By The Campaign for College Opportunity
As members of the state’s single largest racial or ethnic group, Latinx students are central both to California’s higher education systems and to bolstering its long-term economic outlook.
“California’s future will be shaped in no small measure by how well we educate and graduate Latinx Californians. That is not rhetoric. It is a demographic and economic reality,” says Dilcie D. Perez, EdD, Board Member of Campaign for College Opportunity and Vice Chancellor, Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success, California State University.
The State of Higher Education for Latinx Californians, produced by The Campaign for College Opportunity and the Latino Working Class Project, examines Latinx student outcomes across the state’s public education systems, including college preparation, enrollment, transfer pathways, degree attainment, and economic mobility.
California has demonstrated that intentional policy and institutional reforms can improve outcomes. Latinx students have achieved gains in high school graduation, completion of transfer-level community college coursework, degree and certificate attainment, and UC transfer graduation. Latinx graduates from the UC and CSU also earn more than the state’s median annual earnings within five years, and graduates of California’s public four-year universities recoup their educational investment in less than one year. Yet progress remains uneven; nearly half of Latinx high school seniors graduate without completing the coursework required for UC or CSU admission, and just 18% of Latinx working-age adults hold a bachelor’s degree—less than half the statewide rate.
Achieving the college dream is not simply about reaching a campus or earning a degree. It is about building equitable and connected pathways that prepare students for college, supporting them through transfer and completion, and ensuring they can access careers and economic opportunities that allow them to support their families, strengthen their communities, and build lifelong prosperity.
When Latinos succeed, California succeeds.
Read the report. Lean el reporte: https://e1.nmcdn.io/assets/cco/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SHE_Latinx-Californians-2026-Final.pdf
