BEPI Hispanic Index of Consumer Sentiment

First Quarter 2025

TOPLINESRESULTSPRESS RELEASE

HISPANINCS ARE LESS OPTIMISTIC OF THEIR PERSONAL FINANCES AND THE ECONOMY

The Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index (HCSI) in the first quarter of 2025 finds that the Hispanic population’s consumer confidence in the U.S. has decreased compare to the fourth quarter of 2024. Specifically, the Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index (HCSI) decreased from 89.6 in the fourth quarter of 2024 to 85.7 in the first quarter of 2025.

Overall, there is a decrease in optimism in four out of the five questions used to generate the Hispanic Consumer Sentiment Index when compared to the fourth quarter of 2024. Below are the detailed results:

• In the first quarter of 2025, 63% of Hispanics said they are better off financially than a year ago, which is 8 percentage points (55%) higher than the last quarter of 2024.
• In the first quarter of 2025, 64% of Hispanics indicated they will be better off over the next year compared to 70% in the last quarter of 2024.
• Regarding the short run economic outlook of the country, 53% of Hispanics said they expect the country as a whole to experience good business conditions in the upcoming year compared to 61% in the fourth quarter of 2024.
• In terms of the long run economic outlook of the country, Hispanics are less optimistic in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 (52% vs. 58%).
• In the first quarter of 2025, 51% percent of Hispanics think it is a good time to buy big ticket items compared to 52% percent in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Other key findings:

• Buying a house: 51% of Hispanics think it is a good time to buy a house compared to 41% in the last quarter of 2024.
• Buying a Car: 41% of Hispanics think it is a good time to buy a car compared to 51% in the last quarter of 2024.
• Cost of living: 68% of Hispanics said the cost of living has gone up compared to 78% in the last quarter of 2024.

The poll is based on a panel sample of Hispanic adults, 18 years of age and older. The survey was administered using both landlines via IVR data collection and online data collection using Dynata. There were 542 respondents sampled between January 1 and March 31, 2025 and a margin of error of +/- 4.21 percentage points. Responses for the entire sample were weighted to reflect the national distribution of the Hispanic population by region, education, gender, age and income according to latest American Community Survey data. The polling results and full cross-tabulations can be viewed on the FAU BEPI website.