Economic Facts

  • African Americans comprise 14.2% of the population, but African American-owned businesses constitute only 2.2% of the 5.7 million businesses with more than one employee (Brookings).

  • Despite making up 18.5 % of the population, Latino-owned businesses account for about 4% of U.S. business revenues and 5.5% of U.S. employment (Stanford).

  • If African American-owned businesses had parity with White-owned businesses, both in terms of proportional representation based on population and parity in revenues, there would be 615,000 more African American-owned businesses, and African American businesses would generate $1.6 trillion more than they do today (McKinsey). 

  • Latino-owned businesses, on average, bring in about $1.2 million in revenue every year, compared to 2.3 million a year for non-Hispanic Americans (Stanford).

  • When Latino entrepreneurs start a business, 70 percent of their funding comes from personal savings, while just six percent comes from commercial loans (JPMorgan).

  • Twice as many Latina-led companies experienced closure compared to Latino-led businesses (30% versus 16%). Layoffs were also higher for Latina-led companies (17% versus 12%) (Stanford).

  • African Americans earn 30% less than Whites, and if wages were equal that would mean an additional $220 billion annually into the pockets of African American workers (McKinsey).

  • Latino business-owners, while expected to add another 1.4 trillion dollars to the U.S. economy in the coming years, only make up 65% of every dollar made by a white business owner in the U.S. (JPMorgan).

  • The home ownership gap between African Americans and Whites in 2017 had reached its highest level in 50 years, according to the Urban Institute, with only 41.8% of African Americans owning their homes, compared to 71.9% of Whites, and the income gap was even more pronounced, with median African American income ($38,138) badly training White median income ($61,363) (Urban Institute).

  • The COVID-19 pandemic made a bad situation even worse. According to the Brookings Institution, prior to the pandemic, a shocking 8x wealth disparity existed between Whites, with median wealth of $188,200, and African Americans, with median wealth of $24,100. As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, Brookings data shows troubling signs of disproportionate economic impact on African Americans, such as African Americans under 35 borrowing from or liquidating their retirement savings accounts at more than triple the rate of their White counterparts (Brookings Institute).

  • Latino households only have one-eighth of the wealth of non-Hispanic white households, on average. 2016 data shows that the median net worth of Hispanic households was only $20,600, compared to $171,000 for non-Hispanic white households. This means that White households make a staggering $150,000 more, on average (Senate Joint Economic Committee).

  • The 19 million white-owned businesses have 88 percent of the overall sales, and control 86.5 percent of U.S. employment, while black businesses have a mere 1.3 percent of total American sales, and 1.7 percent of the nation’s employees. Latino businesses have 4 percent of U.S. sales and 4.2 percent of U.S. employment (BlndedMedia).

  • Black-owned firm application rates for new funding are 10 percentage points higher than white-owned firms, but their approval rates are 19 percentage points lower (Fed Small Business).

  • Nationwide, businesses with majority Hispanic ownership provide almost 2.7 million jobs to workers in the U.S. (Senate Joint Economic Committee).

  • Despite the achievement/wealth gap, Latinos have contributed $2.3 trillion to the US economy; a 2019 report stated that if American Hispanics were their own country, their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would rank the 8th highest in the world (Senate Joint Economic Committee).