Introduction

While the Latina wage gap, expressed as the amount that Latinas earn relative to every dollar earned by non-Hispanic white men, has narrowed over the past 35 years, substantial disparities persist. Latinas have made significant socioeconomic gains since 1990, including rising educational attainment and greater representation in professional and higher-skilled occupations.¹ Yet these gains have not eliminated pay disparities. In 2025, Latinas continued to experience one of the largest wage gaps among women in the United States.

Understanding how the Latina wage gap has evolved is increasingly important as Latinas play a growing role in the nation’s workforce. Latinas now account for approximately one in five working-age women in the United States, and their share of the working-age female population more than doubled between 1990 and 2025 (Figure 1). The persistent gender wage gap can reduce overall household income, which may limit children’s quality of life, access to health care, and educational opportunities. As the Latina population continues to grow, ensuring that these socioeconomic gains translate into greater economic opportunity has implications not only for Latina workers and their families but also for the broader U.S. economy.

Figure 1. Share of Latinas Among Working-Age Women in the United States, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. 

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) monthly data, accessed via IPUMS.

This brief examines changes in the Latina wage gap from 1990 to 2025 and considers how these trends vary by educational attainment, union representation, and occupation. By examining more than three decades of wage change, the analysis assesses whether Latinas’ socioeconomic gains over the past 35 years have been accompanied by greater wage equity and identifies where wage disparities have narrowed—and where they remain persistent. 

Data and Methods

This data brief uses data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) from 1990 to 2025 to provide demographic characteristics and wages. Specifically: 

• Demographic characteristics, including population counts, educational attainment, and union representation rate, are calculated using the CPS monthly sample. We limit the sample to the civilian working-age population ages 16 to 64. 
• Wages are calculated using the EPI hourly wage methodology, based on data from the CPS earners study. We limit the sample to the civilian working-age population ages 16 to 64 who have some form of wage or salary income. We exclude self-employed individuals and unemployed individuals. All reported historical wages are adjusted to 2025 dollars.

Wage Gap Over Time

Key Finding 1: Despite substantial gains in human capital and Latinas’ growing role in the labor market, the wage gap between Latinas and white men remains substantial. 

In 2025, Latinas earned a median hourly wage of $20, tied with Native American women for the lowest median wage among women in major racial and ethnic groups (Figure 2). Put differently, for every dollar earned by white men, Latinas earn just 64 cents.

Figure 2. U.S. Median Hourly Wage by Race and Ethnicity and Sex, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. 

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) Earners Study data, accessed via IPUMS.

Key Finding 2: Since 1990, the wage gap between women and white men has steadily narrowed, though Latinas and Native American women continue to experience the largest wage gap. 

The Latina wage gap has narrowed only modestly since 1990, rising from 57 cents for every dollar earned by white men in 1990 to 64 cents in 2025 (Figure 3). As of 2025, Latinas, along with Native American women, continued to experience the largest wage gaps relative to white men among women in major racial and ethnic groups. In contrast, AAPI women made particularly substantial progress toward wage parity, rising from 76 cents in 1990 to 96 cents in 2025—nearly reaching parity.  

Figure 3. U.S. Women’s Median Hourly Wage in Relation to White Men by Race and Ethnicity, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. The wage gap is the ratio of each group of women’s median real hourly wage to that of non-Hispanic white men in the same year. Spikes between individual years have been smoothed out.

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) Earners Study data, accessed via IPUMS.

Latina Wage Gap by Educational Attainment

Latinas’ educational attainment has improved substantially since 1990, although it continues to lag behind that of U.S. women overall. Nationally, the share of Latinas with a four-year college degree more than tripled, rising from 7% in 1990 to 23% in 2025 (Figure 4). Despite the progress, the rate remains well below the 39% average among U.S. women overall. 

Figure 4. Share of U.S. Latina Women with a Four-Year College Degree or Higher, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. 

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) monthly data, accessed via IPUMS.

Key Finding 3: College-educated Latinas earn higher wages than those without a four-year college degree; however, the wage gap between Latinas and white men is wider at higher levels of educational attainment. 

Latinas with a four-year college degree earn nearly twice as much per hour as Latinas without a high school diploma ($31 versus $16 per hour), highlighting the strong economic returns to education (Figure 5). At the same time, education does not eliminate wage disparities. Latinas without a high school diploma earn 94 cents for every dollar earned by similarly educated white men. In comparison, college-educated Latinas earn just 67 cents for every dollar earned by their white male counterparts.

Figure 5. U.S. Median Hourly Wage for Latinas and White Men by Educational Attainment, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. 

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) Earners Study data, accessed via IPUMS.

Key Finding 4: The Latina wage gap followed different trajectories by educational attainment between 1990 and 2025. While Latinas without a high school diploma made substantial gains toward wage parity with similarly educated white men, the wage gap for college-educated Latinas widened slightly.

In 1990, Latinas without a high school diploma earned 60 cents for every dollar earned by similarly educated white men, compared with 69 cents for Latinas with a bachelor’s degree or higher (Figure 6). By 2025, the wage ratio for Latinas without a high school diploma rose to 96 cents on the dollar. In contrast, college-educated Latinas earned 67 cents for every dollar earned by similarly educated white men in 2025, a slight worsening since 1990. 

Figure 6. U.S. Latina Women’s Median Hourly Wage in Relation to White Men by Educational Attainment, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. 

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) Earners Study data, accessed via IPUMS.

