This guide is designed as a starting point for those looking for information on Hispanic American contributions to specific industries and does not address every industry individually. However, the sources and strategies included here should provide a framework for further research regardless of the industry. According to the 2022 U.S. Census Annual Business Survey (ABS), the number of Hispanic-owned businesses grew about 8.2% from 375,256 in 2020 to 406,086 in 2021 and made up about 6.9% of all businesses with an estimated $572.9 billion in annual receipts, 3.0 million employees, and approximately $124.4 billion in annual payroll. More than 62 million people in the U.S. (19 percent of the population) identified themselves as being Hispanic or Latino in the 2020 Census External. This is the fastest growing ethnic group of emerging businesses, although they lag behind their percentage in the population due to various factors including a lack of access to capital, business networks and peers, education and other resources, as well as due to structural inequities and discrimination. Culturally, many Hispanics gravitate towards creating their own businesses and being their own bosses. Often times, these enterprises begin as family-based businesses.

The Doing Industry Research guide will provide you with additional guidance on searching for industry information; the Doing Historical Company Research guide will assist with researching older or out of business companies and the Doing Company Research guide will steer you towards contemporary company information for active companies. The Subscription Databases page will provide you with a list of electronic resources that may be useful. The Library of Congress Business Section resources listed below should assist you in providing sources for additional research. If you need assistance with your research, please submit a question using our Ask a Librarian service.