Latina Wage Gap: UCLA’s Latina Futures 2050 Lab Releases New Data Analysis of Wage Disparities Across 35 California Counties

Overall, Latinas in California receive 49 cents for every dollar earned by a non-Hispanic white man. According to a report published by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center that shows county-by-county earnings, the gap is even greater in some of the state’s wealthiest counties.

October 7, 2025

Key takeaways:

• Overall, in California Latinas earn 49 cents for every dollar earned by a non-Hispanic white man.
• In wealthier counties such as San Mateo, Santa Clara, Latinas earn just 38, 37, and 34 cents per dollar, respectively.
• The analysis covers 35 California counties and looks at median household incomes above and below $100,000.

In some of California’s wealthiest counties, Latinas tend to experience an extreme wage gap, when compared to a non-Hispanic white man, a new study shows.

This research analysis by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC) and Latina Futures 2050 Lab, discovers disparities in pay to Latinas across California. In San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Marin counties, where median household incomes are above $100,000, Latinas earn just 38, 37, and 34 cents per dollar, respectively.  The wage gap is not as large in other counties.  For example, in Humboldt, Shasta, and Imperial counties, where median household incomes are below $100,000, Latinas earn 80, 78, and 74 cents, respectively.

 The report, Latina Wage Gap Disparities Across California Counties, was released on October 7 and co-authored by Veronica Terriquez, director of the CSRC and co-founder of the Latina Futures 2050 Lab, an initiative spearheaded by the CSRC in collaboration with the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI). Terriquez analyzed 2019-2023 American Community Survey data focused on 35 California counties.

“On this Latina Equal Pay Day, it is important to drive this message: we cannot ignore existing pay gaps endured by Latinas—the largest ethnic racial group among California’s female workers,” Terriquez said. “Disparate earnings not only affect Latinas and their families, their comparatively low earnings negatively impact their communities and local economies. When it comes to quality of life, this means they have less income to pay for groceries, housing, childcare, and healthcare needs.”  

The analysis looked at counties with more than 125,000 residents; Latinas comprise the largest share of female workforce in 14 of the 35 counties included in this study. Focusing on the Latina experience is essential to documenting their livelihoods because historically, Latinas have been left out of research studies, creating knowledge gaps for legislators and other officials in charge of making and amending laws for all California residents, Terriquez said. 

The report magnifies California’s pay gaps and compliments the national analysis produced by LPPI. Last week LPPI released a new Latina Equal Pay Day factsheet showing that, despite doubling their college attainment over the past two decades and projected demographic growth, Latinas remain the lowest-paid group in the U.S. workforce. In 2023, Latinas earned a median wage of $17 per hour, compared to $25 for all men. The analysis also reveals how inequities deepen with age, vary by Latino descent, and differ by state. Read more.

Closing this wage gap requires statewide enforcement of pay equity laws, greater wage transparency, stronger support for collective bargaining, and expanded educational and training pathways to higher-paying careers, Terriquez said.

“Solutions must also reflect local realities. High-income counties with the largest wage gaps may be especially well positioned to expand opportunities through targeted career pipelines, as well as proactive hiring and promotion practices,” Terriquez said. “In an era of heightened immigration enforcement that fuels labor market instability, local government and employer strategies that safeguard immigrant, human, and constitutional rights are critical. By combining statewide reforms with locally tailored approaches, California can better ensure that Latinas leverage opportunities for mobility and build a more robust economy for all.”

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Latina Futures 2050 Lab, a research initiative spearheaded by the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center (CSRC), was created in 2022 in collaboration with the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute (LPPI). Funded by a $15 million California state budget allocation, Latina Futures seeks to increase knowledge and insight through applied policy research on the contours of the economic, political, and social lives of all women and girls living in the United States over the next several decades. Follow Latina Futures on Instagram.