Latino Americans

More than 100,000 people of Latino and Hispanic descent called West Michigan home in 2009 - an increase of almost 40% in the last decade. Along with this growth has come a real influence on the economic and cultural life of the region. Latino Americans are investing in new businesses, revitalizing neighborhoods and making Grand Rapids a more diverse place.

• The most recent census data identified 17% of the city's population as Hispanic.
• 27% of the students in Grand Rapids Public Schools are Hispanic.
• The five largest Hispanic/Latino heritages in West Michigan are Mexican (68%), Puerto Rican (7%), Guatemalan (3%), Cuban (2%) and Dominican (2%).
• Cuban Americans have been established in West Michigan longer than other Hispanic/Latino groups.
• There were 1,400 Hispanic-owned businesses in West Michigan as of the latest survey, generating more than $163 million in sales.

Find out more about...

• Restaurants
• Markets and Bakeries
• Places of Worship
• Media
• Services

Special Events

• Taste of Soul
• The Social Exchange
  • Experience business-to-business relationship building events
    monthly
    For more information contact Latricia Lomax at (616) 893-3113 or thesocialexchange@yahoo.com

Other sources of information

• Fiesta Mexicana
• Hispanic Center of West Michigan
• El Vocero Hispano, Michigan's Hispanic Newspaper
• West Michigan Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Grand Rapids Chamber of Commerce Diversity Initiatives and Programs