California Restaurants Heavily Reliant on Latino Workers, New Data Reveals
A recent analysis by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC), utilizing data from the U.S. Census American Community Survey in 2023 and 2024, indicates that a significant majority of restaurant workers in California are Latino. Specifically, 82% of cooks statewide are identified as Latino. In Los Angeles County, this figure stands at 64% for all restaurant workers, encompassing managers, servers, chefs, head cooks, and food preparation staff. The PPIC also highlights that 95% of agricultural workers in California are Latino, with 84% of those being Mexican-born, many of whom are Indigenous immigrants, including children. This data underscores the pervasive presence of Latino individuals across the food supply chain, from farm to table, within California.
