RACE COUNTS Indicator Methodology
State Legislative Districts: November 2025
Citation: Catalyst California; RACE COUNTS, racecounts.org, 2025.
Notes
on Racial-Ethnic Categories
Race is a social construct and a
biological construct, neither of which are discussed in depth in this
analysis. Thus, we use a simplified view of race to portray racial data
to a broader audience. Ethnicity is also treated lightly, and while
Latinx is an ethnicity, it is generally treated and spoken about as a
race, even though Latinxs can be of any race. Additionally, each data
source uses slightly different terminology and categorization.
Considering all these factors, we use one simplified set of labels for
the RACE COUNTS website and publications for consistency while
maintaining fidelity to the data sources as much as possible. To find
out more, please see our
Race
& Ethnicity Methodology documentation.
In this document, groups marked with * are Latinx-inclusive, those without * are non-Latinx. Groups marked with ^ are that race alone or in combination with another race, groups without ^ are that one race alone. Latinx always includes Latinxs of any race.
Democracy
Census Participation
Indicator: Census Participation (%)
Households that self-responded to the 2020 Census. These data are not available by race, so Catalyst California ‘raced’ the data by calculating a weighted average of census tract self-response rates by area race. Thus, percentages by race are relative exposure to higher or lower self-response rates.
We screened out racial groups or with fewer than 150 households to make sure that a small number did not lead to general conclusions about a racial group or county. Derived estimates cannot be calculated in counties that contain fewer than two census tracts.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) average rate.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau (2019-2023) Table P16
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/library/visualizations/interactive/2020-census-self-response-rates-map.html, https://data.census.gov/cedsci/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander*^, White
Economic Opportunity
Employment
Indicator: Employment Ratio (%)
Persons employed as a percentage of total population age 16 to 64. This category includes all civilians 16 years old and over who either (1) were “at work,” that is, those who did any work at all during the reference week as paid employees, worked in their own business or profession, worked on their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers on a family farm or in a family business; or (2) were “with a job but not at work,” that is, those who did not work during the reference week but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, industrial dispute, vacation, or other personal reasons. Excluded from the employed are people whose only activity consisted of work around the house or unpaid volunteer work for religious, charitable, and similar organizations; also excluded are all institutionalized people and people on active duty in the United States Armed Forces.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 150 people and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 40%.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table S2301 (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*, Another Race*, Asian*, Black*, Latinx, Multiracial*, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*, White
Living Wage
Indicator: People Earning a Living Wage (%)
People ages 18-64 who are in the labor force and who earn $15.50 or more per hour as a percentage of all people ages 18-64 who are in the labor force. Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 400 people and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 30%.
Catalyst California assigned PUMA data to geographies based on population weight. Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year PUMS Estimates (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/technical-documentation/pums/about.html
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Per Capita Income
Indicator: Per Capita Income ($)
Income in the past twelve months per person, regardless of age or employment status. Catalyst California excluded data for groups with data with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 30%.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B19301B-I (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*, Another Race*, Asian*, Black*, Latinx, Multiracial*, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*, White
Cost-of-Living Adjusted Poverty
Indicator: Households above Cost-of-Living Adjusted Poverty (%)
The real cost measure of poverty accounts for local costs of living, including the costs of housing, food, health care, child care, transportation, and other basic needs. Cost-of-Living Adjusted poverty (COLA) is a more accurate measure of financial security than the federal poverty measure.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: United Ways of California (2025)
Link(s): https://www.unitedwaysca.org/realcost
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Another Race, Asian / Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, White
Connected Youth
Indicator: Youth in School and/or Employed (%)
Connected youth refers to the percentage of youth ages 16-24, who are currently in school and/or employed. Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 400 youth and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 20%.
Catalyst California assigned PUMA data to geographies based on population weight. Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year PUMS Estimates (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/technical-documentation/pums/about.html
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Officials and Managers
Indicator: Employment as Officials or Managers per 1,000 People
People ages 18-64 who are in the labor force and employed as officials or managers as a percentage of all people ages 18-64 who are in the labor force. Officials and managers workers with the 2018 Standard Occupation Classification code of Manager (SOC = 11…). Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 400 people and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 20%.
