Trump is wrong: Latinos have made huge strides in America over the last 10 years

Donald Trump may hate to hear this, but Latinos have made huge economic strides in the United States over the past decade.

New Census data show that Latinos have experienced greater economic gains since 2007 than either white or black Americans.

In 2015, the median household income for Latino households climbed to $45,148, up 5.4% since 2007 and 6.1% from 2014 alone. The figure is now just 2.1% behind where it was in 2000.

By comparison, the median income for white households in 2015, while still higher in overall terms at $62,950, is down 3.2% since 2007 and climbed just 4.4% from 2014.

Asian incomes rose 1.9% from 2007 and 2.4% from 2014.

Here’s the chart from the Census Bureau:

Black households saw their median household income decline 6.8% between 2007 and 2015; it climbed just 4.1% from 2014. At $36,898, It is still 11.5% percent lower than it was in 2000.

Latinos also saw the largest drop in their poverty rate among any group, with a -2.2 point decline to 21.4%. (the national average now stands at 13.5%).

In a conference call with reporters on Tuesday, Lawrence Mishel, president of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said the rising wages of Latinos could be attributed to rapidly falling unemployment and stagnant inflation. Unemployment among Latinos has fallen to 5.6% after reaching a high of 13% in August 2009. Annual inflation hasn’t climbed above 2% since the end of the recession. Lower earners receive the most direct benefit from this, Mishel said, as there is less competition for jobs and more pressure on earnings.

But the latest household income figures show Latinos are now well above the 40th percentile for household incomes. In a Pew report on the middle class in 2015, Latinos were the only group to not have lost any significant ground in their middle class status.

Pew speculates that the recent reversal in the flow of Mexican immigrants, who tend to be less educated, may have contributed to this.

Rob covers business, economics and the environment for Fusion. He previously worked at Business Insider. He grew up in Chicago.