This brief presents an analysis of various economic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in metropolitan areas of high Latino concentration in Massachusetts. It includes information on and comparisons of the Primary Metropolitan Areas of Boston and the Metropolitan Statistical Area of Springfield and when available the Primary Metropolitan Area of Lawrence. The information comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004

Borges-Mendez, Ramon

Jones, Charles

Lavan, Nicole

English

University of Massachusetts Boston: ScholarWorks at UMass

University of Massachusetts BostonScholarWorks at UMass BostonGastón Institute Publications Gastón Institute for Latino CommunityDevelopment and Public Policy Publications8-1-2006Latinos in Massachusetts: Selected EconomicIndicatorsRamon Borges-MendezUniversity of Massachusetts Boston, ramon.borges@umb.eduNicole LavanUniversity of Massachusetts BostonCharles JonesUniversity of Massachusetts BostonFollow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.umb.edu/gaston_pubsPart of the Chicano Studies Commons, Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, andthe Economics CommonsThis Research Report is brought to you for free and open access by the Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public PolicyPublications at ScholarWorks at UMass Boston. It has been accepted for inclusion in Gastón Institute Publications by an authorized administrator ofScholarWorks at UMass Boston. For more information, please contact library.uasc@umb.edu.Recommended CitationBorges-Mendez, Ramon; Lavan, Nicole; and Jones, Charles, "Latinos in Massachusetts: Selected Economic Indicators" (2006). GastónInstitute Publications. Paper 118.http://scholarworks.umb.edu/gaston_pubs/118The Mauricio Gastón Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125    |    T. 617.287.5790 INTRODUCTION The Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy Latinos in Massachusetts: Selected Economic Indicatorsby Ramon Borges, Nicole Lavan, and Charles Jones  |  August 1, 2006INTRODUCTION This brief presents an analysis of various economic indicators pertaining to the Latino population in metropolitan areas of high Latino concentration in Massachusetts.  It in-cludes information on and comparisons of the Primary Metropolitan Areas of Boston and the Metropolitan Statistical Area of Springfi eld and when available the Primary Metropolitan Area of Lawrence.1  The information comes from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey of 2004.2   1  A Metropolitan Statistical Area is a unit used by the U.S. Census but which is determined by the Offi ce of Management and Budget.  It is an area associated with at least one urbanized center with a population of at least 50,000 and which comprises a central county or counties (core) plus adjacent counties having a high de-gree of social and economic integration.  The Primary Metropolitan Statistical Areas (PMSAs) are the same as MSAs except that they are near  (and economically/socially linked to) other PMSAs to form larger “CMSAs” – Consolidated Metropolitan Statistical Areas that have a population of 1 million or more.2  U.S. Census Bureau 2005. American Community Survey 2004. Core Tables <http://www2.census.gov/acs2004/Core_Tables/> Published 27 Aug 2005.2 The Mauricio Gastón Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125    |    T. 617.287.5790 Income In 2004-05, median household income (MHI) for Latinos in Massachusetts was $29,778, compared to $61,083 for the general population:  Latino MHI was 48% of the general population’s.  This statewide gap between the Latino MHI and that of the general population was observed in Boston, Springfi eld, and Lawrence.  In Boston, with a narrower differential, the Latino MHI was $42,294 compared to $61,333 for the general population, while the differential was broader in Springfi eld and Lawrence.  In Springfi eld, the Latino MHI was $19,924 compared to $42,977 for the general population, and in Lawrence the Latino MHI was $29,917 compared to $63,715.   In both cases, the median household income differ-ential between Latinos and the general population resembled the state’s differential:  the Latino MHI was roughly 46% of the general population’s. TABLE 1: MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOMEIn Boston, Springfi eld, and Lawrence, household income differentials by income cohort between Latinos and the general population show that Latinos are concentrated in the low income cohorts.  