Edward Vargas' primary areas of interest are the effects of poverty and inequality on the quality of life, focusing specifically on health, immigration status and social policy, and how these factors contribute to the well-being of vulnerable families. In addition, poverty and inequality are strongly tied to race and ethnicity; thus, he is also interested in the methodological issues involved in the quantitative study of race and ethnicity. To address these issues, Vargas has developed two programs of research. The first examines how anti-immigrant climate is impacting Latina/o health. A second area research examines methodological issues in the quantitative research on race and ethnicity among Latina/o populations. He is a Co-PI on the 2015 Latino National Health and Immigration Survey and Co-PI on the 2016 and 2020 Collaborative Multiracial Post-Election Survey (CMPS) which is funded by the National Science Foundation.