Dominican legal migration to the United States is one of the fastest growing populations and is gaining more and more access to the credit system, and is getting ever more attractive to politicians and commercial people. Even though 59.3% of the Dominicans that live in New York and report sending remittances back to the Dominican Republic only report incomes of less than US$25,000, there is a 40% that reported incomes between US$25,000 and US$35,000 per year. Theses number place the Dominican population in a better economic position than the other Hispanic communities, except for the Puerto Ricans. According to the study reported in El Caribe that compared Dominicans to Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, El Salvadorians and Ecuadorians, 11.3% of the Dominicans interviewed reported incomes above US$35,000, and neither the Ecuadorians or the El Salvadorians reported incomes in that level and only 1% of the Mexicans reported such income.
However, 74% of the Mexicans also reported income of less than US$20,000. The study was contracted by the USAID and some of the results were published by FUNGLODE as part of the book Constructing Strategic Alliances for Development. The study also revealed that of the four communities, the Dominican group stood out as the one making the most of obtaining bank credit and credit from other financial institutions. The report said that 11.4% of the Dominicans said that they had obtained credit for different purposes while only 2% of the Mexicans, 3% of the El Salvadorians, and 4% of the Ecuadorians had access to credit.
According to Margarita Cepeda, a member of the Dominican-American Round Table, this is the beginning of real empowerment for the Dominicans. As consumers with certain purchasing power, this group is attractive to the private sector. And once Dominicans become part of the consumer sector, they become an interest for the large companies, and this has a domino effect.