About 26% of Latino households in Boston have incomes lower than $25,000, compared to 20% in the general population.  In Springfi eld and Lawrence, these differences are more striking.  In Springfi eld, almost 63% of Latino households have incomes lower than $25,000 compared to 31% in the general population.  In Lawrence, almost 44 % of Latino households have incomes lower than $25,000 compared to 22.5% in the general population.  Examining the distribution of Latino households by income cohort for each of the cities shows important nuances.  In Boston, about 26% of Latino households have incomes lower than $25,000, about 35% have incomes between $25,000 and $59,999 and about 38% have incomes $60,000 or higher.  In Lawrence and Springfi eld, the distribution is bell-shaped.  Almost 44% of Latino households in Lawrence have incomes lower than $25,000, about 31% have incomes between $25,000 and $59,999, and almost 25% have incomes $60,000 or higher.  In Springfi eld, the income distribution within the universe of Latino households is pyramid-like:  at the base almost 69% have incomes lower than $25,000, in the middle about 26% have incomes between $25,000 and $59,999, and at the top about 10% have incomes $60,000 or higher. In terms of individual median earnings, Latinos also lag behind the general population.  At the state level, individual median earnings for the general population are about $36,530, compared to $21,275 for the Latino population.  Individual median earnings are also higher for men and women in the general population compared to Latino men and women respec-tively.  Figures for Boston and Springfi eld in Table 3 illustrate the general pattern.  The discrepancy is especially marked in Boston, where median individual earnings for men work Median Household Income ($) Total LatinoMassachusetts  61,083 29,778 Boston PMSA 61,333 42,294Springfi eld MSA 42,977 19,924Lawrence PMSA 63,715 29,9173 The Mauricio Gastón Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125    |    T. 617.287.5790 ing full-time, year round are $43,153 for the general population and $23,835 for Latinos, and where the corresponding fi gures for women are $30,024 for the general population and $19,720 for Latinas. TABLE 2.  HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS, TOTAL POPULATION AND LATINO POPULATION, 2004NOTE:  THESE fi GURES ARE IN 2004 INfl ATION-ADJUSTED DOLLARSTABLE 3.  INDIVIDUAL MEDIAN EARNINGS BY GENDER AND WORK EXPERIENCE, TOTAL POPULATION AND LATINO POPULATION, 2004NOTE:  THE TABLE INCLUDES P ERSONS 16 YEARS AND OVER WITH EARNINGS IN THE P AST 12 M ONTHS; DATA ABOUT LAWRENCE’S LATINO P OP ULATION WERE NOT AVAILABLE IN THE 2004 ACS.PovertyComparing the poverty status of the general population to Latinos by sex in Boston, Spring-fi eld, and Lawrence, for the most part shows the same pattern.  Larger shares of Latino men and women in the three cities are in poverty than in the general population.  In Boston, a little less than 7% of males in the general population are below the poverty line compared to 17% of Latinos.  In the general population 9.8% of women are below the poverty line compared 23.1% of Latino women.  For Springfi eld the numbers are more extreme:  almost 14 % of men in the general population are below the poverty line compared to 45.5% of Massachusetts Boston PMSA Springfi eld PMSA Lawrence PMSATotal Latino Total Latino Total Latino Total LatinoPopulation 2,435,421 140,488 224,607 26,563 1,300,412 59,436 149,586 21,343Less than $10,000 7.7% 16.3% 10.3% 23.1% 23.1% 13.7% 7.4% 24.3%$10,000 to $24,999 14.7% 20.7% 20.8% 39.8% 39.8% 12.8% 15.1% 19.5%$25,000 to $39,999 13.7% 19.3% 15.3% 13.9% 13.9% 20.7% 10.7% 17.1%$40,000 to $59,999 17.4% 16.5% 18.9% 12.9% 12.9% 14.4% 14.5% 14.2%$60,000 to $99,999 23.7% 21.0% 22.3% 7.1% 7.1% 30.8% 27.2% 14.7%$100,000 or more 22.8% 6.3% 12.4% 3.3% 3.3% 7.6% 25.1% 10.2%Massachusetts Springfi eld MSA Boston PMSATotal Latino Total Latino Total LatinoTotal  33,020 21,546 28,306 17,772 36,151 21,153Male 40,653 24,794 33,406 20,310 43,153 23,835Worked full-time, year-round in the past 12 months (dollars)50,406 29,903 42,092 25,137 52,112 30,519Other (dollars) 15,292 10,807 12,715 10,347 17,348 11,272Female 26,924 19,577 22,939 16,877 30,024 19,720Worked full-time, year-round in the past 12 months (dollars)37,424 26,971 33,400 27,776 41,413 28,524Other (dollars) 13,263 10,725 12,000 11,037 14,906 12,5634 The Mauricio Gastón Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125    |    T. 617.287.5790 Latinos, and 16.6% of women overall are below the poverty line compared to 47.9% of Latino women.  