Demographics
- Latinos have been in Minnesota since 1860 (Source: Minnesota Historical Society).
- State Demographer projects the 2003 Minnesota Latino population at 159,000. The State's Latino population grew by 10.7 percent over the last two years, higher than the rates for Asians, African-Americans and whites.
- Nationally Latinos surpassed all other minority groups and is the nation's largest minority group with 38.8 million/13.4 percent of the total population. These estimates do not include the 3.9 million residents of Puerto Rico. (Source: U.S. Census Bureau July, 2003)
Military Participation
Latinos have the highest percentage of Congressional Medals of Honor of any minority group for both World War II and the Korean War. (Source: Everything You Need to Know About Latino History by Himilce Novas)
- Latinos and the Vietnam War: Latinos had the second highest per capita casualty rates. (Source: American War Library)
- Latinos and the 2003 Iraq War: Lance Cpl. Jose Antonio Gutierrez was one of the first U.S. soldiers to die in action. Mr. Gutierrez crossed into the U.S. illegally as an orphaned teen from Guatemala. (Source: 2003 Latino Political Wires, March 27, 2003)
Economics
- Latino Business grew 350 percent between 1987-1997: There were 3616 Latino firms with 391 million dollars in sales and an annual payroll of 63 million dollars. (Source: Economic Census 1997)
- Latino Spending Power: Latinos spent approximately $428.3 billion in 2003, capturing 6 percent of total U.S. purchasing power. (Source: AC Nielsen Research projections)
- Farmworker Families: The national median income for farmworker families is $10,000 annually. (Source: "Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey (NAWS) 1997-1998." K. Mehta, et al. Washington, DC: Office of Program Economics, April, 2003)
- Latina women are the lowest paid workers in the nation: According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Latina females earned on average $364 weekly compared to white males who earned on average $669 weekly. (Source: "Highlights of Women's Earnings in 2000." Washington, DC: Bureau of Labor Statistics Report, 2001).