The LATSTAT Report: Poverty and Inequality in San Francisco. Focus on Latino Families and Children

This report focuses on poverty and social inequality in San Francisco (California), presenting basic demographic information on the socioeconomic conditions of Latinos, African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders, and Whites in San Francisco, based on an analysis of U.S. Census data for 1970, 1980, and 1990. Although it presents comparative information on the four population groups, the focus is on Latino families and children, who constitute 14% of the city's total population. A separate section explores demographics and socioeconomic status in the city's Mission district, one of 13 census districts in San Francisco. Since 1980 the number of Latinos in the Mission district has increased, to the point where 30% of the Latino population lives in the Mission. Section 1 presents data on the current socioeconomic condition of the population groups over time. Section 2 examines the Mission district in greater detail. Forty percent of the Latino population is of Mexican origin, with 5% of Puerto Rican and 2% of Cuban origin. The remainder are "other Hispanic," primarily Salvadorean and Guatemalan. Almost a quarter of the city's Latino population is under the age of 18. Twenty-three percent of the city's Latino children live in female-headed families; 20% of the city's Latino children live in poverty; and forty-nine percent of the children in the city's school district speak Spanish. Latinos lag behind other groups in educational attainment and continue to have the highest school dropout rate. (Contains 53 figures, 20 tables, 2 maps, and 29 references.) (SLD)