The lopsided wealth ratios between whites, blacks and Hispanics are the largest since the government began publishing household wealth data a quarter century ago.
More Latino children are living in poverty — 6.1 million in 2010 — than children of any other racial or ethnic group. This marks the first time in U.S. history that the single largest group of poor children is not white.
The net worth of households in the U.S. fell sharply from 2005 to 2009, declining by 28%. But the drop in household wealth affected minorities disproportionately.
The number of Latino eligible voters increased in 2010, from 13.2 million in 2000 to 21.3 million, but only 6.6 million actually voted in that year’s elections.
The median wealth of white households is 20 times that of black households and 18 times that of Hispanic households, according to an analysis of newly available government data from 2009.
A surge in Hispanic college enrollment between 2009 and 2010 has narrowed the gap on campus between the number of Hispanics and other demographic groups.
Spanish-language media faces challenges — such as an increasingly U.S.-born Latino population — but it still tends to fare better overall than their mainstream English-language counterparts.