Hispanic Market Guide 2026
18 chapters on the market brands overlook.
Scale, spending, media habits and purchase intent, with sources. Each chapter stands on its own; read them in order for the full argument, from a four trillion dollar market to the buying plans of Bay Area households.
Start with chapter 01All chapters
- Chapter 01Market Scale
A four trillion dollar market
At $4.4 trillion in GDP in 2024, the U.S. Latino economy has reached a scale that forces a fundamental rethink of how growth is defined. Measured on its own, it would be the fourth largest economy in the world.
Read chapter 01 - Chapter 02Population & Growth
Scale and growth: the demographic engine
Between 2000 and 2024 the U.S. Latino population nearly doubled, rising from 35.3 million to 68 million and accounting for 56% of all U.S. population growth, a greater share than any other group.
Read chapter 02 - Chapter 03Business Engine
The entrepreneurial engine inside the market
From 2017 to 2023, Latino-owned employer businesses grew 48% to 553,000 firms while White-owned firms declined 3%. By 2023 they generated $832 billion in revenue and employed 4.3 million people.
Read chapter 03 - Chapter 04Latino Youth
The next majority is already here
About a third of U.S. Hispanics are under 21, 27% of Generation Alpha is Hispanic, and 93% of Latinos under 18 are U.S. citizens, nearly all of them by birth. This is a domestic growth story, not an immigration story.
Read chapter 04 - Chapter 05Top Markets
Where the market lives
Los Angeles, New York, Miami and the Texas metros anchor Hispanic media reach, and the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose DMA ranks among the top ten in the country with 491,440 Hispanic TV homes.
Read chapter 05 - Chapter 06Brand Expectations
The pressure is real. So is the opportunity.
Latino consumers are engaged, aware and making decisions in real time: 60% are watching closely how brands respond to immigration enforcement news, and 57% say that news has already changed where they shop or which brands they support.
Read chapter 06 - Chapter 07Cost of Silence
Silence is a strategy. But not a safe one.
For some brands the instinct is to pull back, stay neutral and wait for clarity. But neutrality does not always land as intended: 53% of Hispanic adults say messaging that disrespects immigrant communities would make them stop supporting a brand.
Read chapter 07 - Chapter 08Consumer Sentiment
Economic anxiety beside real gains
Hispanic poverty fell to a record low of 13.9% in 2025 and median household income held on to the previous year’s 5.5% gain, yet 78% of Hispanic adults say economic conditions are only fair or poor. Both facts are true at once, and strategy has to hold them together.
Read chapter 08 - Chapter 09Culture & Values
Values drive purchase
Representation drives action: 63% of Latinos say they are more likely to buy from brands that feature people like them in their advertising, and 75% are confident their economic situation will improve in the next year, compared with 60% of all U.S. consumers.
Read chapter 09 - Chapter 10Spending Power
Outpacing the market in spending
In 2024, Hispanic households spent 83% more than non-Hispanic households on girls’ apparel, 78% more on apparel for children under 2 and 78% more on rent, and accounted for about a quarter of all U.S. household spending in each.
Read chapter 10 - Chapter 11Media Habits
How the market consumes media
Hispanic viewers are accelerating the move to streaming, especially among younger cord-cutting audiences. The majority of attention has shifted to flexible, on-demand platforms, while smartphones absorb 16 hours a week.
Read chapter 11 - Chapter 12Content Genres
Connecting through content
Hispanic audiences over-index in specific genres: conversation and talk programs at 2.4 times the total U.S. share of broadcast viewing, participation variety at twice and general variety well above it, while news takes a smaller share of their cable time.
Read chapter 12 - Chapter 13Streaming
Leading the streaming revolution
Streaming is not just growing, it is being defined by Latino audiences: in June 2025, 55.8% of Hispanic TV time was spent streaming versus 46% for the total U.S., and YouTube alone took 19.1%, more than all broadcast networks combined.
Read chapter 13 - Chapter 14Creators & Social
From consumers to creators
Hispanic audiences are not just consuming digital content, they are curating, shaping and monetizing it, building their own ecosystems across social, streaming and creator platforms.
Read chapter 14 - Chapter 15Digital Ad Gap
Ad dollars are not keeping up
Despite heavy digital engagement, U.S. online retailers put only 0.92% of their digital ad budget into Spanish-language websites in the first quarter of 2025, and 94% of that went to YouTube. The guide calls the gap one of the biggest inefficiencies in marketing today.
Read chapter 15 - Chapter 16Leading Advertisers
The market in action
Procter & Gamble leads Spanish-language advertisers at $173.5 million in Nielsen-tracked media spend, ahead of Verizon, Los Defensores and a top thirty that spans consumer goods, telecom, retail, restaurants, autos and healthcare.
Read chapter 16 - Chapter 17Radio Reach
Radio’s critical role in driving growth
Radio reaches more than 43 million Hispanic adults every month, 93% of them. Hispanic adults rate it the most trustworthy medium, and in a Nielsen model, moving 20% of a media plan to AM/FM lifted reach from 70% to 86%.
Read chapter 17 - Chapter 18Purchase Intent
Where opportunity abounds
Hispanic radio listeners are more likely than the general population to plan major household purchases in the next year, according to MRI-Simmons data reported in the guide: 66% more likely to buy a home theater system, 53% more likely to lease a vehicle.
Read chapter 18
