Did you know Spanish is the happiest language? Plus more facts for Hispanic Heritage Month

The AHS Index is a new way to look at data that illuminates a snapshot of our world today. It is intended to highlight health inequities and spark conversation, debate, outrage, and wonder.

Percent of Alameda County residents who are Latino, the largest ethnic and racial minority in the county: 23.4%

Difference in life expectancy between the average Alameda County resident and a Hispanic or Latino resident: 1.6 years

Percent increase in Latino homelessness between 2019 and 2022, according to Alameda County data: 73%

Rate of tuberculosis for Hispanics, which is over eight times higher than the rate of tuberculosis in white people: 4.4 cases per 100,000

Percent of Alameda Health System patients who are Latino, the largest minority group that AHS serves: 37%

Percent of interpretation requests for Spanish that Alameda Health System received in fiscal year 2023, compared to other languages: 73%*

Number of words analyzed by researchers in a 2014 study that found Spanish is the happiest language, as determined by the frequency of positive words used: 19,983

Percent increase in streaming of Latin music in the first half of 2024, a larger increase than any other genre and a sign of its growing dominance in the U.S.: 15%

Percent of Americans who correctly identified September as the start of Hispanic Heritage Month in a recent poll: 9%

*Data provided by AHS

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