SJSU Researchers and Students Examine Inequality in 2026 Silicon Valley Pain Index

The San José State University Human Rights Institute has released the 2026 Silicon Valley Pain Index , offering a sobering look at the widening gap between the region's extraordinary wealth and the realities facing many of its residents. The annual report serves as a data-driven snapshot of structural inequality in Santa Clara County while measuring the county's progress toward its commitments as a designated "human rights county."

Researchers, including a group of interdisciplinary student researchers and co-authors, unveiled the report during a press conference on Aug. 6 at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, highlighting findings that underscore the persistence of economic disparities in the nation's technology capital.

The report is led by Dr. Anji Buckner-Capone (Department of Public Health) and Dr. Michael Dao (Department of Kinesiology) of the SJSU Human Rights Institute (HRI) and included seven student co-authors from four academic disciplines.

Among the SVPI's most striking statistics is the concentration of wealth: of Silicon Valley's estimated $1.17 trillion in liquid wealth, the wealthiest 10% of residents control 75%, while the bottom half of the population owns less than 1%.

The SVPI, released every year by SJSU's HRI since 2021, was created to make complex data accessible to policymakers, community organizations and the public. Beyond documenting disparities, the report evaluates Santa Clara County's progress since declaring itself a human rights county in 2018 under the International Bill of Human Rights and its 2023 commitment to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).

"As the report itself states, its purpose is to 'ignite collaboration among students, researchers, community members and policymakers to address inequality and advance human rights,'" said San José State President Cynthia Teniente-Matson. "As Silicon Valley's public university, we have both the privilege and the obligation to help our region understand its greatest challenges while preparing graduates who will help solve them."

That emphasis on collaboration is reflected throughout the project, which is designed not only to document disparities but also to bring together scholars, students, community stakeholders and policymakers to advance equity across the region.

A defining feature of the project is its emphasis on student researchers, whose contributions extend well beyond data collection. Researcher and professor Anji Bucker-Capone said involving students from a range of disciplines strengthens both the report and the educational experience.

"We try to work with students across multiple disciplines and encourage them to identify what they're interested in and pursue that interest," Bucker said. "It makes the report more interdisciplinary because it brings perspectives from fields that aren't traditionally represented."

For students, the experience goes far beyond the classroom.

"Going into this project, I thought all of these things - housing, education, transportation - were separate issues," said Eileen Tran, an SJSU student researcher set to graduate in fall 2026 with a degree in Communications Studies. "Now we are finding out they are all connected through unequal access so many of us have to resources and opportunities. And I see that now, not just in my day-to-day life, but in the lives of my friends."

Bucker said navigating large public databases and learning how to identify, extract and interpret reliable information gives students practical research skills that will serve them in any career. Just as importantly, the work helps them recognize connections across issues that are often treated as separate.

"They see relationships between their own discipline and so many others," Bucker said. "Issues that seem siloed really aren't. Understanding those connections is an incredibly valuable experience."

As the 2026 Silicon Valley Pain Index makes clear, addressing inequality requires more than documenting statistics. It demands collaboration across disciplines, generations and communities - a model the Human Rights Institute is building by placing students alongside experienced researchers in the effort to better understand and improve life in Silicon Valley. President Teniente-Matson said that mission reflects the university's broader role as a public institution: producing research that informs the region while preparing the next generation of leaders to tackle its most pressing challenges.