Despite earning a master's degree in economics from the University of Massachusetts Boston, 24-year-old Katheryn Gravenhorst has yet to break into data analysis or consulting. Instead, she is still working as a shift manager at Dunkin' in Salem.
Her story reflects a larger problem in Massachusetts: Many Latino families are struggling to achieve financial stability even when they follow the traditional path to getting ahead.
Here's what to know
According to The Boston Globe, citing Boston Federal Reserve data released in August, Latino families in Massachusetts have a median net wealth of $1,200. The Globe also reported that about two-thirds of Latino families statewide would not be able to handle a $400 emergency bill.
Gravenhorst is still adding to a spreadsheet that tracks her applications. After moving from Colombia to live with her aunt in Lynn at 16, Gravenhorst spent five years at UMass Boston juggling several jobs, mostly at Dunkin', and became the first person in her family to graduate from college. She said the need to get by left little room for internships or networking.
"I was trying to build my resume, but at the same time I was trying to survive," she said. "I feel like I would have better job prospects if I had more time to network."
The pressure extends beyond one generation. Sandra Gravenhorst, Katheryn's aunt and a tax business owner in Lynn, owns a home — something only around one-third of Latinos in Massachusetts do — but she supports a household that includes her mother, niece, two sons, and a baby, and has no retirement account at 53.
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More background
Massachusetts' Latino population tops one million residents, and the group has a median age of 30, younger than the state's other racial and ethnic populations. Puerto Ricans and Dominicans account for more than half of that population.
At the same time, the MassINC Policy Center said Massachusetts remains among the country's most expensive states and among the most income-segregated.
Elise Rapoza, a senior research associate at MassINC, said nearly all jobs with middle-class pay — at least $90,000 a year — require a college degree.
"There are so few pathways to middle-class earnings that don't involve a bachelor's," she said.
The degree does not eliminate the disparity. The Gaston Institute at UMass Boston found that college-educated Latino workers in Massachusetts earn under $63,000 a year on average, below Black, white, and Asian or Pacific Islander workers with the same level of education.
According to Javier Juarez, executive director of the Latino Equity Fund at the Boston Foundation, many families are trying to move ahead without inherited wealth, mentorship, or access to traditional business loans.
Claudia Osirio, a South Boston resident, told the Globe she once worked alongside a man who had been a doctor in the Dominican Republic but was cleaning in Massachusetts.
What can be done?
Some approaches are helping certain families manage, though none are enough on their own.
Improving access to college and helping students finish is one part of the answer. In Massachusetts, a bachelor's degree is still the clearest route to higher wages, and many first-generation Latino students at UMass Boston are trying to reach that goal while also working.
A community connection helped Osirio get her current job as an assistant director at a social services nonprofit, illustrating how informal networks can create openings when formal pipelines fall short.
In Lynn, Sandra Gravenhorst built her business after learning tax preparation and taking over one of her cousin's stores. In Osirio's family, public housing has allowed them to stay in South Boston, and one of her sons is taking college classes online as a step toward better-paying jobs that can still feel out of reach.
Juarez said, "It's an accumulation of systemic wrongdoings."
Where can I learn more?
Other pressures can make it harder for working families to get ahead.
• In Mexico, extreme weather is pushing families toward migration to the United States.
• Across affluent communities, climate-proof towns are emerging while poorer neighborhoods remain exposed.
• MIT researchers warn energy burdens are rising as vulnerable Americans move to hotter places.
• Nationwide, climate change is driving a dramatic dip in income over time.
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