Policy-Driven Barriers Leave Latino Households With 22 Cents of Every White Household's Wealth

Latino households held 22 cents for every dollar of wealth held by white households as of 2022. This gap is the result of policy decisions in immigration, homeownership, labor, public benefits, and education.

Median household wealth for Latino families stood at $62,000 in 2022, compared to $284,000 for white households. Latino workers earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by white workers. Even with a bachelor's degree, Latino graduates earned an average of $70,500 in 2023, more than $20,000 less than white graduates with the same credential.

Retirement account ownership is 28 percent for Latino households, compared to 62 percent for white households. Homeownership rates are 51 percent for Latino households and 73 percent for white households as of 2023.

These disparities are attributed to land dispossession, redlining, and predatory lending practices, including the subprime mortgage crisis of 2007-2010. Mexican-descended farm ownership in the U.S. fell from 39 percent in 1850 to 16 percent by 1910. This decline was a direct result of the legal fallout from the 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.