Catalyst California assigned PUMA data to geographies based on population weight. Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year PUMS Estimates (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/technical-documentation/pums/about.html
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Internet Access
Indicator: People with Internet Access (%)
Persons in households who owned or used a computer and accessed the Internet through a service such as a data plan for a mobile phone, a cable modem, DSL, or other type of service.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 100 people and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 40%.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table S2802 (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*, Another Race*, Asian*, Black*, Latinx, Multiracial*, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*, White
Education
High School Graduation
Indicator: Graduates as a Percentage of Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Students
Graduates are students who graduate with either a traditional high school diploma, an adult education high school diploma, or have passed the California High School Proficiency Exam. The four-year adjusted cohort is the group of students that could potentially graduate, adjusted for students who transfer into or out of the cohort during the four-year period.
Beginning in 2016-17, The California Department of Education (CDE) made several important changes to their methodology. The most significant changes to the methodology include the following:
No longer removing students from the cohort who transfer to adult education programs or community college.
No longer counting students who receive an adult education high school diploma as regular high school graduates.
No longer counting students who pass the California High School Proficiency Exam (CHSPE) as regular high school graduates.
Graduation rates based on fewer than 20 cohort students were excluded to remove extremely high or low percentages based on small populations. The California Department of Education excludes raw numbers where there are ten or fewer cohort students, but still provides graduation rates in these cases. We excluded figures for race Not Reported in our calculations.
Index of Disparity calculated using best (highest) graduation rate.
Source: California Department of Education (2023-24)
Link(s): https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/filesacgr.asp
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Filipino, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, White
3rd Grade English Proficiency
Indicator: 3rd Graders Scoring Proficient or Better in English Language Arts (%)
Students scoring proficient or advanced on the third grade English Language Arts/Literacy (Smarter Balanced and California Alternate Assessment) test as a percentage of all third graders tested. Racial groups with fewer than 20 students tested in a geography were excluded. We also excluded figures for race Not Reported in our calculations.
Index of Disparity calculated using best (highest) proficiency rate.
Source: California Department of Education (2023-24)
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Filipino, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, White
3rd Grade Math Proficiency
Indicator: 3rd Graders Scoring Proficient or Better in Mathematics (%)
Students scoring proficient or advanced on the third grade Mathematics test (Smarter Balanced and California Alternate Assessment) as a percentage of all third graders tested. Racial groups with fewer than 20 students tested in a geography were excluded. We also excluded figures for race Not Reported in our calculations.
Index of Disparity calculated using best (highest) proficiency rate.
Source: California Department of Education (2023-24)
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Filipino, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, White
Suspensions
Indicator: Students Suspended (%)
Students suspended include those who were suspended for any reason, including willful defiance. This rate is calculated using cumulative enrolled students which consists of the total number of unduplicated primary and short-term enrollments within the academic year.
Catalyst California divided the unduplicated number of students suspended by the number of enrolled students. The California Department of Education masks some values to protect student privacy. We excluded figures for race Not Reported in our calculations.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: California Department of Education (2023-24)
Link(s): https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/filessd.asp
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Filipino, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, White
Early Childhood Education Access
Indicator: Children 0-5 Enrolled in Licensed ECE Program (%)
Licensed childcare (CCCRRN) and Transitional Kindergarten (AIR) enrollment per 100 children aged 0-5 (AIR). Accessible childcare refers to enrollment in the neighborhood of residence defined here as ZIP Code of residence. Catalyst California added numbers of children enrolled in all forms of licensed care and transitional kindergarten for infants/toddlers and preschoolers, and calculated rates per 100 children ages 0-5. Racial groups with fewer than 50 children aged 0-5 in a geography were excluded.
Direct racial estimates of this indicator were unavailable. Catalyst California indirectly estimated racial group exposure values by calculating weighted averages that link area-level (ZIP Code) population data with direct indicator estimates at city, legislative district, county and state levels. Derived estimates cannot be calculated for geographies containing fewer than two census tracts.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate of access.
