A new report commissioned by San Diego Foundation (SDF) and developed in partnership with the San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center found that most San Diego Latinos have individual incomes of $39,000 or less. The income gap between Latinos and non-Latinos in San Diego is substantial: Latino San Diegans make around $28,000 less per year than White, non-Latino San Diegans.
“The State of Latinos Report is an important tool for understanding how philanthropic investments can jumpstart economic mobility and generational wealth for San Diego’s 1.14 million Latinos,” said Mark Stuart, President and CEO, SDF.
The report was produced for El Camino Fund, an SDF charitable fund that raises money from Latinos and their allies to support the local Latino community, close equity gaps and provide opportunities to thrive, prosper and belong in the San Diego region. The report also highlighted:
· Age: San Diego’s Latino population is young, with a mean age of 33, compared to 42 for San Diego’s non-Latino residents.
· Citizenship: The majority of San Diego’s Latinos were born in the U.S. (70%), and most immigrants are U.S. citizens(53%).
· Higher Education: While San Diego’s Latino population has a high bachelor’s degree attainment - 24% - compared to Los Angeles (16%), San Bernardino (13%) and Riverside (12%) counties, they trail other groups in San Diego County with the lowest bachelor’s degree attainment.
· Opportunity Cost: San Diego Latinos shared that the opportunity cost of giving up paid work to go to school is a major barrier to higher education.
· Barriers to Opportunity: Latinos face barriers in accessing resources and services, often due to language, cultural factors, and unfamiliarity with systems and programs.
· Latino/a-serving Nonprofit Needs: To better serve the Latino/a community, nonprofits highlighted the need for consistent funding, a space to gather as a community, and access data to evaluate their programs and their population’s needs.
Latinos represent 35% of San Diego County’s population. Yet, compared to non-Latino San Diegans, this community faces significant economic challenges due to systemic barriers, socio-economic disparities and unique community needs. Building trust and providing culturally competent, Spanish-language services are key to breaking these barriers.
Nationally, the Latino wealth gap is larger than the Latino income gap, with Latino Americans earning half as much as White Americans and with less than a quarter the amount of wealth at approximately $200,000 compared to $1 million, respectively, in 2019. To read the State of Latinos Report in its entirety, visit SDFoundation.org/LatinoReport.
The SDF El Camino Fund invests in entrepreneurship, workforce training, financial literacy and homeownership, to pave a new pathway– a better “camino” – to help San Diego Latinos thrive. The fund will advance the trajectory of San Diego’s Latino community, which will benefit all San Diegans and strengthen the local economy for generations.
Read the full report at SDFoundation.org/LatinoReport.
About San Diego Regional Policy and Innovation Center (PIC)
The San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center (PIC)is a 501(c)(3) organization that exists to conduct research and policy analysis and help solve the region’s biggest problems. Its founding partners include San Diego Foundation, County of San Diego, and the world’s leading think tank – The Brookings Institution. Over the next few years, PIC will continue building strong and diverse partnerships among the leaders of the region; use equity-centered research to identify the region’s biggest needs, and the best opportunities for change, and secure funding for potential solutions; challenge systemic inequities; and develop a pipeline of potential scalable projects and pilots that improve the lives of San Diegans. For more information, visit sdrpic.org.
About San Diego Foundation
San Diego Foundation inspires enduring philanthropy and enables community solutions to improve the quality of life in our region. Our strategic priorities include advancing racial and social justice, fostering equity of opportunity, building resilient communities, and delivering world-class philanthropy to realize our vision of just, equitable and resilient communities. The Racial & Social Justice Initiative supports policies and programs that seek to eradicate systemic discrimination. For nearly 50 years, SDF and its donors have granted $1.8billion to support nonprofit organizations strengthening our community. Learn more at SDFoundation.org.