Our research report, Climate Risks to Latino Homeowners and Communities, finds that Latino homeowners face disproportionate exposure to hazard risks, greater economic losses, and higher community vulnerability, particularly in regions prone to hurricanes, wildfires, and riverine flooding. In this brief, we share key findings from this research, which show the disparities in climate risk exposure and its economic consequences.

Why This Matters

Homeownership is a critical wealth-building tool, but climate risks are eroding Latino homeowners’ financial security at disproportionate rates. Policymakers and practitioners need necessary data-driven insights to develop effective strategies that protect Latino homeowners.

What We Found

Latino homeowners face a disproportionate exposure to climate risks, bearing higher home value losses and economic burdens compared with other homeowners across different hazard types. Latino homeowners living in communities with disaster risk face $3.1 billion dollars in annual estimated losses from damage to their homes. Key findings from our research highlight the significant disparities in climate risk exposure and its economic consequences:

• Homeowners face a larger share of estimated home value loss (10.8 percent) relative to their share of total home value (8.1 percent).
• Latino homeowners are more likely to live in neighborhoods with high hurricane risk (20 percent) relative to all US homeowners (13 percent).
• In low-to-moderate income communities, Latino homeowners face disproportionate economic losses from riverine flooding, accounting for 14 percent of total losses despite holding just 10 percent of home value.
• Latino homeowners face disproportionate losses from wildfires, accounting for 10 percent of total losses despite holding just 8 percent of home value.

How We Did It

We used FEMA’s National Risk Index and the American Community Survey to assess hazard exposure, social vulnerability, and economic impacts for Latino homeowners. We examined three disaster events—Hurricanes, Riverine Flooding, and Wildfires—and three markets where those events present high risk—Houston, Stockton, and Phoenix—to analyze the localized effects of climate risks and identify community-specific policy solutions.