Source: California Child Care Resource & Referral Network (2021); American Institutes for Research Early Learning Needs Assessment Tool (2020); U.S. Census Bureau (2020) Table P12
Link(s): https://rrnetwork.org/, http://www.elneedsassessment.org/default.aspx, https://data.census.gov/table?q=P12&d=DEC+Demographic+and+Housing+Characteristics
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander*^, White
Teacher & Staff Diversity
Indicator: Teachers & Staff of a Race per 100 Students of that Race
Ratio of staff of a race per 100 students of the same race. Catalyst California calculated the number of teachers of a race per 100 students of the same race. Catalyst California screened out data for racial groups with fewer than 100 students. We also excluded figures for race Not Reported in our calculations.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: California Department of Education (2023-24)
Link(s): https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/staffdemo.asp, https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sd/sd/filesenr.asp
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Filipino, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, White
Chronic Absenteeism
Indicator: Chronically Absent Students (%)
A chronically absent student is absent on 10 percent or more of school days per year. Catalyst California screened out data for racial groups with fewer than 20 chronically absent students. We also excluded figures for race Not Reported in our calculations.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: California Department of Education (2023-24)
Link(s): https://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/ad/filesabd.asp
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Filipino, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, White
Health Care Access
Health Insurance
Indicator: Uninsured People (%)
Civilian noninstitutionalized population without health insurance.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 130 people and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 40%.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table S2701 (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*, Another Race*, Asian*, Black*, Latinx, Multiracial*, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*, White
Healthy Built Environment
Drinking Water Contaminants
Indicator: Drinking Water Contaminants
This exposure indicator score is based on drinking water system boundaries and water contaminant data aggregated to census tracts. The higher the score, the more contamination exposure.
Direct racial estimates of this indicator were unavailable for all California counties. Catalyst California indirectly estimated racial group exposure values by calculating weighted averages that link area-level (census tract) population data with direct indicator estimates at city, legislative district, county and state levels. Derived estimates cannot be calculated for geographies containing fewer than two census tracts.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 250 people. Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: OEHHA Cal Enviro Screen 4.0 (2021); American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables DP05 and B04006 (2016-2020)
Link(s): https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/draft-calenviroscreen-40, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Proximity to Hazards
Indicator: Proximity to Hazards
Proximity to hazardous sites, identified using the EnviroStor Cleanup Sites Database, Department of Toxic Substances Control. The database includes Federal Superfund, State Response, Corrective Action, School Cleanup, Voluntary Cleanup, Tiered Permit, Evaluation, Historical, and Military Evaluation sites. Hazardous substances can move off-site and impact surrounding communities through volatilization, groundwater plume migration, or windblown dust. Since the nature and the magnitude of the threat and burden posed by hazardous substances vary among the different types of sites as well as the site status, the indicator takes both into account. Weights were also adjusted based on proximity to populated census blocks. Catalyst California calculated the number of weighted EnviroStor cleanup sites within buffered distances to populated blocks of census tracts.
Direct racial estimates of this indicator were unavailable. Catalyst California indirectly estimated racial group exposure values by calculating weighted averages that link population data and the weighted number of sites at the area-level (census tract), to derive estimates at city, legislative district, county and state levels. The estimates range from 0 (lowest) to 312.75 (highest). Derived estimates cannot be calculated for geographies containing fewer than two census tracts.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 250 people.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: OEHHA Cal Enviro Screen 4.0 (2021); American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables DP05 and B04006 (2016-2020)
Link(s): https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/draft-calenviroscreen-40, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Toxic Releases from Facilities
Indicator: Toxic Releases from Facilities
This exposure indicator score measures toxicity weighted concentrations of modeled chemical releases to air from facility emissions and off-site incineration. The higher the score, the more release exposure.
Direct racial estimates of this indicator were unavailable. Catalyst California indirectly estimated racial group exposure values by calculating weighted averages that link area-level (census tract) population data with direct indicator estimates at city, legislative district, county and state levels. Derived estimates cannot be calculated for geographies containing fewer than two census tracts.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 250 people.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: OEHHA Cal Enviro Screen 4.0 (2021); American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables DP05 and B04006 (2016-2020)
Link(s): https://oehha.ca.gov/calenviroscreen/report/draft-calenviroscreen-40, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Lack of Greenspace
Indicator: Impervious Land Cover (%)
Impenetrable surface areas such as rooftops, roads or parking lots. Impervious surfaces are covered by impenetrable, artificial materials, such as brick, concrete and asphalt and includes structures such as roads, pavement, parking lots, buildings and roof tops. Access to green space is then defined as the inverse of the percentage of census tract covered by impervious surfaces.
