In 2018, the Economic Roundtable and Occidental College published ‘Working for the Mouse: A Survey of Disneyland Resort Employees’ that identified that the majority of Disneyland employees do not earn enough money to cover basic expenses every month and worry about housing instability, like being evicted from their homes. Approximately more than 1 out of 10 Disneyland employees reported having been homeless in the past two years of this report’s publishing year. Half of Disneyland employees reported living in overcrowded housing conditions.15 In 2024, Disneyland reached a settlement of 233 million dollars for allegedly evading Measure L, the City of Anaheim’s minimum wage law for Anaheim Resort employers that receive a city tax rebate.16 The People of Anaheim anticipate that these numbers have only increased post-pandemic despite increases in wages given that to afford to live in Orange County renters have to earn at least $54.95 an hour to afford current asking rents.17
15Economic Roundtable and Occidental College, Working for the Mouse: A Survey of Disneyland Resort Employees (2018) ARCHIVE
16LA Times, Disney agrees to $233-million settlement in wage theft case (2024) ARCHIVE
17 California Housing Partnership, Orange County 2025: Affordable Housing Needs Report, 2-3 ARCHIVE