Thursday, March 28, 2024

Guest Blogger: Jody Brannon “Striking Percentage Ages 6 or Older Identify as Latino”

Jody Brannon, Doris Nhan, Rosa RamirezThe desire to connect with America’s growing Hispanic and Latino audiences has marketing firms parsing data, looking to help clients make sense of shifting demographics. 

With the growth in immigration and U.S.-born Hispanics and their families, the marketing firm Experian has produced an analysis concluding that 16 percent of people in the U.S. ages 6 or older identify as Latino or Hispanic.

That’s up 2 percentage points from 2006, when this figure was 14 percent.

The report also points to a youth boom, saying that 1,008 Latina girls in the United States turn 15 each day (tying that to the traditional coming-of-age celebration of quinceañera), up nearly 8 percent from 2006. But the other striking figure is among Generation Y and younger:

About 25 percent of individuals in the U.S., ages 6 to 34 – roughly the Millennials or Gen Y – identify as Latino or Hispanic. 

These numbers are in addition to census data showing that the U.S. population growth in general will slow, then skew older and more diverse by 2060.

That 25 percent – fully a quarter of the nation – is in that sweet spot of youth with buying power. Today it tantalizes merchants, online and in stores, restaurants, theaters and more, and it will only continue to grow as the U.S. Hispanic population continues to grow in decades to come.

And beyond cash registers, the same population has strength politically, given that about 55,000 Hispanic teens reach voting age each month, according to researchers at the Pew Hispanic Center, who expect the Hispanic electorate to double by 2030.

This article originally appeared on National Journal.

Jody Brannon, Ph.D., is a Veteran digital journalist and editor of The Next America, a National Journal initiative that explores the impact of shifting demographics on politics and policy.  Contact her at  @brannonj or follow The Next America on Twitter and Facebook