9 County Bay Area

The State of Bay Area Workers Data Tool

How are we doing as a region to ensure everyone can afford to live and thrive in the Bay Area? It takes good jobs, equitable access to those jobs, and affordable supports to make this vision a reality.

Powered by the Bay Area Equity Atlas.

Select the whole Bay Area, or your specific county, for an in-depth look at the state of workers in your area:

  • GOOD

    Jobs

  • EQUITABLE

    Access

  • AFFORDABLE

    Supports

GOOD

Jobs

Barriers to quality, empowered jobs for working people in the Bay Area endanger the future of our economy.

Black and Native American workers in particular face persistent obstacles to getting and keeping good jobs, and Black workers were slowest to recover following pandemic job hits. While employment rates fail to show the quality of jobs workers have, the racial disparities in this simple measure are still dramatic: in the Bay Area white adults are 9 percent more likely than Black adults and 15 percent more likely than Native American adults to be employed.

Universe includes the civilian, non-institutionalized population ages 25 through 64. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

Not all job creation is good job creation.

In the Bay Area, middle-wage job growth has long lagged behind (22 percent from 1990-2021), stranding many workers of color in low-paying jobs with few opportunities for advancement. Improving job quality and protections for all workers in all sectors is essential for building a more equitable and sustainable regional economy.

Universe includes all private-sector jobs covered by state unemployment insurance laws. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

How are workers faring in the Bay Area?

The Bay Area is home to great wealth and opportunity, but neither is shared equally. Why do those inequities exist? And are we making progress in closing those gaps? What does all this mean for Bay Area working families, neighbors, and communities?

We asked our cross-sector Equity at Work Council to partner with the Bay Area Equity Atlas to use data to tell a more nuanced story about how workers are faring in our region. As a result of those efforts, we are excited to present the first ever State of Bay Area Workers tool, offering a well-rounded picture of work and workers in each Bay Area county and the Region as a whole. We hope community leaders, organizers, policymakers, funders and others will use this data to explore, learn, spark conversation, and make informed decisions about strategy, policy and practices that lead to the change we need.

Economic growth should benefit all workers and communities.

Bay Area decision-makers have implemented economic policies that created unprecedented wealth in our region for those in the highest wage jobs, at the expense of those in low and middle wage jobs.

The incomes of the highest-earning workers in the area has increased by almost 70 percent since 1980, while earned income has declined by 9 percent over the same period for those in the lowest-paid jobs.

Universe includes civilian noninstitutionalized full-time wage and salary workers ages 25-64. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

Worker power is the only time-tested, scalable strategy to create family sustaining jobs.

Pandemic-era worker organizing has shifted employer practices and improved job quality for some of the most marginalized workers. Strengthening unions and other forms of organizing that build collective power among working people is essential to improving job quality, and can increase the availability of a skilled workforce. Native American and Black workers in the Bay Area are most likely to belong to unions. But overall, more than five out of six workers in the region are not protected by union membership.

Check out The Union Effect in California report by UC Berkeley for more on how unions affect the lives of all working people in California.

Universe includes employed wage and salary workers, age 15 or older. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

Eliminating barriers to employment and closing racial wage gaps could boost the region’s economy by more than 50 percent.

The Bay Area is at a crossroads. We can either double down on the inequitable economic and employment trends of the past 40 years, or reimagine an economy that is powered by the full collective potential of our region. In 2020 alone, employment and wage inequities cost the nine-county region’s economy an estimated $516 billion in unrealized GDP.

(GDP) Gross Domestic Product measures the dollar value of all goods and services produced in the region. GDP growth is in real terms (adjusted for inflation). Universe includes all people age 16 or older.  See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

EQUITABLE

Access

The Bay Area becomes more diverse every year. Economic opportunity does not.

About 60 percent of the region’s residents are people of color. Diversity and inclusion must be cornerstones for a thriving Bay Area future.

Universe includes all people ages 18-64. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. Data are not available for some racial/ethnic groups due to insufficient sample size to produce reliable estimates. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

Educational attainment is an important contributor to economic freedom. Persistent racial inequities in education must be eliminated.

Region-wide, 51 percent of adults have at least a bachelor’s degree, though access to educational attainment varies across communities. In the Bay Area, 3 out of 5 white and Asian American adults have at least a bachelor’s degree, while only 1 out of 5 Latinx, Pacific Islander or Native American adults has a four-year degree.

Universe includes all people ages 25 through 64. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. Data are not available for some racial/ethnic groups due to insufficient sample size to produce reliable estimates. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

How are workers faring in the Bay Area?

The Bay Area is home to great wealth and opportunity, but neither is shared equally. Why do those inequities exist? And are we making progress in closing those gaps? What does all this mean for Bay Area working families, neighbors, and communities?

We asked our cross-sector Equity at Work Council to partner with the Bay Area Equity Atlas to use data to tell a more nuanced story about how workers are faring in our region. As a result of those efforts, we are excited to present the first ever State of Bay Area Workers tool, offering a well-rounded picture of work and workers in each Bay Area county and the Region as a whole. We hope community leaders, organizers, policymakers, funders and others will use this data to explore, learn, spark conversation, and make informed decisions about strategy, policy and practices that lead to the change we need.

