Explore Map Data

From the L.A. Basin to the San Joaquin Valley to the Bay Area, from the deserts to the forests, California’s challenges – and solutions – aren’t all the same.

Mapping Disparity

California’s patterns of settlement and economic development interact with the racial diversity of our state to create both opportunities and disparities. Housing costs in desirable coastal areas soar, fueling displacement of residents of color; agricultural and warehousing companies provide jobs in inland communities, but often without a living wage. A regional perspective can provide the foundation to fight for equity.

Viewing data on the map helps you to recognize regional trends and identify areas where racial disparity is high. Looking at the map also allows you to see which areas have no data and indicate a need for advocacy to increase data collection efforts in those areas.

How is my community doing?

We assign communities to one of four categories based on how well they are doing on racial disparity and overall outcomes compared to the average. Communities with better than average outcomes and higher than average racial disparity are in the ‘Prosperity for the Few’ category. These communities will appear orange on maps, tables, and scatterplots. For example, if your community falls in this category for high school graduation, your community’s overall graduation rate is on the higher end, but students in some groups are substantially less likely to graduate than others.

Communities with lower outcomes and lower disparity are placed in the ‘Struggling to Prosper’ category and will appear yellow. In these places, systems are producing worse outcomes for most residents. As RACE COUNTS calculations are based on comparison to the average, it is important to note that even when a place is doing better than others, disparities still exist and there is always room to improve outcomes.

When a community has larger disparities and worse overall outcomes than the average, it is placed in the ‘Stuck and Unequal’ category and will appear red. Communities with higher outcomes and lower disparity fall in the ‘Gains at Risk’ category and will appear purple. in these places systems are producing better outcomes for most residents.