Arizona’s economic growth has been strong for decades and looking into the next stretch of years, one group of people is poised to make a greater impact than the rest: Latinos.
Both nationally and in Arizona, the Latino population is already large, young, growing rapidly and its cultural and economic impacts are likely to swell as a result.
A new Bank of America study helps to describe and quantify the economic impact that Latinos have in Arizona. The bank's study, called the Latino GDP Report, found that Latinos contributed $92 billion to Arizona’s gross domestic product in 2018, based on the most current available data.
That impact was driven by continued population growth in Arizona, continued educational attainment and higher labor force participation rates, which culminated in higher consumption among Latinos.
“In some ways, the Latinos in Arizona are even more impressive than Latinos in the eight states and Latinos broadly in the United States,” study author Matthew Fienup said in a Wednesday presentation of the Arizona findings. The study looked at data from eight U.S. states, including Arizona where Latinos make up about 32% of the population.
