SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Hispanic households across the greater Sacramento area have seen their median income almost double since 2010, according to the Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce's 2023 Economic Report.
While median income for Hispanic households sat at around $36,100 in 2010, the number jumped to about $67,900 by 2021 — which is 84% of the median income for non-Hispanic households.
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce CEO Cathy Rodriguez Aguirre says this is their second economic report in collaboration with the Sacramento State University Institute for Social Research and the Sacramento Area Council of Governments.
Instead of focusing on the disparities between the Hispanic and non-Hispanic community, Aguirre says she wanted the report to reflect the growth of the country's largest ethnic group.
"We're very focused on economic development, a very big pillar for us is understanding this great growth that's happening, a lot of great investment — but we need to make sure we are showing how our Latino businesses are a part of that," she told ABC10. "Data was sparse in the past, now this report contains a lot of tangible information."
The data gathered by the Sacramento State University (CSUS) Institute for Social Research also showed poverty rates for the local Hispanic population went down from almost 30% in 2019 to just over 15% by 2021.
Though the dip in poverty rates are a hopeful sign, researcher and CSUS Ethnic Studies professor Elvia Ramirez says 13% of the local Hispanic population are still without health insurance compared to 6.6% for non-Hispanics.
"It's consistent with national historic trends and the reasons for not having health insurance includes lower paying jobs, less jobs having health insurance, workers being undocumented and some are just unaware," she told ABC10.
Aguirre also says low paying jobs are the reason people with health insurance can't afford to use it because of expensive co-pays or potentially high medical bills and diagnoses.
"This data is helpful because it shows policymakers and leaders where work needs to be done in the Hispanic community, and where they can invest for further growth," Aguirre said. "When we talk about the Hispanic, Latino population we talk about risk and needs but I want to talk about positive development and how we are rising up with the rest of the community."
She says with an overwhelming percentage of Hispanic youth being U.S. citizens, they are set to become a huge voting block that local leaders should pay attention to.
Check out the 2023 Economic Report here: SHCC23_Annual-Report_English_Print.pdf (sachcc.org).
