Are Latinos in Fresno County less likely to be entrepreneurs? What study shows
There’s no denying the influence of Latino small business owners in Fresno but, according to a recent UCLA study, Latinos in the county are less likely to be entrepreneurs compared to Latinos across California.
Misael Galdámez, a senior research analyst at the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute who oversaw the study, said the lower rates of entrepreneurship among Latinos in Fresno County are potentially tied to educational attainment and poverty levels.
“Latinos in Fresno County are less likely to have completed high school or college compared to Latinos in California, overall,” he said. “They also tend to have lower incomes and are more likely to live in poverty. Starting a business requires startup capital and funding, as well as knowledge — knowing how to actually start and formalize a business.”
The data comes from the 5-year American Community Survey, released in 2021, which asks respondents about their type of job and legal status. The UCLA analysis focused specifically on self-employment, and the research underscores improved access to resources and targeted investments can drive economic mobility for Latinos.
Rosalba Flores, a program director at the Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation — which offers business support to Hispanic and low-income entrepreneurs in Fresno County — said she doesn’t believe the UCLA study accurately reflects the Latino population in Fresno.
“While it’s true that Latinos in Fresno face significant barriers to starting and scaling businesses — such as limited access to capital, legal status constraints, and language barriers—our data also shows that this community is highly entrepreneurial,” she said. “Many are launching businesses out of necessity, but also from a place of cultural pride and a desire for self-determination.”
Flores believes there’s several reasons why some Latino entrepreneurs in Fresno County may not have been captured in the UCLA study. Some Latinos who are undocumented may be afraid to disclose their businesses.
“Many entrepreneurs have regular jobs, so they may only report that job and not mention a side business they have. That could be one factor,” she said. “Sometimes people don’t know that the little selling they do on weekends means having a business. And of course, there’s also a language barrier in many cases, so they may not understand what’s being asked of them in the survey.”
The Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation partnered with Immigrants Rising — a nonprofit that supports immigrants in achieving their personal and professional goals — to conduct a study on Latino entrepreneurs in Fresno County. The study found that while Latino, undocumented, and women entrepreneurs face unique challenges, they are also driving the region’s entrepreneurial growth, especially in the construction industry.
The Fresno foundation’s study focused on participants in the Social Entrepreneurs for Economic Development (SEED) Initiative, a state-funded program to support immigrants and individuals with limited English proficiency who face major employment barriers. The study found that a majority of SEED recipients were Latino (93%), women (62%), and undocumented (57%).
Nearly 70% of survey respondents identified as women,many of whom Flores says lack access to capital to invest in their businesses..
“Most of them also always think about their kids having a better life, as the main purpose for them having a job and a business on the side,”Flores said. “They want to get more income for their families without having to leave their kids and their homes for so long.”
Many challenges Latino small business owners in Fresno face include accessing all the information needed to formalize operations and secure loans. According to the foundation’s survey, only 1 in 4 businesses applied for funding last year.
“I work in rural communities and I always notice the lack of information and resources about how to run a business,” Flores said. “So even though a lot of folks are running a business, they don’t have all of the licenses and permits they need. A lot of people are also not good with technology, so they’re also not finding all of the resources that we have in the community.”
Karina Pano is a Latina small business owner who knows firsthand how to formalize a business. She runs Panos Concrete Inc., a family-owned concrete company in Fresno, which provides industrial, commercial and residential concrete services in the Central Valley.
Although the business had been operating for more than 30 years, it wasn’t until 2022, when Pano partnered with her mom and dad, that they got all their paperwork in order.
“I don’t think getting a business license and registering our business was the hard part,” Pano said. “For us, the real challenge in formalizing the business was securing all the funds needed for equipment, branding, website, HR, and back-office operations. My family and I carefully planned everything strategically to ensure we had the financial resources in place to launch successfully.”
Since formalizing the business, they now have access to more types of contracts, Pano said, which is helping them grow.
”Now we’re also able to bid on federal projects. We’re able to bid on commercial projects. We’re able to bid on other types of projects that we wouldn’t be able to if you were not licensed,” she said.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated.
This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 11:05 AM.
