Statistics of the Month - November Native Americans The population of Native Americans is 2.5 million - 4.1 million including multiracials. In 1997, Native American businesses generated about $34 billion in annual revenue, up 179 percent from 1992. Last year, Native Americans spent an estimated $4 billion in off-reservation purchases. This spending has been fueled by vibrant growth among Native American businesses, most notably, the $5 billion reservation-based casino and gaming industry. Although reservations have long been plagued by poverty, the success of casinos has created concentrations of wealth in reservation economies. In just one Midwestern tribe, each member earned about $600,000 in one year. But it's not only the casinos that have made Native Americans the nation's second wealthiest minority (behind Asians in median income). According to the Census Bureau's most recent Economic Census, only a small share of Native American-owned businesses are in the gaming and casino business (17 percent of Native American firms are in the service sector, which includes casinos). In the service, construction and retail sectors, Native American companies are growing faster than U.S. companies as a whole. The number of Native American firms increased by a staggering 84 percent to nearly 200,000, far outpacing the overall growth in U.S. firms, which grew at just 40 percent. In January 2000, the Census Bureau projected that the Native American population would reach just over 2 million, not much more than the 1990 census count of 1.9 million. But in 2000, Native Americans actually numbered closer to 2.5 million. When you also factor in the 1.6 million who chose "Native American" in combination with another race on their census forms, the Native American population climbs to more than 4 million - just about 2 percent of the total population. Wells Fargo has successfully used print media and direct mail to pursue Native American consumer business, making the San Francisco-based financial services firm one of the few companies that has a marketing plan dedicated to this group. Although the bank has been serving the Native American business community for at least a decade, its initiative to reach these consumers is only 3 years old. Source: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau *Disclaimer: Although we try to use the most credible sources, we are not responsible for any incorrect findings. Read more: Statistics of the month - October: Americans with Disabilities Want more statistics, on a variety of topics? Visit our Diversity Statistics page.

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