STATISTICS AND INFORMATION

ON

THE HISPANIC POPULATION AND MARKET 2007

UNITED STATES

The 2007 Hispanic population for the United States was 45,146,232 and is estimated to rise to 52,038,459 by 2012. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

The Latino population, already the nation’s largest minority group, will triple in size and will account for most of the nation’s population growth from 2005 through 2050. Hispanics will make up 29 percent of the U.S. population in 2050, compared with 14 percent in 2005. (Pew Hispanic Center Report: U.S. Population Projections: 2005-2050)

In 2006, the number of minorities in the U.S. reached 100.7 million.  Hispanics, who have been the largest minority group since 2001, remain the largest with 44.3 million people or 14.8 percent of the population as of July 1, 2006, a 3.4 percent increase between 2005 and 2006. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006)

Hispanics accounted for almost half (1.4 million) of the national population growth of 2.9 million between July 1, 2005, and July 1, 2006. (U.S. Census Bureau)

The 2000 Census showed that one in eight people were of Hispanic origin.  By 2012, nearly one person out of every six living in the U.S. will be of Hispanic origin. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Georgia Business and Economic Conditions, Third Quarter 2007)

The Selig Center for Economic Growth projection’s reveal that Hispanics controlled about $862 billion in spending power in 2007 (307 percent increase since 1990), and will rise slightly over $1.2 trillion by 2012 (9.7 percent of U.S. buying power).

Between 1990 and 2007, the Hispanic population will increase by 100 percent compared to 13 percent for the non-Hispanic population and the 21 percent gain for the total population. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Multicultural Economy, Third Quarter 2007)

In 2004, the majority of Hispanics living in the U.S. were of Mexican origin (64 percent). (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

There are approximately 2 million Hispanic-owned businesses in the country that generate almost $300 billion in annual gross receipts. By 2010, there will be 3.2 million Hispanic firms generating $465 billion (Small Business Administration, HispanicTelligence® )

One out of every 10 small businesses were projected to be Hispanic by the end of 2007. (Hispanic Trends)

Nearly 30 percent of Hispanic-owned firms operated in construction and other services, such as personal services, and repair and maintenance in 2002. Retail and wholesale trade accounted for 36 percent of Hispanic-owned business revenue. Firms owned by people of Mexican origin accounted for more than 44 percent of all Hispanic-owned firms. (Atlanta Business Chronicle-March 21, 2006)

Hispanic firms grew by 31 percent between 1997 and 2002, which is more than three times faster than the 10 percent increase in the number of all U.S. firms. (Census Bureau, data release 2006)

Between 1990 and 2007, the share of buying power controlled by Hispanic consumers rose from 5 percent to 8.6 percent, and the group’s share rose in every state. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Multicultural Economy, Third Quarter 2007)

2005 data shows that only 50 percent of Hispanics are homeowners compared to 69 percent of non-Hispanics. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Multicultural Economy, Third Quarter 2007)

The median age for Hispanics is 27.4 years—nine years younger than the median age for the United States as a whole. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006)

Hispanics spend more on groceries, phone services, furniture, gasoline, children’s clothing and foot ware. (Selig Center for Economic Growth 2007)

The most recent Consumer Expenditure Survey indicates that Hispanic consumers spent in total only about 85 percent as much as the average non-Hispanic consumer.

A Junior Achievement poll showed that some 79 percent of Latino teenagers “want to start their own businesses,” compared with 69 percent of non-Hispanic white teenagers. (Hispanic Trends)

Small businesses make up 98 percent of all businesses and create the majority of new jobs added to the economy. (Small Business Administration)

There are 1.7 vehicles per Hispanic household compared to 2 vehicles per non-Hispanic household. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

GEORGIA

The 2008 Hispanic population for the state of Georgia is 770,816 and estimated to rise to 974,390 by 2012. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

The Hispanic buying power in Georgia rose from 1,328,827 in 1990 to 13,606,097 in 2007. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

Georgia is the 10^th largest Hispanic market in the United States, at 13.6 billion for 2007, compared to its 1990 rank of 19^th. (Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia 2007)

From 1990 to 2007, Georgia's total buying power rose 176 percent from $101 billion to $278 billion -- this puts Georgia at No. 10 among the states in terms of total buying power. (Atlanta Business Chronicles-July 31, 2007).

In 2007, Georgia’s Hispanic buying power will overshadow its 1990 value by 924 percent, a percent gain that is triple the 307 percent increase in U.S. Hispanic buying power. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

Georgia is ranked fourth as the “fast growing” Hispanic market, which is topped by Arkansas, North Carolina, and Tennessee. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

Georgia Hispanics’ market share climbed from 1.3 percent in 1990 to 4.9 percent in 2007. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

In 2006, 2,994 Small Business Administration (SBA) loans were granted to small businesses in Georgia.  Of those, 142 went to Hispanics.  This is a 58 percent increase from the previous year.  (Small Business Administration, Georgia District, 2006) 

Georgia tied with Rhode Island as the state with the second-fastest rate (56 percent) of growth for Hispanic-owned firms between 1997 and 2002, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released March 21. (Atlanta Business Chronicle-March 21, 2006

Some of the largest areas populated by Hispanics in Georgia are:

County	Hispanic Population 1990	Hispanic Population 2007
Gwinnett	8,830	140,780
Cobb	9,724	76,789
Fulton	13,703	73,452
DeKalb	16,099	61,981
Hall	4,717	46,183
Clayton	3,884	32,581
Whitfield	2,417	27,705
Cherokee	1,097	18,025
Forsyth	648	13,084
Henry	465	9,132

(Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)  

ATLANTA

The estimated 2008 Hispanic population for Fulton County is 967,317. (Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

Hispanic buying power in the metro area from 1990 to 2007 skyrocketed almost 1,100 percent to $9.8 billion. The group has 5.7 percent share of the metro market, compared with 1.5 percent in 1990. (Atlanta Business Chronicle-July 31, 2007)

Ten of Atlanta’s top 25 minority-owned firms are owned by Hispanics. (Atlanta Business Chronicle - The Book of Lists, 2006-2007)

Atlanta has approximately 21 periodicals and 10 radio stations that are focused on serving Georgia’s Hispanic population. Additionally, in 2002, Univision, a national Spanish-language network, became the metro area’s first 24-hour local Spanish-language television station.

