SAN DIEGO — Latinos in San Diego County are younger than the average county resident, the vast majority were born here or are citizens and the wealth gap between them and non-Latinos is significant, a report released Wednesday found.
The State of San Diego Latinos Report commissioned by San Diego Foundation found that — on average — Latino San Diegans make around $28,000 less per year than white county residents. This can be explained by a number of factors, but economic challenges from systemic and language barriers are highlighted in the report.
"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 of San Diego Foundation.
The report was developed in partnership with the San Diego Regional Policy & Innovation Center for SDF's El Camino Fund, a charitable fund that raises money for the region's Latinos to provide greater economic opportunities.
Casa Familiar is a non-profit that works the border community and is a partner with San Diego Foundation. They believe workforce partnership and education are critical in providing wealth opportunities especially in grade school.
"Let's say, bad air quality at the border, that those green jobs, in the green industry and the infrastructure for EV plugins and all of those new jobs that are going to present themselves that that we can expect them to be labor jobs, union jobs, high paying jobs. Are we positioning the schools and the communities that need those bridges and pathways the most to be the priority. And I think that's where there's a lot of work to be done," said Lisa Cuestas, Casa Familiar CEO.
The fund invests in "entrepreneurship, workforce training, financial literacy and homeownership, to pave a new pathway — a better 'camino' — to help San Diego Latinos thrive," a statement from SDF reads.
Other key points mentioned in the report include:
- The average age of Latinos in the region is 33, compared to 42 for non-Latinos;
- A total of 70% of San Diego County's Latinos were born in the United States, and of the remainder, 53% are U.S. citizens;
- Around 24% have bachelor's degrees, well above neighboring counties, but less than other demographics in the county.
The foundation posits several solutions to socio-economic gaps between Latinos and non-Latinos, including Spanish-language services and building trust between institutions and the Latino population.
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