Study Compares 2 Latino Groups’ Education Levels

Salvadorans living in California tend to be long-term residents who are generally better educated than immigrants from Mexico, according to a UCLA study released Wednesday.

Two-thirds of the state’s Salvadorans have been here 14 years or more, the study said. “This is a well-established community that is here to stay,” said the study’s author, David Hayes-Bautista, who directs UCLA’s Center for the Study of Latino Health and Culture.

Immigration from El Salvador ebbed in the 1990s for several reasons, experts say, including the end of a decade-long civil war and increased enforcement against illegal immigration in Mexico and the United States. Many Salvadoran immigrants arrived after crossing Mexico.

The study, using Census 2000 numbers and other data, found there were almost 300,000 Salvadorans living in California, mostly in and around Los Angeles. Community leaders and demographers say the numbers probably represent an undercount, because many census respondents did not specify their Salvadoran origin.

Though Mexicans are by far the state’s largest immigrant group, Southern California is also home to the nation’s largest Central American community, including Salvadorans, Guatemalans, Hondurans and others.

The study tended to confirm the long-held anecdotal belief that Salvadoran residents--many of whom were professionals fleeing a brutal war--are generally better educated than arrivals from Mexico.

Almost one-quarter of Salvadoran immigrants aged 25 or older have attended college, twice the percentage among Mexican immigrants.

That comparatively high education level may contribute to the fact that 25% of families headed by one or more Salvadoran immigrants earn more than $50,000 a year. However, well more than half still make less than $30,000. The large percentage of low earners persists despite the fact that 81% of Salvadoran men hold jobs, compared with 61% of U.S.-born Latino men overall.

“Our people have a strong work ethic, but many are stuck in difficult economic conditions,” said Carlos Vaquerano, executive director of the Salvadoran-American Leadership and Educational Fund, a civic group.

A major challenge for the community, Vaquerano said, is to push to legalize the status of tens of thousands who remain illegal immigrants or have only temporary work permits. The fear of deportation thwarts many Salvadorans’ progress.