of Hispanics on the Arizona economy

For more than 25 years, the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce has published “DATOS: The State of Arizona’s Hispanic Market,” which is research on the impact of Hispanics on the Arizona marketplace. 

Paul Padilla, Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Director of Market Intelligence, joined us to discuss the details of the annual report.

According to the report, Hispanics make up one-third of the Arizona population. The total population of U.S. Latinos would be as large as the fifth largest economy in the world. Another statistic: 71% of Latinos are homeowners before age 45, compared to 62% of the general population.

“At the U.S. level from 2010 to 2020, the Hispanic population increased by 12 million so that accounted for 52% of the total growth we are seeing in the U.S. Here locally in Maricopa County during that same time period, we saw the Hispanic population increase by 200,000; that was the third largest growth among all counties in the U.S.,” Padilla said.

Another important finding is that 5.8 million Hispanics entered the job market from 2010 to 2020 compared to the non-Hispanic job market where there only 2.4 million.

“We are seeing a large decrease in their poverty as well. The Hispanic poverty rate in the U.S. decreased 6%, and that was the greatest percentage decrease compared to all major racial ethnic groups,” Padilla said.

Padilla said there are areas for growth. For example, only 28% of Hispanics have a retirement account, which was the lowest among any other group, and Hispanics are 2.5 times more likely to experience food insecurity that white individuals.

“If we want to have a successful Arizona, that means we need to have Latinos be successful too,” Padilla said.

Transportation was a main topic of conversation at the annual DATOS breakfast, attended by more than 1,000 state and business leaders.

“Hispanics compared to non-Hispanics use carpooling more. They use rideshare Uber, Lyft more, they use the bus system more, they rely on it more, they use scooters and bicycles more than non-Hispanics,” Padilla said.

Padilla said another focus during the event was keeping the relationship between Arizona and Mexico strong. Mexico is Arizona’s greatest partner for both exporting and importing goods.