The Fast Growing Hispanic Market

The median age for Hispanics was 26.7 in July 2003, compared with 35.9 for the overall U.S. population, according to the Census Bureau. While the U.S. median age continues to rise, from 35.3 years in 2000, the median age of Hispanics remains the lowest of all groups.

And most demographers predict faster growth among young Hispanics than among other young ethnic groupsfor the next decade. Currently, 34.1 percent of Hispanics are younger than 18(compared with 25.1 percent of the total U.S. population).

In 2001, the fertility rate (the average number of children each woman will have during her lifetime) for Hispanics was 2.4 – higher than the national rate of 2.1, which also represents the natural replacement level. Similarly, while the number of live births per 1,000 Hispanic women is 96, the total U.S. rate is only 64.2, or more than 30 points lower.