Migrant Farmworkers' Housing, Appendix A

Housing for Families and Unaccompanied Migrant Farmworkers

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APPENDIX A: Additional Migrant Farmworker Data⁴⁵

Racial and Ethnic Background

In 1991, 74 percent of migrant farmworkers had legal authorization to work in the United States;
82 percent of migrant farmworkers from 1989 through 1991were men;⁴⁶
seven out of ten migrant farmworkers were Mexican men;⁴⁷

85 percent of all migrant farmworkers were born abroad, the majority (90 percent) in Latin America;

10 percent of all migrant farmworkers are U.S.-born Hispanic;

foreign-based migrants make up 30 percent of the farm labor force, 71 percent of the migrant labor force and represent 480,000 workers;

U.S.-based migrants make up 12 percent of the farm labor force, 29 percent of the migrant labor force, and comprise an estimated 190,000 workers;

areas such as the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast, in which the traditional farm labor force was predominantly white and African American, now rely almost exclusively on Latinos to perform seasonal agricultural work; and

most vegetable, fruit and nut workers are migrants.

Poverty and Wages

The median income for migrant farmworkers is $5,000 per year;
two-thirds of migrant farmworkers live below the poverty line as a result of lack of full-time and year-round work, combined with low wages;
73 percent of children of migrant farmworkers under the age of 14 residing in the U.S. live below the poverty line; and
migrant farmworkers work an average of 29 weeks per year.⁴⁸

On to Appendix B

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