Economic inequality has reached a staggering milestone in Silicon Valley: just nine households hold 15% of the region’s wealth, according to new research from San Jose State University. A mere 0.1% of residents hold 71% of the tech hub’s wealth.
The findings come from the 2025 “Silicon Valley Pain Index”, a report published by SJSU’s Human Rights Institute each year since 2020. The report aims to quantify “structured inequalities” in Silicon Valley, and measures “pain” as “both personal and community distress or suffering”.
This year’s index reports that the wealth divide has widened in Silicon Valley at double the rate of the whole United States over the past decade. The nine wealthiest households in the valley control $683.2bn – a $136bn increase over the past year.
At the same time, 110,000 households reported nearly none or no assets.
The cost of living in Silicon Valley has risen as well: renters must earn $136,532 to afford an apartment – the highest in the nation.
The report ranked San Jose No 4 in “impossibly unaffordable” cities worldwide (after Hong Kong, Sydney and Vancouver). Yet, no cities in Silicon Valley have raised the minimum wage in the past three years. The report finds that 54,582 low-income households do not have access to an affordable home in San Jose and that homelessness grew 8.2% from 2023.
When they created the Silicon Valley Pain Index in 2020, shortly after the nationwide Black Lives Matter protests, San Jose State University researchers were inspired by the Katrina Pain Index, which aimed to quantify the injustices New Orleans residents faced after Hurricane Katrina. The index continues to show stark racial inequalities.
Hispanic workers in San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara can expect to make 33 cents for every $1 their white peers take home. And although shareholders have voiced commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion, only 3% of employees working in research and development at Apple are Black (compared with 6% Hispanic/Latino, 36% white and 50% Asian).
Meanwhile, police violence remains a real concern – even years after the Black Lives Matter protests. Ten people died in police custody in the Santa Clara county sheriff’s office in 2024 – the highest in two decades. And San Jose reported five office involved shootings, up three from 2023.
However, the report did note certain improvements in the Silicon Valley area – including a decrease in police use of force incidents in San Jose, an expansion in services to prevent homelessness and environmental sustainability programs.
