New Data Highlights Income and Job Inequities for California’s Largest Ethnic Group |
Despite a growing economy in California, Latinx families are systematically being left behind and struggling to get by. The Insight Center report, titled Latinx Families in the Golden State: When Working Hard Isn’t Enough, shows that more than half (52%) of all Latinx households in California—or 1.6 million families—are struggling to pay for housing, put food on the table, and keep the lights on while working full-time at one or more jobs.
Latinx Families in the Golden State uses census data and Insight’s Family Needs Calculator to examine what life really looks like for the largest ethnic group in California. Among other findings, the data shows:
- Latinx families have limited access to quality jobs and are subjected to wages far below those of other ethnic/racial groups.
- Latinx women in particular face sexism and racism in CA’s economy and therefore face additional barriers to achieving economic security.
- Educational attainment is not an economic equalizer for Latinx people.
The report’s findings further reveal that despite working hard:
- The typical Latinx household has an income that is $40,000 less than their white peers.
- 65% of Latinx families with children are not sure how they will pay all of their bills each month.
- About 61% of Latinx immigrant households can barely make ends meet.
- The median annual wage among the most common jobs for Latinx women is only $27,000 a year.
- White workers with a bachelor’s degree have a median wage of $105,045, nearly $40,000 higher than Latinx people with a bachelor’s degree.
The Insight Center offers specific policy solutions to address these issues, including extending EITC expansion to ITIN filers, Universal Childcare, and Social Inheritance Accounts (Baby Bonds).
Click here to read and download the full report (PDF). Region-specific data available upon request.
Estados Unidos se enorgullece de una profunda idea arraigada en la cual a través de la determinación, el ingenio, trabajando arduo y exigiéndose a si mismos apretándose los cinturones, cualquiera puede lograrlo financieramente. Esta es una amplia creencia que se tiene alrededor de los grupos raciales y étnicos. De acuerdo a una encuesta de Pew Research en el 2018, las personas Latinxs (77%) tienen más probabilidades que el público en general (62%) que creen que la mayoría de las personas pueden salir adelante con el trabajo arduo, y que cada generación estará mejor que la anterior, eso a través de su trayectoria.1 Pero para las personas Latinxs en California, la promesa del sueño americano permanece fuera de su alcance.
Hoy, las personas Latinxs trabajan largas horas, a veces en múltiples trabajos, en la búsqueda por mantenerse a sí mismos y a sus familias. Sin embargo, muchos todavía apenas la pasan para cuidar adecuadamente a sus familias. Más de la mitad (52%) de todos los hogares Latinxs en California– ó 1.6 millones de familias – están luchando para pagar la vivienda, poner comida en la mesa y mantener las luces encendidas.
Haga clic aquí para leer y descargar el informe completo (PDF). Datos específicos de la región disponibles a pedido.