Alarming New Data Exposes the Financial Struggles of Black and Brown Californians

August 20, 2024; Oakland, CA – The Maven Collaborative released its latest report today, “Living on the Brink: The True Cost of Being Californian.” This comprehensive research reveals vast economic inequality along gender and racial divides in the state, particularly for Black and brown Californians with children.

The full report is available here. Key findings include:

• Between 2021 and 2023, the share of households who are barely scraping by increased by 8 percent, the biggest jump in seven years.

• The percentage of childless Black households who are living paycheck to paycheck is nearly the same as white households with three children.

• Racial economic inequality is most pronounced in the counties with the highest costs of living — in San Francisco Bay Area’s Marin County, 64% of Latinx households are struggling to get by, compared to 23% of white households.

• Close to a third of Black women with a bachelor’s degree face financial instability, while only 16 percent of white men with a bachelor’s degree are struggling to make ends meet.

• A household with one working adult and one preschool-aged child in San Francisco would need to work 22 hours a day, seven days a week, to pay for basic living expenses like childcare.

“These findings show California’s economic landscape is increasingly becoming one where only the white and wealthy can thrive,” said Maven Co-founder and Co-president Jhumpa Bhattacharya. “Lawmakers must take swift, decisive action to reverse these figures, which paint a clear picture: Black, brown and Indigenous families are facing a near-impossible financial battle to survive in our state.”

In addition to the report, Maven Collaborative also launched a Family Sustainability Calculator that allows users a detailed look at the amount of income needed to sustain different family configurations across the state. 

The report’s proposed solutions to tackle the rising affordability crisis include a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit, enhanced unemployment insurance, and targeted guaranteed income programs. It also advocates for tax reforms to ensure corporations and the wealthy contribute their fair share.