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SALT LAKE CITY — Latino Utahns appear to be doing better economically than their compatriots in other parts of the country, according to U.S. Census data.
Utah had the second lowest poverty rate among Hispanics last year at 12%, which is just above the national poverty rate across races of 11.5%. Meanwhile, Wyoming had the lowest rate at 10.2%, and Alabama had the highest rate at 27.6%.
Utahns across the board saw a decrease in poverty rates over the last decade, and Utah's average poverty rate across races and ethnicities of 8.2% is below the national average. That trend is repeated on the national level where poverty decreased 3.5% over the decade.
Nationwide, the number of Latinos living in poverty has also significantly decreased during the last decade. In Utah alone, for example, the percentage of Utah Latinos in poverty dropped almost 17 percentage points. Nationally, the percentage of Latinos living in poverty in the U.S. decreased from 26% in 2012 to 17%, or 10 million people, in 2022.
Yet the Hispanic poverty rate in the Beehive State and beyond is still above the national average of 11.5%.
That difference is reflective of how, despite overall progress in eradicating poverty on the national and state level, racial and ethnic inequities persist.
Only 7% of white Utahns are in poverty compared to 12% of Latinos, 14% of African Americans, 18% of American Indians or Alaska Natives, 10% of Asians, 11.6% of Pacific Islanders and 10% of Utahns of two or more races.
Household median incomes also vary widely by race and ethnicity, with white and Asian Utahns earning much more than Utahns or other races and ethnicities.
White and Asian households have median incomes of $93,000 and $92,000, respectively. That's 13% more than Pacific Islander households, 16% more than households of two or more races, 23% more than Latino and Hispanic households, 35% more than Black or African American households and 39% more than Native American households.
Each racial and ethnic group saw an increase in median household incomes over the past decade, but Native American households had the highest growth rate of 109%. The median income for Native American households rose from $30,000 in 2012 to $62,000 in 2022. Despite that increase, Native American households in Utah still had the lowest median income, followed by Black Utahns at $65,000.