Catalyst California indirectly estimated racial group exposure values by calculating weighted averages that link area-level (census tract) population data with direct indicator estimates to calculate exposure estimates at city, legislative district, county and state levels. Derived estimates cannot be calculated for geographies containing fewer than two census tracts.
Catalyst California screened out data for groups with fewer than 250 people. We also suppressed data where rates are equal to zero since it is unlikely there are inhabited areas without any roofs, roads, or parking lots.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: National Land Cover Database (2023); American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table DP05 (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.usgs.gov/centers/eros/science/national-land-cover-database, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Housing
Subprime Mortgage Loans
Indicator: Subprime Loans per 100 Mortgage Loan Applicants
Number of higher-priced loans per 100 mortgage applications. Mortgage applications were for home purchases. The loan would be secured by a first lien for housing with one to four units. These are loans made to borrowers with impaired or limited credit histories, or high ratios of debt to income.
Catalyst California screened out racial groups with fewer than 75 applications to make sure that a small number did not lead to general conclusions about a racial group in a geography.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (2013-2017)
Link(s): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/hmda/historic-data/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander*^, White
Housing Quality
Indicator: Low-Quality Housing (Lack of Available Kitchen, Plumbing, or Heat) (%)
Housing units that lack kitchen, plumbing, or heat out of all housing units. Catalyst California excluded races with fewer than 150 housing units and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 35% per https://www.esri.com/library/whitepapers/pdfs/the-american-community-survey.pdf.
Catalyst California assigned PUMA data to geographies based on population weight. Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year PUMS Estimates (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Housing Cost Burden (Renter)
Indicator: Housing Cost Burden (Renter) (%)
Renter-occupied housing units where renter spends more than 30% of income on housing and related costs, out of all renter-occupied housing units.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 100 housing units and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 35%.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy (2017-2021)
Link(s): https://www.huduser.gov/portal/datasets/cp.html
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Another Race / Multiracial^, Asian, Black, Latinx, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, White
Foreclosure
Indicator: Average Number of Foreclosures per 10,000 Owner-Occupied Households
Rate per 10,000 of Foreclosed Real Estate Owned Properties (REO) in relation to racial population residing in the area. Direct racial estimates for this indicator were unavailable. Catalyst California indirectly estimated racial group exposure values by calculating weighted averages that link area-level (census tract) homeowner data with direct indicator estimates to calculate exposure estimates at city, legislative district, county, and state levels.
We screened out racial groups with fewer than 30 (250 for legislative districts) owner-occupied housing units to ensure small numbers did not lead to general conclusions about a racial group in a geography.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: DataQuick (2017-2021); American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B25003B-I (2017-2021)
Link(s): http://www.realtytrac.com/mapsearch/foreclosures/, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race*, Asian*, Black*, Latinx, Multiracial*^, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, White
Denied Mortgage Applications
Indicator: Denied Mortgage Applications (%)
Only mortgage applications for home purchases were included. The loan were secured by a first lien for housing with one to four units. Mortgage applications that resulted in loan origination or denial by the financial institution were included. Applications that were withdrawn, approved but not accepted, or incomplete were excluded from this analysis. Catalyst California has calculated the multi-year sums of denied mortgages and the multi-year average mortgage denial rates.
Groups with fewer than 15 applications were screened out to remove outlier impacts. Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.consumerfinance.gov/data-research/hmda/explore
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander*^, White
Homeownership
Indicator: Homeownership (%)
Owner-occupied housing units out of all occupied units.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 100 owner-occupied housing units and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 40%.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (highest) rate.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B25003B-I (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*, Another Race*, Asian*, Black*, Latinx, Multiracial*, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*, White
Overcrowded Housing
Indicator: Overcrowded Housing Units (%)
Housing units with more than one occupant per room out of all occupied units.
Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 100 occupied housing units and values with low reliability based on the coefficient of variation, one of the Census Bureau’s statistical quality standard measures. Low reliability here refers to values with coefficients of variation over 40%.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest) rate.
Source: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B25014B-I (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*, Another Race*, Asian*, Black*, Latinx, Multiracial*, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*, White
Evictions
Indicator: Eviction Filings per 100 Renter Households
Rate of validated eviction filings per 100 renter households in relation to racial population residing in the area. Direct racial estimates of this indicator were unavailable. Catalyst California indirectly estimated racial group exposure values by calculating weighted averages that link area-level (census tract) racial/ethnic renter data with direct estimates of evictions. We screened out data for racial groups with fewer than 200 people. Derived estimates could not be calculated for geographies containing fewer than 2 census tracts.
The Index of Disparity calculated used the best (lowest), non-zero rate, as IDs cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: The Eviction Lab at Princeton University (2014-2017); American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Tables B03002B-I (2013-2017)
Link(s): https://evictionlab.org/get-the-data/, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race*, Asian*, Black*, Latinx, Multiracial*^, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, White
Safety & Justice
Use of Force
Indicator: Average Number of Civilians Injured in Law Enforcement Incidents per 100,000 People
People injured by law enforcement use of force. Use of force incidents included are those involving the discharge of a firearm, serious bodily injury, or death. The annual average rate across all years is calculated. The number of people injured is the total for all years in the range. Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 800 people and for geographies with fewer than 5 total incidents. Estimates for Another Race and Multiracial populations are excluded because of mismatches in incident and population racial definitions.
Index of Disparity for this indicator is calculated using the best (highest) rate, that of people who did NOT receive force from law enforcement. We used these ‘flipped’ data values because so many counties had one or more racial groups with zero people receiving force. As such, the results using the ‘flipped’ data values paint a more accurate picture of the variation in racial disparity within and between counties.
Source: Open Justice Data, California Department of Justice (2016-2024); American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table DP05 (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://openjustice.doj.ca.gov/data, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Latinx, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, White
Incarceration
Indicator: Incarcerations per 100,000 People
The number of people incarcerated in state prison per 100,000 people. The census tract level data used by Catalyst California to derive estimates at city and legislative district levels are based on analysis of Census PL 94-171 redistricting data by the Prison Policy Initiative.
Direct racial estimates of this indicator were unavailable. Catalyst California indirectly estimated racial group exposure values by calculating weighted averages that link area-level (census tract) population data with direct indicator estimates at the city and legislative district level. Derived estimates cannot be calculated for geographies containing fewer than two census tracts. Catalyst California screened out racial groups with fewer than 250 people so that small numbers did not lead to general conclusions about racial groups.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest), non-zero rate, because ID cannot be calculated based on a rate of zero.
Source: Prison Policy Initiative (2020); U.S. Census Bureau Tables P9 and P6 (2020)
Link(s): https://github.com/vera-institute/incarceration-trends
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native*^, Another Race, Asian, Black, Latinx, Multiracial, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander*^, Southwest Asian / North African*^, White
Officer-Initiated Stops
Indicator: Annual Average of Officer-Initiated Stops per 1,000 People
The annual average number of law enforcement office-initiated stops per 1,000 people. Data include stops made by all agencies in a jurisdiction. We exclude CHP stops at legislative district-level because those stops are all assigned to Sacramento County in the dataset, regardless of where the stops occurred. CHP stops account for a substantial percentage of all stops statewide and may comprise most stops in smaller, more rural areas. Stops are assigned to a geography based on where the law enforcement agency is based, not on where the stop was made. Catalyst California excluded data for groups with fewer than 100 people and groups with fewer than five stops.
Index of Disparity calculated using the best (lowest) rate.
Source: Open Justice Data, California Department of Justice (2022-2023); American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates, Table DP05 (2019-2023)
Link(s): https://openjustice.doj.ca.gov/data, https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/
Racial-Ethnic Categories: American Indian / Alaska Native, Asian, Black, Latinx, Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander, Southwest Asian / North African / South Asian*^, White
