---
title: "IV. Latinos and Upward Mobility"
description: "Despite difficult economic times, in the long trajectory of their lives Latinos see improved standards of living when compared with their parents and expect their children’s standard of living to be even better. Two-thirds (67%) of Latinos (compared with 61% of the general public) say their standard of living is better than that of their […]"
date: "2012-01-26"
authors:
  - name: "Paul Taylor"
    job_title: "Former Author of The Next America and the former Vice President of Pew Research Center"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/paul-taylor/"
  - name: "Mark Hugo Lopez"
    job_title: "Director, Race and Ethnicity Research"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/mark-hugo-lopez/"
  - name: "Gabriel Velasco"
    job_title: "Guest Contributor"
  - name: "Seth Motel"
    job_title: "Former Research Analyst"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/seth-motel/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2012/01/26/iv-latinos-and-upward-mobility/"
---

# IV. Latinos and Upward Mobility

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/01/2012-nsl-economy-13.png)

Despite difficult economic times, in the long trajectory of their lives Latinos see improved standards of living when compared with their parents and expect their children’s standard of living to be even better.

![](https://assets.pewresearch.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2012/01/2012-nsl-economy-14.png)

Two-thirds (67%) of Latinos (compared with 61% of the general public) say their standard of living is better than that of their parents when their parents were the age they are now.

This assessment of an improved standard of living is stronger among foreign-born Hispanics than it is among native-born Hispanics. Seven-in-ten (71%) foreign-born Hispanics say their standard of living is better than that of their parents. Among the native born, 62% say the same.

Looking to the next generation, Latinos are more optimistic than the general public. Two-thirds (66%) of Latino adults expect their children will do better than themselves, while fewer than half (48%) of the general public says the same about the next generation.

Among Hispanics, expectations of intergenerational upward mobility are higher among the foreign born than they are among the native born. More than seven-in-ten (72%) Hispanic immigrants say they expect their children’s standard of living will be better than their own. Among the native born, 59% expect their children’s standard of living to be better.

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**Next:** [Appendix A: Trends in Unemployment](https://www.pewresearch.org/race-and-ethnicity/2012/01/26/appendix-a-trends-in-unemployment.md)