Economic Well-Being of Latino Households in the U.S.: a Scoping Review of Research on Poverty, the Safety Net, and Family Supports

This scoping review curates empirical research on economic well-being among Latino households in peer reviewed journals from 1990 to 2025, following PRISMA guidelines and a preregistered search strategy. The search yielded more than 5,000 studies revealing a greater than five-fold increase since the early 2000s. The majority of studies examined Medicaid and health insurance and approximately half examined government benefit programs, particularly with respect to eligibility criteria and benefit receipt. Few studies examined the employment outcomes of Latinos in the context of government benefit availability and even fewer focus on Latinos and income support. A deeper content review revealed that studies examining Hispanics are typically through comparative analyses with other racial and ethnic groups. These studies find higher poverty and material hardship, and lower receipt of government benefits, among Latino families relative to non-Latino White households. Fewer studies consider heterogeneity within Hispanic populations. Research on economic well-being among Latino households, as distinct from more general investigations regarding immigrants, expanded in tandem with growth in the Latino population and shifts in social policy. Key policy-relevant open topics of research that affect Latinos include those related to tax credits, benefit generosity, employment, and considerations of mixed-citizen status households.