The U.S. Hispanic Market Is Outgrowing the Market Around It
Is the U.S. Hispanic market really growing faster than the total U.S. market?
Yes. U.S. Hispanic buying power is projected to reach $2.8 trillion in 2026, and it is growing faster than the total U.S. consumer market. Between 2021 and 2026, Hispanic buying power is on track to grow 32.1%, compared with 23.2% for total U.S. buying power, a gap of about 9 percentage points, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia. For any brand building a U.S. growth strategy, that gap is the opportunity.
The growth snapshot: U.S. Hispanic market vs. the total U.S. market
|
Metric |
Figure |
Source |
|
U.S. Hispanic population (July 1, 2025) |
70.1 million, 21% of the U.S. population |
U.S. Census Bureau |
|
Share of U.S. population growth, 2000–2024 |
56%, the largest of any group |
Pew Research Center |
|
States with 1 million+ Hispanic residents (2025) |
16 |
U.S. Census Bureau |
|
Median age, U.S. Hispanic population (2025) |
31.1 |
U.S. Census Bureau |
|
U.S. Hispanic buying power (2026, projected) |
$2.8 trillion |
Selig Center, University of Georgia |
|
Share of total U.S. buying power (2026, projected) |
12.1% |
Selig Center, University of Georgia |
|
Buying power growth, Hispanic (2021–2026) |
32.1% |
Selig Center, University of Georgia |
|
Buying power growth, total U.S. (2021–2026) |
23.2% |
Selig Center, University of Georgia |
|
Growth gap in favor of the Hispanic market |
About 9 percentage points |
Calculated from the Selig Center figures |
Buying power figures for 2021 are Selig Center estimates; figures for 2026 are Selig Center projections.
What does the growth gap mean for brands?
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The market is large and still accelerating. Buying power is on track to grow about 9 points faster than the total market from 2021 to 2026, reaching a projected $2.8 trillion in 2026.
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Standing still has a cost. Brands relying on generic, one-size-fits-all CX aren’t just missing a niche. They’re missing a fast-growing share of their own addressable market.
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Cultural fluency is the mechanism. The brands that capture this growth understand the language, the context and the experiences that make them relevant to Hispanic customers, not just present in front of them.
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Customer experience is where it’s won or lost. Every service interaction either confirms that a brand understands its customer or signals that it doesn’t.
Why is customer experience central to capturing this growth?
Marketing can bring a customer to a brand. Customer experience decides whether they stay. As the Hispanic market grows faster than the market around it, the distance between brands that offer language-only support and brands that build cultural fluency into every interaction becomes a difference in loyalty and retention.
How does Atento help brands capture this growth?
Atento pairs culturally fluent, U.S.-based teams with AI to help brands turn Hispanic market growth into business results:
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Culturally fluent teams that understand context, not just language, across generations and regions within the U.S. Hispanic community.
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The Atent.AI Suite (AI Agent, AI Agent Assist and AI Advanced Insights) to surface the nuance generic tools miss, paired with human judgment where it matters most.
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A Business Transformation Outsourcing (BTO) model built to scale with this market’s growth, not just serve it at today’s size.
The market is growing. Cultural fluency is how brands capture it, and Atento helps brands build it.
Frequently asked questions
How fast is the U.S. Hispanic market growing compared with the total U.S. market?
Between 2021 and 2026, U.S. Hispanic buying power is on track to grow 32.1%, compared with 23.2% for total U.S. buying power, a gap of about 9 percentage points, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.
How big is U.S. Hispanic buying power?
U.S. Hispanic buying power is projected to reach $2.8 trillion in 2026, about 12.1% of total U.S. buying power, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth.
How many Hispanic people live in the United States?
As of July 1, 2025, 70.1 million Hispanic residents lived in the United States, 21% of the total population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Why does cultural fluency matter more as this market grows?
Because the market is changing faster than language-only service models. Brands that build cultural fluency into their customer experience keep pace with a customer base that is growing faster than the market around it.
How can a brand start capturing this growth?
By working with a CX partner built for cultural fluency at scale. Atento combines culturally fluent, U.S.-based teams with the Atent.AI Suite to help brands turn U.S. Hispanic market growth into business results.
The U.S. Hispanic market is growing faster than the market around it. Talk to Atento about building a CX strategy that captures it.
Related reading
Sources
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U.S. Census Bureau, “National Hispanic Heritage Month: 2026,” Facts for Features. census.gov
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Pew Research Center, “Key facts about U.S. Latinos,” October 2025. pewresearch.org
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Selig Center for Economic Growth, Terry College of Business, University of Georgia, The Multicultural Economy (2021 estimates and 2026 projections), as reported by eMarketer. emarketer.com
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Selig Center for Economic Growth, University of Georgia, total U.S. buying power and 2026 share projections, as reported by Adweek. adweek.com