Latina Wage Gap by Union Representation

Key Finding 5: Latinas covered by a union contract consistently experienced narrower wage gaps than nonunion Latinas between 1990 and 2025. 

In the past 35 years, union-represented Latinas earned a larger ratio of white men’s wages than their nonunion counterparts. In 1990, unionized Latinas earned 69 cents for every dollar earned by white men, compared with 60 cents among nonunion Latinas (Figure 7). By 2025, those figures had risen to 77 cents and 65 cents, respectively. Although wage gaps narrowed for both groups over time, the union advantage persisted throughout the period and increased from 9 cents in 1990 to 12 cents in 2025.

Figure 7. U.S. Latina Women’s Median Hourly Wage in Relation to White Men by Union Representation, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. 

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) Earners Study data, accessed via IPUMS.

Key Finding 6: However, union representation among Latinas declined substantially between 1990 and 2025 and remained lower than among other groups of women. 

The share of Latinas covered by a union contract fell from 14 percent in 1990 to 10 percent in 2025, a decline of nearly one-third (Figure 8). As a result, even as unionized Latinas consistently experienced smaller wage gaps than their nonunion counterparts, a smaller share of Latina workers was employed in union-represented jobs in 2025 than in previous decades.

This trend mirrored broader declines in union representation across the workforce, although the magnitude of the decline varied across groups. Black women, who had the highest union participation rate at 21% in 1990, saw their union coverage nearly halve by 2025.  

Figure 8. Union Representation Rate Among U.S. Women by Race and Ethnicity, 1990, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. 

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) monthly data, accessed via IPUMS.

Latina Wage Gap by Top Occupations

Key Finding 7: Many of the occupations most commonly held by Latinas approached wage parity between 1990 and 2025. However, progress was less pronounced among managers and administrators, and in other occupations where white men are highly represented.

Research suggests that occupational segregation plays an important role in shaping the overall Latina wage gap because Latinas and white men tend to be concentrated in different occupations.² However, differences in occupational distribution do not fully explain earnings disparities. Among the occupations most commonly held by Latinas in 2025, wage gaps narrowed substantially between 1990 and 2025. Latinas working as nursing aides, cooks, and cashiers reached or nearly reached wage parity with white men in the same occupations (Table 1). Latinas working as cashiers have a slight wage premium over white male cashiers, making 107 cents per dollar. Yet progress was far less pronounced among managers and administrators, where Latinas earned 72 cents for every dollar earned by white men in 2025. 

Table 1. U.S. Latina Women’s Median Hourly Wage in Relation to White Men for Top Five Occupations for Latinas, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2025

Notes: The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. The top five occupations were selected based on the number of Latinas employed in each occupation in 2025. Housekeepers and maids are not among the top five occupations due to insufficient samples of non-Hispanic white men during certain time periods to calculate the wage gap.

Source: LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) Earners Study data, accessed via IPUMS.

On the other hand, despite making progress over time, Latinas working in occupations where white men are highly represented remained far from wage parity in 2025 (Table 2). For example, Latinas working as salespersons earned half as much as white men did in 1990, and 35 years later, they still only earned 72 cents for every dollar that white men made in 2025. 

Table 2. U.S. Latina Women’s Median Hourly Wage in Relation to White Men for Top Five Occupations for White Men, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2025

Notes:The universe of analysis includes the civilian noninstitutional population ages 16 to 64. The top five occupations were selected based on the number of non-Hispanic white men employed in each occupation in 2025. Computer systems analysts, truck drivers, and retail clerks were not listed among the top five occupations due to insufficient samples of Latinas during certain time periods to calculate the wage gap.

Source:LPPI analysis of Census Bureau’s 1990-2025 Current Population Survey (CPS) Earners Study data, accessed via IPUMS.

Conclusion

Since 1990, Latinas have become an increasingly important part of the U.S. workforce while making substantial gains in educational attainment and access to higher-skilled occupations. Over the same period, the Latina wage gap narrowed modestly but remained substantial. In 2025, Latinas earned just 64 cents for every dollar earned by white men, and they remained among the lowest-paid groups of women in the labor market.

The findings in this brief also highlight important differences in wage disparities across educational attainment levels. Although a college degree substantially increases Latinas’ wages, college-educated Latinas remain further from wage parity with similarly educated white men than Latinas with lower levels of education. 

At the same time, the findings identify areas where wage disparities are narrower. Union-represented Latinas experienced a substantially smaller wage gap than their nonunion counterparts, although union representation among Latinas remains relatively low. Wage gaps have also narrowed considerably in several Latina-dominated occupations examined in this brief, while disparities remain substantial in white-man-dominated occupations. 

Together, these patterns underscore that the Latina wage gap is not uniform but varies considerably across education levels, union representation, and occupations. Latina Equal Pay Day, observed on October 8, 2026, offers an opportunity to assess the historical wage disparities experienced by Latinas and invite policymakers and employers to work toward wage parity. 

Endnotes

¹ Mohamad Moslimani and Sahana Mukherjee, “How Latinas’ Educational and Economic Situation Has Changed in the Last Two Decades,” Pew Research Center, May 15, 2024, available online; Lauren Mora and Mark Hugo Lopez, “Key Facts About U.S. Latinos with Graduate Degrees,” Pew Research Center, October 3, 2023, available online.

² Francine D. Blau and Lawrence M. Kahn, “The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations,” Journal of Economic Literature 55, no. 3 (September 2017): 789–865, https://doi.org/10.1257/jel.20160995