The Bay Area economy is controlled by those who benefit the most from the status quo; inequities preserve political power for the few.

On average, white workers in the region are paid about 21 percent more than the Bay Area’s median wage. White immigrant workers earn almost $45/hour, 49 percent more than the overall median wage, while US-born Black and Latinx workers are paid about 25 percent less than the median. At $17/hour, Latinx immigrants are paid the lowest median wages in the region: 43 percent below the overall median.

Universe includes civilian noninstitutional full-time wage and salary workers ages 25-64. Values are in 2019 dollars. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. Data are not available for some racial/ethnic groups due to insufficient sample size to produce reliable estimates. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

How much you get paid determines how much you can afford; only 62 percent of working people in the Bay Area can afford basic family living expenses.

Only 50 percent of Black, 39 percent of Pacific Islander and 35 percent of Latinx full-time working people in the region are paid enough to cover the cost of living for a family of four with two full-time working adults, compared to 74 percent of their white counterparts.

Universe includes civilian noninstitutional full-time wage and salary workers ages 25-64. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. Earning enough to meet basic needs is defined by the Family Needs Calculator for a household of 2 adults, one school-age child, and one preschool-age child in the county in which they reside. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

Working people of color continue to be concentrated in lower-wage jobs.

Black and Latinx working people are crowded in occupations that tend to offer lower quality jobs, while white and Asian American working people are overrepresented in several high-paying fields.

White workers make up 38 percent of the region’s overall workforce, but 54 percent of those in management jobs. Conversely, Latinx workers are 23 percent of the overall workforce, but 43 percent of those in food preparation and serving jobs.

Universe includes civilian noninstitutional workers age 16 or older; universe for total working age population includes all people ages 18-64. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. Data are not available for some racial/ethnic groups due to insufficient sample size to produce reliable estimates. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

AFFORDABLE

Supports

Quality, empowered jobs are critical, but everyone must be able to compete for them.

Across all racial groups, labor force participation is highest for male-identifying people. Among female-identifying people, the gap is largest between Native American adults (60 percent labor force participation) and Mixed/other (76 percent). Among male-identifying people, the largest gap is between Native American adults (70 percent) and Asian American counterparts (88 percent).

To ensure all people have access to quality jobs, systemic and structural changes are needed that address bias in hiring and the inequitable availability of child care, transportation, and housing.

Universe includes the civilian, non-institutionalized population ages 25 through 64. The labor force includes those who are employed and those unemployed but actively looking for work. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. Data are not available for some racial/ethnic groups due to insufficient sample size to produce reliable estimates. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

The lack of Bay Area housing affordability is both a driver and a result of inequities in the Bay Area economy.

People of color, especially women of color, shoulder the greatest burden of the lack of affordable housing in the Bay Area. Outrageous housing costs and unlivable wages force too many families to choose between paying rent, paying for other essential needs, or moving out of their communities. Across the region, 66 percent of renter households headed by Black women are rent-burdened, by far the highest rate among any racial/ethnic and gender group.

Universe includes renter-occupied households with cash rent. Rent burden is defined as spending more than 30 percent of income on housing costs. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. Data are not available for some racial/ethnic groups due to insufficient sample size to produce reliable estimates. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

How are workers faring in the Bay Area?

The Bay Area is home to great wealth and opportunity, but neither is shared equally. Why do those inequities exist? And are we making progress in closing those gaps? What does all this mean for Bay Area working families, neighbors, and communities?

We asked our cross-sector Equity at Work Council to partner with the Bay Area Equity Atlas to use data to tell a more nuanced story about how workers are faring in our region. As a result of those efforts, we are excited to present the first ever State of Bay Area Workers tool, offering a well-rounded picture of work and workers in each Bay Area county and the Region as a whole. We hope community leaders, organizers, policymakers, funders and others will use this data to explore, learn, spark conversation, and make informed decisions about strategy, policy and practices that lead to the change we need.

Many Bay Area working people face extremely long and expensive commutes resulting in less take-home pay, higher child care costs, and lower quality of life.

High housing costs in areas where jobs are concentrated mean that low-income workers who rely on public transit have the longest average commutes in the Bay Area. About 7 percent of Black and Native American workers spend 90 minutes or more traveling to work, one way. All workers deserve access to safe and affordable transportation with a reasonable commute time, and shorter commutes are better for the climate.

Universe includes all workers ages 16 and older who work outside of home. Data reflect a 2016-2020 average. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

Health care access continues to look very different across races and ethnicities.

Safe and healthy working people means healthy families and thriving businesses. Yet about one in ten Latinx and Native American residents in the region do not have health insurance — five times the rate of their white counterparts.

Universe includes all people. Latinx include people of Hispanic origin of any race and all other groups exclude people of Hispanic origin. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

For a diverse, prosperous and equitable future, our political leaders must reflect the Bay Area community.

People of color are not equitably represented in high-level elected offices, contributing to political and economic power imbalances. Across the region, people of color are 62 percent of the population but hold just 37 percent of high-level elected offices. Increased economic and political power in communities of color can lead to a Bay Area that works for all of us.

Elected officials include county offices of supervisor or district attorney. See data sources here: https://nationalequityatlas.org/RWB

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