In Lawrence, 9% of males in the general population are below the poverty line compared to 28.4% of Latino men, and 12% of women overall are below the poverty line compared 36.2% of Latino women.  In Springfi eld, with such a large share of Latinos below the poverty line, Latino poverty is spread throughout the entire age pyramid for both men and women.  Latino men show double-digit poverty rates in two age categories; 5 to 17 years (15.6%) and 18 to 34 years.  Latino women in Springfi eld, however, show double-digit poverty rates in three categories:  5 to 17 years (15.8%), 18 to 34 years (13.4%), and 35 to 54 years (10.1%).  Among the cities considered, only Latino women ages 18 to 34 in Lawrence show a comparable poverty rate, at 15.7%. To assess poverty among Latinos, the poverty status by family type is also considered.  In Boston, 1.9% of married-couple families with related children under 18 years in the general population are below the poverty level compared to 3% among Latinos.  The fi gures are more striking for female householders with no husband present and with children below 18 years:  only 4.15% in the general population are below the poverty line compared 13.74% for Latinos.  In Springfi eld, the fi gures show no different for both types of households:  1.8% of married-couple families with children under 18 years in the general population are below the poverty line compared to 6.4% among Latinos; 7.3% of female householders with no husband present and with children under 18 years in the general population are below the poverty line compared to 31.6% among Latinos.  TABLE 4.  POVERTY STATUS IN THE PAST 12 MONTHS BY GENDER AND AGE, TOTAL POPULATION AND LATINO POPULATION, 2004 Massachusetts Springfi eld MSA Boston PMSA Lawrence PMSA Total Latino Total Latino Total Latino Total LatinoMale: 7.9% 22.2% 13.9% 45.5% 6.9% 17.1% 9.1% 28.4%Under 5 years 0.8% 4.7% 1.7% 6.6% 0.7% 4.0% 2.2% 10.2%5 to 17 years 2.3% 8.3% 4.6% 15.6% 1.8% 5.3% 2.3% 8.5%18 to 34 years 1.9% 4.7% 3.3% 11.1% 1.7% 4.3% 1.5% 4.3%35 to 54 years 1.6% 2.9% 2.3% 7.9% 1.4% 2.6% 1.8% 2.8%Over 55 years 1.4% 1.6% 2.0% 4.3% 1.2% 0.9% 1.3% 2.7%Female: 10.5% 27.6% 16.6% 47.9% 9.8% 23.1% 12.0% 36.2%Under 5 years 0.8% 3.1% 1.2% 4.1% 0.7% 3.0% 0.8% 3.6%5 to 17 years 2.0% 6.1% 4.2% 15.8% 1.6% 2.7% 2.5% 9.0%18 to 34 years 2.9% 10.1% 4.9% 13.4% 3.0% 9.6% 4.7% 15.7%35 to 54 years 2.5% 5.3% 3.5% 10.1% 2.2% 4.7% 2.1% 5.0%Over 55 years 2.3% 3.0% 2.8% 4.5% 2.4% 3.1% 1.9% 2.9%TABLE 5.  POVERTY STATUS OF FAMILIES BY FAMILY TYPE AND PRESENCE OF RELATED CHILDRENNOTE:  DATA ABOUT LAWRENCE’S LATINO P OP ULATION WERE NOT AVAILABLE IN THE 2004 ACS.Occupation and EducationOccupationIn Massachusetts, Latinos show a very different occupational distribution than the general population.  While almost 42% of the general population work in managerial, business, fi nancial, and professional occupations, only 17.5 % of Latinos do.  Almost 52% of Latinos are concentrated in service, sales, and offi ce occupations and 31% are in farming, construc-tion, maintenance, production, and transportation occupations.  By way of contrast, in the general population 40% are in service, sales, and offi ce occupations and 18% are in farming, construction, maintenance, production, and transportation occupations.  Comparisons between the general population and Latinos by city, in Springfi eld and Boston, illustrate the statewide pattern.  In Boston, while 46.3% of the general population work in managerial, business, fi nancial, and professional occupations only 18.9% of Latinos do.  In Springfi eld, while 36.2% of the general population work in managerial, business, fi nancial, and professional occupations, only 16.1% of Latinos do.  TABLE 6.  