Scatter plot comparing median household income and bachelor's degree attainment for US Hispanic groups, showing Argentines earn the most and Venezuelans are the most college-educated | Sources: PEW, Latinometrics
Hispanics in the US: Who are the Richest and Most Educated?

Often when we talk about Hispanics and Latin Americans in the United States, they’re perceived as a monolith. People may discuss these diverse groups of people as being renowned for a work ethic or cuisine, or more likely to vote for one party or another, all despite the very real distinctions facing Guatemalan-Americans and Cuban-Americans,

With this in mind, this week we’d like to disaggregate our data on Hispanics in the US, breaking them down along two metrics: median household income and percentage share holding an undergraduate four-year (bachelor’s) degree. Our findings may surprise you.

Despite regional perceptions of Europeans being smarter or richer, multiple Hispanic populations outperform Spaniards by these metrics. A majority of adult Venezuelans in the US, for example, hold a bachelor’s degree (roughly 57% in 2021). Meanwhile, Argentines tend to have the highest median household income overall, demonstrating once more that for many Latinos it’s circumstances in their home country --- not laziness or a lack of ingenuity – which holds them back.

The situation is quite different for other subregions of Latin America, however. Central Americans such as Guatemalans, Hondurans, and Salvadoreans tend to be among the poorest and least likely to have graduated college, while Mexicans are not far behind. Evidently, professional opportunities and access to resources play significant roles in determining this disparity between countries as varied as Chile and Nicaragua.

No matter whether we’re discussing the Dominicans of New York or the Mexicans of Los Angeles, however, we see improving conditions for all.