Counties in the state of Georgia with the largest Hispanic buying power in 2007:

County	Hispanic Buying Power 1990	Hispanic Buying Power 2007
Gwinnett	108,318	2,770,858
Fulton	226,635	2,130,331
Cobb	138,718	1,927,780
DeKalb	205,508	1,411,379
Gainesville	32,230	573,802
Dalton	21,469	494,861
Clayton	44,077	534,558
Cherokee	14,899	382,856
Augusta	62,581	235,513
Henry	5,174	258,797
Forsyth	12,200	244,431
Savannah	41,789	206,148

(Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, The University of Georgia, May 2007)

U.S. Hispanic Women-owned Businesses

As of 2006, there are an estimated 856,782 firms with 50 percent or more owned by Latina women in the U.S. employing 418,518 people and generating nearly $67 billion in sales. (Center for Women’s Business Research, 2007)

Eighty percent of Latina majority women-owned (51 percent or more) firms are in the service sector. 9.2 percent are in retail trade; and 4.5 percent are in real estate, rental, and leasing. (Center for Women’s Business Research, 2007)

Latina women majority owned firms now represent 9.7 percent of all majority owned firms in the U.S. (Center for Women’s Business Research, 2007)

Between 1997 and 2006 the number of firms majority owned (51 percent or more) by Latina women increased by 121.3 percent; the number of employees increased 18.6 percent; and sales increased 33.3 percent. (Center for Women’s Business Research, 2007)

The number of women-owned businesses grew at almost three times the national rate between 1997 and 2002. The number grew by 20 percent, while all the number of U.S. businesses grew by 7 percent. (Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration 2007)

EDUCATION

Nine percent of students in Georgia schools are Hispanic (Georgia Department of Education, 2006-2007 Scorecard)

In 2006, the number of Hispanics in the U.S. age 25 and over was approximately 23.5 million.  The number of Hispanic high school graduates in the same age group was only 6.7 million.  The number of Hispanics in the same age group with a Bachelor’s degree was 2.1 million.  (U.S. Census Bureau, 2006)

The high school graduation rate of Hispanics in Georgia for 2006 was 55.7 percent compared to an overall high school graduation rate of  70.8 percent. Nationally, 12.3 percent of Hispanics have college degrees and 27 percent are high school Graduates. (Georgia Department of Education).

The national average SAT (math and verbal) scores for 2005-2006 were 1014.  The national average SAT scores for Hispanics are 910.  Hispanics in Georgia scored 947 which is closer to the state average of  985. (Georgia Department of Education, 2005-2006 Scorecard)

By the time they are 26 years old, 43 percent of Hispanic dropouts have received a GED, compared to 50 percent of white dropouts. (Pew Hispanic Center)

ELECTIONS

As of November 1, 2007, and according to the Secretary of State of Georgia, the total number of Georgia registered voters was 4,427,386. Latino registered voters are estimated at 97,819. (Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO): Latino Voting Strength in Georgia, 2008)

The growth rate of the self-identified Latino registered voters in Cobb County was 486 percent increasing

from 1,063 in January 2003 to 6,229 in November 2007. (Georgia Association of Latino Elected

Officials (GALEO): Latino Voting Strength in Georgia, 2008)

In January 2003, there were 179 self-identified registered Latino voters. In November 2007, there were 1,042 Latino registered voters in Forsyth County. These numbers indicate a 482 percent growth rate among Latino registered voters. (Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO): Latino Voting Strength in Georgia, 2008)

From January 2003 to November 2007, the number of Latino self-identified registered voters grew 951 percent, from 327 to 3,436. Fulton County also ranks third in the concentration of Latino registered voters across the state, behind Gwinnett  and Cobb Counties. (Georgia Association  of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO): Latino Voting Strength in Georgia, 2008)

In January 2003, Gwinnett County recorded a total of 803 Latino registered voters. On November 1,  

2007, this Metropolitan Atlanta County had 9,719 registered Latino voters, the highest number of

Latino registered voters in the state. (Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO): Latino Voting Strength in Georgia, 2008)

Latinos make up 8.9 percent of a growing share of the eligible electorate in 2007, compared with 8.2 percent in 2004. (Pew Hispanic Center, 2007)

Gwinnett County had 803 Latino registered voters in January 2003, by November 2007 that number increased to 9,719, the highest number of registered Latino voters in the state. Two out of the three Latinos serving in the general Assembly are from Gwinnett districts. (Outlines of a New Georgia, GeorgiaTrend 2008)

In 2006, 8.6 percent of the U.S. population (approximately 17 million) that was eligible to vote was Hispanic.  The percentage of Hispanics who voted in 2006 is somewhere between 6 percent and 8 percent of all votes cast. (Pew Hispanic Center, 2006)

Of the eligible voters in Georgia 2.3 percent is Hispanic, which represents approximates 140,000 people. (Pew Hispanic Center, 2006) 

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