Hispanic Consumers A Growing Opportunity For Radio Advertisers.

Hispanic Americans represent an increasingly influential consumer market, with strong preferences for Spanish-language advertising and substantial spending power, according to MRI-Simmons’ The State of Hispanic American Consumers 2026 report.

The findings offer radio broadcasters and advertisers insights into reaching a growing audience whose media habits, cultural identities and language preferences vary significantly across generations.

Hispanic Americans account for 19% of the U.S. population age 6 and older, or approximately 60 million people, according to the report. More than half are younger than 35 vs. 40% of the overall U.S. population. That demographic profile makes Hispanic consumers an important audience for advertisers seeking to reach younger adults and future generations of buyers.

Language is a particularly important consideration for media companies and marketers. MRI-Simmons found that 53% of Hispanic adults prefer to speak mostly or only Spanish at home, while 46% prefer mostly or only English.

Those preferences differ considerably by generation. First-generation Hispanic adults are more likely to favor Spanish, while second- and third-generation consumers lean more heavily toward English. The differences underscore the importance of understanding local audiences rather than treating Hispanic consumers as a single, uniform market.

The report also found that Spanish-language advertising can influence purchasing decisions and strengthen relationships between consumers and brands, including among English-dominant Hispanics.

Among Spanish-dominant Hispanic adults, 64% said they were more likely to be loyal to a company that makes an effort to advertise in Spanish, compared with 51% of English-dominant Hispanic adults. Additionally, 58% of Spanish-dominant consumers said companies advertising in Spanish respect their culture and want their business, compared with 37% of English-dominant consumers.

Spanish-language advertising also can improve attention and recall. Fifty-five percent of Spanish-dominant Hispanic adults said they were more likely to pay attention to and remember an advertisement presented in Spanish, compared with 33% of English-dominant adults.

For radio operators, the findings support evaluating Spanish-language programming and advertising opportunities alongside English-language offerings, with market-specific audience data helping guide programming, sales strategies and advertiser targeting.

The report does not provide radio-specific audience shares or listening figures, but its broader media findings highlight the importance of understanding how Hispanic consumers divide their time among entertainment and information sources.

MRI-Simmons found that Hispanic adults remain highly connected through mobile devices, with social networking serving as a leading source of communication, information and entertainment. Social networking usage remained above 25% for 16 hours of the day, peaking above 30% between 4pm and 10pm.

Listening to music also was a consistent mobile activity, with usage recorded across 12 hours of the day. The findings point to opportunities for broadcasters to consider how radio listening, streaming audio, mobile applications and social media can complement one another when reaching Hispanic audiences. The report, however, does not quantify how much of that music listening occurs through radio rather than other services.

The study also identified significant consumer spending power. Hispanic households account for an estimated $293.6 billion in annual discretionary spending, representing 14% of the U.S. total. That figure increased from $270 billion in 2025.

Spending patterns vary substantially by market. Hispanic households account for 60% of Miami’s discretionary spending, 41% in San Antonio, 34% in Los Angeles and 27% in Houston. Hispanic households also control 15% of discretionary spending in the South and 22% in the West vs. 6% in the Midwest.

MRI-Simmons based the report on its nationally representative consumer research, including its Spring 2026 U.S. study and supplemental research covering media habits, technology and consumer attitudes.