Wage Gap for Millennial Latinos is Growing

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Latinos are the youngest major racial or ethnic group in the United States. According to 2014 Pew Research study, about over 17.9 million of the nation’s Latino population is younger than 18. Nearly 25% all Latinos are Millennials (ages 18-33 in 2014). Overall, nearly six-in-ten Latinos are Millennials or younger.

As Millennials become a larger portion of the American workforce the reality of the wage gap becomes clearly apparent. The differences between the average wage for Millennials across the United States is staggering. In Washington, DC (10.16% Latino population), the average wage for Millennials is by far the highest at $40,046 annually. The lowest by far is Mississippi (2.9% Latino population).

According to Fortune, North Dakota (which is the second-highest average for Millennials) offers full-time year-round workers under the age 35 made substantially less on average than $40,356—which was the national average for workers between 35 and 65. For Latinos the news is even worse. In the heavily Latino-populated state of New Mexico (47.36% Latino population), the news is grim as Millennials on average earn $19,551 a year.

According to the authors at Fortune, some of the disparities can be explained by the youth and inexperience of Millennials. However, this only explains part of the problem. Many Millennials graduated during the Great Recession of the mid-2000s; research has shown that this is likely to be a drain on their average earnings. Despite being the largest generation in the U.S. workforce, they make on average 20% less than boomers did at the same age.

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