Rowdy Orbit™

2008 African American Factoid

In 2008, African Americans will constitute the nation’s largest racial minority market, and their economic clout will energize the U.S. consumer market as never before. The Selig Center projects that the nation’s black buying power will rise from $318 billion in 1990 to $590 billion in 2000, to $913 billion in 2008, and to $1.2 trillion in 2013.

The 1990 to 2008 percentage gain of 187 percent outstrips the 139 percent increase in white buying power and the 151 percent increase in total buying power (all races combined). In 2008, the nation’s share of total buying power that is black will be 8.5 percent, up from 7.4 percent in 1990. African-American consumers’ share of the nation’s total buying power will rise to 8.8 percent in 2013, accounting for almost nine cents out of every dollar that is spent.

Also, the black population is younger: The American Community Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that the median age of blacks is only 31.4 years compared to 40.6 years for non-Hispanic whites or 36.4 years for the total population.

LGBT Facts and Figures

2008 US Hispanic Factoid

The immense buying power of the nation’s Hispanic consumers continues to energize the nation’s consumer market, and Selig Center projections reveal that Hispanics will control about $951billion in spending power in 2008.

In sheer dollar power, Hispanics’ economic clout will rise from $212 billion in 1990, to $490 billion in 2000, to $951 billion in 2008, and to almost $1.4 trillion in 2013. The 2008 value will exceed the 1990 value by 349 percent—a percentage gain that surpasses both the 141 percent increase in non-Hispanic buying power and the 151 percent increase in the buying power of all consumers. U.S. Hispanic buying power will grow faster than African-American buying power 187 percent), Native American buying power (213 percent), and Asian buying power (337 percent).

2008 Native American Factoids

The Selig Center projects that the nation’s Native American buying power will rise from $19.7 billion in 1990, to $39.1 billion in 2000, to $61.8 billion in 2008, and to $84.6 billion in 2013. This group’s buying power in 2008 will be 213 percent greater than it was in 1990.

The 1990-2008 percentage gain is much greater than the increases in buying power estimated for whites (139 percent), for the U.S. population as a whole (151 percent), and for blacks (187 percent). It is smaller than those estimated for Asians (337 percent) and for Hispanics (349 percent), however. Despite this fast-paced growth, Native Americans will account for only 0.6 percent of all U.S. buying power in 2008, up only slightly from their 0.5 percent share in 1990, when they accounted for only $19.7 billion in buying power.

Added reinforcement comes from the fact that the Native American population is growing much more rapidly than the total population, and is expected to continue to do so. From 1990 through 2008, the Native American population will grow by 45 percent, outpacing the projected gains of 28 percent for the black population, 22 percent for the total U.S. population, and 16 percent for the white population. Also, the Native American population is relatively young. The 2006 American Community Survey indicates that the median age of Native Americans is 31.2 years compared to 40.6 years for non-Hispanic whites and 36.4 years for the total population.

Entrepreneurial activity is another major force powering the growth of Native American buying power. The 2002 Survey of Business Owners showed that the number of American Indian-owned firms increased by 67 percent from 1997 to 2002 whereas the number of all U.S. businesses increased by only 10 percent.