Why Latinas are key to the Inland Empire’s future

By Fernando A. Lozano | Inland Empire Economic Partnership

We often write in these pages about the size and growth in population of the Inland Empire.

What we have not emphasized enough, is that within this increase in population, the fastest-growing demographic are households headed by Latinas.

At first sight, this fact may raise concerns with policy makers since these neighbors tend to have less favorable socioeconomic outcomes such as lower labor earnings and these households are more likely to live below the federal poverty level and have fewer years of education. However, a closer look at the data suggests that Latinas in the region are experiencing an accelerated rise in labor market outcomes and college attendance across generations. The education and labor market gaps in the