Latinos, who will represent more than a quarter of the US population by 2050, are often concentrated in underserved areas ranging from adequate housing to health care, according to a recent report.
These disparities were among several highlighted in “The Economic State of Hispanics in America: Postponing the American Dream,” a report by McKinsey & Company, which detailed the obstacles slowing or impeding the economic progress of the 60 million Latinos living in the United States.
“The challenges that the Latino community faces in making upward economic gains only deepen by living in these deserts,” says Bernardo Sechelle, partner at McKinsey and one of the report’s authors. “These deserts have an impact on a range of outcomes, such as health, nutrition, service choices, productivity and budget. All of these factors are influenced by limited choices, the necessity to travel in search of resources and the high prices of consumer goods.”
Latino families typically spend 71% of their income on groceries and other consumer goods and services, but they often struggle to find or access appropriate options.
“Latinos tend to live disproportionately in isolated, impoverished areas where they are denied opportunities, services, and consumables that most Americans take for granted,” Rogelio Sainz, professor in the department of demography at the University of Texas at San Antonio. , he said in an email. “Latinos…disproportionately also do not have easy access to parks, libraries, bookstores, and high-quality, well-funded schools (and) banks.”
Sainz was not associated with the McKinsey study.
Here’s what the McKinsey report found:
housing markets
Among Hispanics, 42%, or approximately 21.2 million, lived in a census area lacking affordable housing in 2019. Nearly 9 in 10 Latinos in these communities lived in five states — California, Florida, New Jersey, New York, and Texas .
Hispanics were 3.1 times more likely than their non-Hispanic white counterparts to live in those residential deserts, which the report identified as low-income communities where the volume of affordable housing available per 100 “ultra-low-income” families fell below the national level. level.
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Health Care
Accessing health care services is a challenge for many Hispanics in the United States where 42%, or 21.4 million, live in neighborhoods that do not have enough medical providers to match the population, or lack these services in general.
Latinos were 2.5 times more likely to live in a healthcare desert than their white peers, and these areas were often urban communities in Arizona, California, Florida, New York and Texas, according to the report.
Food and Grocery
Among Hispanics in the United States, 15% live in low-income areas where supermarkets are hard to find. This compares with 11% of non-Hispanic whites who live in low-income urban neighborhoods where the nearest grocery store is more than a mile away, or in rural areas where a large population has to travel at least 10 miles to find a store. Super Market.
“Latinos tend to live in food deserts where they don’t have access to fresh fruits and vegetables. There are likely to be convenience stores, liquor stores, and other stores,” says Sáenz, a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. controlled, the prices for those unhealthy foods are also more expensive than those in economically better neighborhoods.”
Banking Services
Approximately 34.5 million Latinos live in areas where more than the average population does not have bank accounts. Among households with a lack of banks or no accounts at all, 14% are Hispanic, compared to 3% of white households.
Latinos, as well as black Americans, are disproportionately represented among the unbanked and the underbanked who are often deterred from opening accounts due to high fees and distrust of financial institutions. But not dealing with banks can cost you money and time as consumers collect check cashing fees and have to find transportation to get money orders or pay bills in person.
wide wave
Nearly half of Latinos live in communities with limited broadband access, which can make it difficult to complete tasks ranging from paying bills to distance learning.
Broadband deserts are defined in the report as census areas where there is less than 80% coverage per 1,000 homes.
Consumer Goods
Nearly three out of four Latinos in the United States live in counties where there are fewer than average major malls or membership retail clubs that allow shoppers to purchase clothing, appliances, and other products.
“Having a fair wage is one thing,” the report said. “But what if you are unable to spend it on needed goods and services?”