Listen to this article
Escuche este artículo en español.
Bienvenidos a Detroit
Pequeña y Poderosa,
Small And Mighty
While only 7.6% of Detroit’s population, the Hispanic community has experienced a wealth growth increase of 9.3% over the past two years. Let’s look back into the history of Hispanic wealth creation in Detroit and explore the innovative solutions created by the city-community partnership that will enable generational wealth growth for years to come.
The Latino community shapes Detroit into a multicultural city with its emphasis on family, community, art, and family owned businesses. The neighborhoods are aggregations of people identifying as Mexican, Mexican-American, Latinx, Chicanos, Puerto Ricans and other Hispanics each bringing rich traditions and customs.
Hogar Feliz,
Happy Home
Hispanic Home Ownership up 181%
Because of this community-centered lifestyle, Hispanic neighborhoods watched their net housing wealth climb from $165 million in 2014 to $463 million in 2022, a 181 percent increase. City programs such as the Down Payment Assistance Program provide grants up to $25,000 for a down payment toward home ownership. Home ownership is a catalyst for wealth growth especially in Detroit’s market where the median housing prices were up 13.3% from 2021 - 2022.
University of Michigan. (2023). The Growth of Housing Wealth in Detroit and Its Neighborhoods: 2014-2022.
The Hispanic Family Home
The Hispanic and Latinx culture has always centered around home. Southwest Detroit’s average household size is 7.1 compared to Detroit’s 2.5. Multi-generations sharing a home speaks to the community’s cultural norms that influence family solidarity which in turn, creates legacy wealth. These connections to family, which help to build solid communities, help explain why Hispanic household wealth has grown more rapidly than any other demographic group.
University of Michigan. (2023). The Growth of Housing Wealth in Detroit and Its Neighborhoods: 2014-2022.
El Negocio de la Familia,
The Family Business
Southwest Detroit Awarded
Michigan Main Street Status
Detroit’s Hispanic business district has prospered due to independent start-ups and family owned and operated businesses. In 2017, the Southwest Detroit Business Association successfully applied for Michigan Main Street status, a designation is hard-earned and based on organization, promotion, design and economic vitality.
Businesses Boom in Southwest
Hispanic entrepreneurship rate grew 40% between 2012-2017. Much of the Hispanic Community’s business success rests on a City of Detroit program called Motor City Match. This initiative provides gap-funding to existing and start-up businesses through grants up to $100,000.
Detroit’s Motor City Match has given away $18.1 million dollars in grant money to small business owners. Many of these are family run businesses which increase the family’s net worth, building financial security for the next generation.
Salvador Enriquez immigrated to Detroit over 25 years ago. He saw a need in the community that he aimed to fill. “There were no Hispanic businesses and I had the idea that I could help our community by establishing a butchery.” His butchery was a success. He opened three locations but was only able to lease space. It wasn't until his daughter, Adrianna Hernandez, joined her father and, using the knowledge she gained from the ProsperUs Detroit program, recommend that he consolidate his locations. Motor City Match provided the funds needed to buy his own property, allowing him to become a permanent fixture in his community.
Salvador Enriquez and daughter Adriana Hernandez perform the art of butchery in their shop, Carniceria Guadalajara #2. When he moved his family to Detroit 22 years ago, he recognized a need. “I see that there are no Hispanic businesses and I had the idea that I could help our community a little by establishing a butchery.
Fast forward 24 years and the Guadaljara #2 has become an anchor in Southwest Detroit. In 2016, The City of Detroit awarded the butcher shop a Motor City Match Grant. Adriana, who has worked with her father for 22 years was thrilled when they learned they had won. “When we found out we were selected, we were really happy. We had a family dinner. We were all excited for it.”
Following her father's example, Adriana plans to leave the business to her daughters. “When my kids inherit this, hopefully they'll make it bigger than what it is already.”
Legacy in the Making: Salvador Enriquez and his daughter Adriana Hernandez have turned Carniceria Guadalajara #2 into a cornerstone of Southwest Detroit, nurturing a community through the art of butchery for over two decades.
Celebrating Growth and Tradition: With a Motor City Match Grant and years of dedication, Salvador Enriquez and his daughter Adriana have solidified Carniceria Guadalajara #2 as a beloved fixture in Southwest Detroit, with plans for the future firmly rooted in family.
Esfuerzos en Educación,
Efforts in Education
Spotlight on Scholarship:
Detroit Promise Promotes Wealth
Education is a condunit for generating wealth. 26.3% of Hispanics graduated with a bachelor’s degree from a Michigan University or college through the Detroit Promise Scholarship in 2022. This was an increase of one tenth of a percentage point from 2021.
Detroit Promise provides eligible students the opportunity to complete a free college education with this last-dollar scholarship. This enables the graduates not only a chance at higher paying careers, but also allows them to enter the workforce unburdened by school debt. Both of these factors help to create and increase family wealth.
More than 5,000 Detroit students have been awarded these scholarships have created opportunities for college graduates to build and pass along wealth within their families.