Community Facts

5225
There are approximately 5,225 small businesses in the South LA Promise Zone as of 2022.

(A small Business is defined as a privately-owned business with a single location and less than 100 employees)

Source: Reference USA Business Database


169000
169,000 South LA Promise Zone residents are of working age (between the ages of 15 and 64).

Source: 2021 American Community Survey 5-year estimates


10
10% of residents in the South LA Promise Zone were unemployed in 2021, compared to 8% of residents citywide and 7% of residents countywide.

Source: 2021 American Community Survey 5-year estimates


24700
The median wage for a South LA Promise Zone resident is $24,700 compared to the citywide median wage of $35,700 per year.

Source: 2021 American Community Survey 5-year estimates


READ MORE ABOUT THE SLATE-Z AREA

About

Background

At SLATE-Z, we address poverty and move South Los Angeles residents to economic opportunity by focusing on two sources of wealth building: living wage jobs and small business & entrepreneurship.

As our nation recovers from the COVID-19 global pandemic and enters the new climate resilient economy, Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs provide a stable avenue of growth in the South Los Angeles Promise Zone.

SLATE-Z works to prepare Small Businesses and Entrepreneurs for the economic opportunities ahead by focusing on their foundational needs (leases, bank accounts, etc.), sustainability (economic and environmental sustainability), and growth (procurement contracts with the City of Los Angeles, LA County, and private funders) to build wealth.

SLATE-Z’s Small Business & Entrepreneurship efforts are interrelated with its other levers of change: education, jobs transit, education, and public safety.

Goal

Increase small business and entrepreneurship by investing in businesses, entrepreneurs, and community-oriented infrastructure

Activities
  • Increase business and community-oriented infrastructure investments in Transit Oriented Districts
  • Advocate for and support local business inclusion in public and private procurement

Projects & Initiatives

2019 Small Business Community Assessment

In 2019, the Small Business & Entrepreneurship working group mapped business corridors, industries, and procurement readiness among active businesses in the South LA Promise Zone. In 2022, SLATE-Z’s Director of Policy & Partnerships used the data to advocate for Council District 8 to designate areas within the Promise Zone as JEDI Zones, which they passed.

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South LA Eco-Lab

SLATE-Z is serving as strategic advisor for the South LA Eco-Lab, a historic revitalization project working towards a healthy and dynamic future for South Los Angeles. The project will implement economic development through climate action, building off the work of the South LA Climate Commons.

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Measuring Need & Success

Explore key takeaways in Small Business & Entrepreneurship data, browse the featured dataset,  and see all the data and sources being used to measure need and success in this lever of change.

Key Takeaways

Contractor Licenses
3165
Between 2019 and 2022, over 3,165 people in the South LA Promise Zone acquired Security & Investigative Licenses, far more than any other license type.
46
In 2022, 46 people acquired a license for Construction/Contracting, nearly twice as many as the previous year.

Over the last decade, the number of people in the South LA Promise Zone acquiring licenses in Automotive Repairs, Construction/Contracting, Barbering & Cosmetology, and Security & Investigative Services has been increasing. 

Active Businesses
19864
There are approximately 19,864 businesses registered with the City of Los Angeles in the South LA Promise Zone that were open for at least half of 2022.
4000
Over the last decade, the number of active businesses (of any size) in the South LA Promise Zone has increased by over 4,000 businesses.

Featured Dataset

View All Data & Sources

Contractor Licenses

The number of new and active licenses from various state boards across years

VIEW ALL DATA
Active Businesses

The number of active businesses (of any size) across years

VIEW ALL DATA
Small Businesses

A map of small businesses in the South LA Promise Zone

VIEW ALL DATA