A countywide study finds Hispanic and Latino high school graduation in San Diego jumping from about 68% in 2005 to roughly 91% in 2023, a huge win on paper, even as many young adults still struggle to earn family-sustaining wages. College enrollment among Latino students has climbed alongside those gains, but the report warns that diplomas alone are not erasing deep economic and opportunity gaps. Community programs and expanded in-school pathways are credited with keeping more students in class, while advocates say more has to be done to turn those hard-earned credentials into stable careers.
The findings appear in "Youth Wellbeing in San Diego," a comprehensive county report that tracks indicators for people ages 0 to 24 from 2005 through 2023. According to a report by Policy & Innovation Center, Hispanic or Latino high school graduation jumped from 68% in 2005 to 91% in 2023, Hispanic college enrollment rose from 42% to 57%, and countywide college enrollment increased from 56% to 64% over the same period. The center notes the study was produced with support from the San Diego Foundation, the Conrad Prebys Foundation and the City of San Diego.
Local leaders point to several policy and program changes that likely helped push those numbers up. One is California’s Local Control Funding Formula, which directs extra state dollars to districts with higher shares of English learners, foster youth and students eligible for free or reduced price meals, as the California Department of Education explains in its breakdown of the LCFF’s base, supplemental and concentration grants and how they target resources. "As a weighted formula, it provides more resources to schools where the needs are the greatest," Dean Gerdeman, assistant director of education initiatives at the San Diego Foundation, told KPBS.
Local Programs And Student Voices
Community groups and in school pathways also helped many students stay on track. Organizations such as the Barrio Logan College Institute begin college readiness supports as early as third grade, offering tutoring, mentoring and college application help, the institute's website says. "I didn’t fully believe in myself," student Karlo Vazquez Melendez told KPBS. "Fortunately, people believed in me." Now he is studying political science at San Diego State University.
Progress Meets Economic Reality
Despite the education gains, the report flags that economic opportunity has not kept pace. It found the share of 18 to 24-year-olds living alone who earned a self-sufficient wage fell from 20% in 2008 to 9% in 2023, and the county was grappling with more than 21,000 unhoused students, trends that could blunt the promise of higher graduation rates, the Policy & Innovation Center warns. Those gaps underscore the report’s call for stronger career pathways, apprenticeships and supports for students who do not take the traditional college route.
What Comes Next
Funders and district leaders say the next step is making diplomas translate into living wages by scaling dual enrollment, career technical education and apprenticeship pipelines, and by targeting investments where disparities persist. The San Diego Foundation, which helped underwrite the study, says it will use the data to guide grants and programs aimed at closing both educational and economic gaps. For students and families, the report offers a rare win in graduation numbers and a practical roadmap for what still needs to change.
