Steimetz presented the 2020 Latino Economic Report on May 21, 2020 at the Third Annual Long Beach Latino Economic Summit during National Hispanic Heritage Month.
“We developed the report in response to an overwhelming demand from civic leaders and stakeholders who wanted a better understanding of the economic contributions made, and conditions faced, by Long Beach’s Latinx community. Our report was the first of its kind to draw an economic portrait of the City’s largest demographic,” said Steimetz who is Professor and Chair of Economics at California State University, Long Beach.
The annual Latino Economic Report and its related summit, which debuted in 2018, are produced in partnership with the university’s Center for Community Engagement, the City of Long Beach and its Economic Development Department, and the Long Beach-based Hispanic-serving human and social service agency, Centro CHA.
In producing the annual report, Steimetz and his economics graduate student, Megan Anaya, along with Dr. Juan Benitez, Vice President of the Long Beach Unified School District Board, and Jessica Quintana, Centro CHA’s Executive Director, have uncovered trends and issues facing Long Beach’s Latinx population.
For example, the median annual income of Latino households in Long Beach is $51,646, 14.7% lower than the overall median of $60,557. In addition, a higher percentage of Latinx residents (16.4%) lives in poverty compared to 9.8% of the rest of Long Beach’s population. Despite these disparities, Long Beach Latinos are indispensable to the local and regional economies. The annual economic impact of the City’s working population is $34.3 billion, or 38.1% of the entire City’s total contribution to the region.
Additionally, Long Beach Latinos create or sustain 76,851 jobs in the region and contribute $807 million in tax revenue annually. As Long Beach’s Latino population continues to grow, these discussions and analyses will continue to inform residents, city departments, policymakers, and others working to make Long Beach more equitable and prosperous.
To learn more about the Annual Latino Economic Report and Summit, click
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