The hottest markets for Hispanic entrepreneurship

Approved by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, and enacted later into law in 1988, National Hispanic Heritage Month was established to honor Latinos, their rich history and their cultural contributions in the United States. In honor of the month, which runs through Oct. 15, the editors of 1851 Magazine compiled information on Hispanic-owned businesses and the expansion hotspots for Latino entrepreneurial growth. According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. Hispanic population now stands at more than 54.1 million, making them the nation’s second-largest racial or ethnic group at 17 percent of the U.S. population. Hispanic-owned businesses nearly doubled over the past decade, jumping from 1.7 million in 2002 to 3.2 million in 2013. That rate was more than twice the average national business growth rate during that period, according to a release by the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, which represents about 3.2 million Latino-owned businesses that generate about $468 billion for the American economy. The country’s Latino-owned businesses grew on average 7 percent annually from 2007 to 2013. The study also concluded that amidst American minority groups, Hispanics are most likely to start their own business, as they made up 20.4 percent of all new entrepreneurs in 2013. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, California has the highest percentage of Hispanics in its population at 27.8 percent, followed by Texas at 18.7 percent and Florida at 8.4 percent. The fastest-growing area of the country for the demographic, however, is currently in the Southern Census divisions, where the percentage of Hispanics is estimated to grow by 59 percent between 2007 and 2014. Key states such as Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky will see an increase in Hispanic purchasing power and influence as time continues. Cities with the highest Hispanic population growth, according to WalletHub’s research of Census data, include Montgomery and Huntsville, Alabama; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Fayetteville, North Carolina; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That same WalletHub study ranked the “Best and Worst Cities for Hispanic Entrepreneurs,” naming Pembroke Pines, Florida, the No. 1 city for Hispanic-owned business, based on the market’s rankings for business friendliness and Hispanic purchasing power. Corpus Christi, Texas, finished No. 2, followed by Laredo, Texas; Gilbert Town, Arizona; and Rancho Cucamonga, California. The cities with the highest share of businesses owned by Hispanics are in Florida and Texas, the WalletHub report found. Hialeah, Florida, took the top ranking in that category, followed by the Texas cities of Laredo, Brownsville and El Paso. Miami was ranked No. 5 among cities with the highest share of Hispanic-owned businesses. By 2050, Hispanics could make up one-third of the population and their clout in the business landscape will only continue to increase and gain momentum, according to Hispanic Chamber of Commerce estimates, leading the group’s president, Javier Palomarez, to call Hispanic entrepreneurs “America’s business future.”