OCCUPATION FOR CIVILIAN EMPLOYED POPULATION, TOTAL AND LATINO EMPLOYED POPULATION 16+, 2004NOTE:  DATA ABOUT LAWRENCE’S LATINO P OP ULATION WERE NOT AVAILABLE IN THE 2004 ACS5 The Mauricio Gastón Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125    |    T. 617.287.5790 Massachusetts Springfi eld MSA Boston PMSATotal Latino Total Latino Total LatinoTotal 1,565,568 108,041 140,555 17,821 821,970 46,495Families with income below poverty level 7.1% 24.9% 11.2% 43.5% 6.7% 24.2%Married-couple family: 1.8% 3.1% 2.4% 6.7% 1.9% 3.0%With related children under 18 years: 0.9% 2.6% 1.8% 6.4% 0.9% 2.0%Female householder, no husband present: 4.7% 20.6% 7.9% 34.9% 4.2% 19.2%With related children under 18 years: 4.3% 17.7% 7.3% 31.6% 3.6% 13.7%Massachusetts Springfi eld MSA Boston PMSATotal Latino Total Latino Total LatinoAll Occupations 3,149,724 205,586 1,702,520 98,931 264,389 24,891Management, business, and fi nancial oc-cupations:15.7% 6.0% 17.6% 8.5% 11.4% 1.5%Professional and related occupations: 26.0% 11.5% 28.7% 10.4% 24.9% 14.6%Service occupations: 16.1% 33.6% 15.4% 36.8% 17.0% 36.6%Sales and offi ce occupations: 24.0% 18.3% 23.6% 19.0% 24.2% 17.2%Farming, fi shing, and forestry occupations: 0.4% 1.5% 0.2% 0.7% 0.8% 6.6%Construction, extraction, maintenance, and repair occupations:8.0% 6.4% 6.8% 6.8% 7.5% 2.4%Production occupations: 5.6% 14.3% 3.6% 8.3% 8.8% 14.4%Transportation and material moving oc-cupations:4.2% 8.5% 4.0% 9.5% 5.4% 6.7%EducationComparisons of Latino educational attainment with the general population by gender, and across some of the cities of the commonwealth show fairly regular patterns, although some nuances are applicable.  In all of the three cities considered, Boston, Springfi eld, and Law-rence, high shares of Latino men have a high school education or less compared to the gen-eral population.  The range of Latino men with some college or higher education goes from a low of just under 20% in Springfi eld to a mid-point of 35% in Boston to a high of 61% in Lawrence.  In all fi ve cities, the pattern for Latino women resembles the same general pattern as for Latino men:  high shares having a high school diploma or less, and low shares having some college or a higher education degree compared to women in the general popu-lation.  The range of Latino women with some college or higher education goes from a low of under 30% in Springfi eld to a high of almost 39% in Boston.  It is worth noting that Latino women in Boston and Springfi eld, although worse off than women in the general population, show higher shares with some college or higher education degrees than do Latino males. TABLE 7.  EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT BY GENDER FOR MASSACHUSETTS AND SELECTED METROPOLITAN AREAS, TOTAL AND LATINO POPULATION 25 YEARS AND OVER, 20046 The Mauricio Gastón Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Boulevard, Boston, MA 02125    |    T. 617.287.5790 Massachusetts Springfi eld MSA Boston PMSA Lawrence PMSATotal Latino Total Latino Total Latino Total LatinoTotal: 4,254,378 252,998 373,462 39,007 2,290,576 124,021 268,791 33,979Male: 2,005,268 121,609 173,534 17,889 1,079,733 61,863 129,554 16,602Less than 9th grade 4.6% 17.6% 6.7% 31.7% 3.7% 15.3% 4.1% 17.8%9th to 12th grade 7.3% 16.1% 9.5% 21.0% 6.2% 18.7% 7.6% 8.7%High school graduate (includes equivalency)27.5% 30.6% 31.2% 26.6% 25.3% 30.7% 22.4% 12.6%Some college to Associate’s degree21.3% 19.5% 24.7% 12.8% 19.1% 13.7% 26.1% 36.5%Bachelor’s degree 22.6% 10.4% 15.3% 7.1% 25.4% 13.1% 24.3% 15.6%Graduate degree 16.7% 5.9% 12.6% 0.8% 20.3% 8.5% 15.5% 8.7%Female: 2,249,110 131,389 199,928 21,118 1,210,843 62,158 139,237 17,377Less than 9th grade 4.6% 17.7% 5.4% 23.2% 3.7% 16.8% 4.9% 15.5%9th to 12th grade 7.1% 15.7% 10.4% 15.6% 6.2% 14.7% 7.1% 9.6%High school graduate (includes equivalency)28.2% 31.9% 31.0% 31.6% 25.9% 29.8% 30.4% 43.8%Some college to Associate’s degree24.4% 19.7% 26.3% 19.8% 21.8% 19.8% 26.8% 15.0%Bachelor’s degree 21.1% 10.1% 14.9% 7.1% 24.5% 11.9% 19.9% 13.1%Graduate degree 14.7% 4.8% 12.1% 2.7% 17.9% 7.1% 10.8% 3.0%

Latinos in Massachusetts: Selected Economic Indicators

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Latinos in Massachusetts: Selected Economic Indicators

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