Life in the Valley Economy 2010 - Working Partnerships USA

Making a Living: Indicator 2: Household Budgets
Latina women workers have the lowest median
earnings at just $22,747 annually
The racial/ethnic disparity in household incomes is
due in large part to a wide disparity in annual wages.
For workers living in Santa Clara County, median
annual earnings in 2008 varied widely by race-ethnicity
and sex: from a high of $70,348 for white men to a
low of $22,747 for Latina women. Figure 1.13 shows
median earnings for workers aged 16+ by race/ethnicity
and sex. (Individuals who did not work in 2008 are
not included.)
These large disparities reflect differences in wages
both within occupations and between occupations, as
well as variations in hours of work or weeks worked
per year. For instance, Latinos make up 76% of Silicon
Valley’s janitors, an occupation with median annual
earnings of just $18,710. 17 On the other hand, whites
fill 70% of all legal occupations, with average median
annual earnings of $113,300. 18
As described in Indicator 1 of this chapter, nearly
one-third of all occupations in the Valley pay less
than a self-sufficiency wage. The low wages in many
occupations filled predominantly by women, Latinos
or African-Americans, along with inadequate access to
education needed to reach higher-wage occupations,
produces an increasingly divided community.
Median earnings of workers
$80,000
$60,000
$40,000
$20,000
$0
Median Earnings of Santa Clara County Workers
by Ethnicity and Sex, 2008
$70,348
$40,321
$67,395
$40,370
$29,860
$22,747
Figure 1.13 Source: American Community Survey
$35,848
$24,091
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Working Partnerships USA