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The number of tech jobs continues to rise — but will the number of Hispanic tech workers grow, too?
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that tech jobs, defined as occupations in computer and information technology, will grow by 13% by 2030. That makes it the country’s fastest-growing sector.
However, data shows Hispanic people are wildly underrepresented. In some US cities, fewer than 5% of tech workers are Hispanic. This stems partly from lack of access to tech at a young age, and to workforce development resources.
“Increasing Hispanic representation in tech is not just a matter of equity, but also of economic necessity,” Ronaldo Tello, president and CEO of the Delaware Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, told Technical.ly. “As [the] tech sector continues to grow, ensuring that our Hispanic community is well-represented will be crucial for innovation and economic growth.”
Using Technical.ly’s Tech Economy Dashboard powered by Lightcast (please ask if you want direct access), we looked at the demographics of five metro regions: Atlanta, Baltimore, DC, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Here are the percentages of people who identified as Hispanic in these cities in 2022:
• Atlanta: 6%
• Baltimore: 8%
• DC: 11%
• Philadelphia: 16%
• Pittsburgh: 4%
All of these cities have seen some growth in their Hispanic population over the last decade. Atlanta and DC saw modest growth from 5% and 9%, respectively, while Baltimore doubled its Hispanic population from 4% to 8%, and Pittsburgh’s population grew by 80%. Philadelphia’s Hispanic population is also growing quickly, up from 13% in 2010.
For context, throughout the United States, between the census years of 2010 and 2020, the American Hispanic population grew by more than 11 million people. That’s about 19% of the US population, the second-highest demographic group in the US after non-Hispanic white.
Are Hispanic tech jobs keeping up with population growth?
In most of the cities we looked at, the number of Hispanic people in tech jobs is not keeping up with the increase in the Hispanic population
Our data also shows that cities with smaller Hispanic populations of around 5% tend to be closer to the proportional representation of Hispanic people in tech jobs. Atlanta shows a 5% Hispanic tech workforce, and Pittsburgh, while it has the fewest number of Hispanic tech workers in the dataset at 3.5%, comes proportionately close to its 4% Hispanic population.
Philadelphia, with 4% Hispanic tech workers, has a relatively large 12-point difference. DC, with 6%, shows a Hispanic tech workforce that is proportionately about half its Hispanic population, and Baltimore, with 4%, shows a similar gap.
The data shows that Hispanic workers are still underrepresented in tech, but in nearly all of the markets we looked at, the number of Hispanic tech workforce increased over the last decade.
Why the Hispanic tech worker numbers are tricky
One thing that has to be taken into consideration with any analysis of data on the United States Hispanic population is that, for various reasons, the numbers are often inaccurate. This is partly because of data collection methods, and the fact that being Hispanic is not considered a race, but an ethnicity.
Through 2020, the US Census asked two demographic questions: One on whether the census-taker is Hispanic, and one asking the census-taker’s race. That left Hispanic census takers with a choice of white, Black, Asian, American Indian, Pacific Islander or some other race (SOR), and, for some Hispanic census takers, none of these options were a fit.
In an April 2024 op-ed in the Los Angeles Loyolan, opinion editor Mateo-Luis Planas wrote about his multiracial Hispanic identity and the problem with choosing SOR.
“According to federal guidelines, ‘other’ is not a race,” he wrote. “As a result, almost 44% of the Latine respondents who chose that option in 2020 would have their race assigned to them — and it’s no surprise that the majority of them were categorized as white.”
It’s also been found that a number of Hispanic Americans skipped the race question altogether, or don’t respond to the census at all. Plus, the difference between the definitions of “Hispanic” and “Latino” can make a difference in reporting, too. Hispanic refers to a person with heritage from a country that primarily speaks Spanish, while Latino refers to someone with origins in Latin America.
With such complexities at play, plus insecurities due to the political climate, the Brennan Center for Justice found that the US Hispanic population was undercounted in 2020 by about 5%. That’s a significant gap that could undercut resources in communities with large Hispanic populations, including funding for Medicaid, SNAP and education.
In response, the Census Bureau announced in March that it was revising how it collected demographic data, including a change that would put Hispanics in the same category as racial identities like white, Black, and Asian, under “Race or Ethnicity.” Starting in 2030, census takers can continue to give more detailed answers noting their country or territory of origin.
Still, a demographic undercount is only part of the reason for the disproportionate data on Hispanic tech workers.
Back in 2014, industry watchers noted that a lack of access to new technology in the 1990s and 2000s contributed to the gap, as well as a lack of resources. As resources for underrepresented people in tech workforce development programs have increased, there has been an increase in Hispanic tech workers in some cities, but a slowly closing gap remains.
Closing those gaps may take more resources, a better system of counting different demographics, or a bit of both.
“We hope that by shedding light on these challenges,” Tello said, “we can inspire more action and collaboration to create a more inclusive tech workforce.”