Inaugural California Human Development Report unveiled
Sacramento, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, CA – May 18, 2011. This week, the American Human Development Project released the latest work in its Measure of America series, A Portrait of California, the first-ever California Human Development Report, which explores well-being and access to opportunity across the Golden State. Using the American Human Development (HD) Index, a composite measure of health, education, and standard of living, A Portrait of California ranks from highest to lowest the state's five most populous metro areas using a single number on a scale from 0 to 10: San Francisco (HDI: 6.97), San Diego (HDI: 5.80), Sacramento (HDI: 5.66), Los Angeles (HDI: 5.52), Riverside-San Bernardino (HDI: 4.58). The report also ranks the major racial and ethnic groups, native- and foreign-born residents, and the 233 neighborhood clusters across the state for which there are reliable U.S Census data.
A Portrait of California shows that some Californians are enjoying levels of well-being and access to opportunity the nation as a whole will not reach until the 2060s, while others are experiencing health, education, and earnings levels that characterized the U.S. in the 1960s. Nearly a century of human progress separates the best-off and the worst-off areas in the state.
"California is rich in data on social and economic conditions. But too often we use them to identify separate problems requiring separate solutions. The American HD Index at the heart of A Portrait of California provides a way to make sense of economic, health, and education challenges in the interconnected way that people actually experience them," said Sarah Burd-Sharps, co-author of A Portrait of California. "Given the current budgetary environment in California, there could be no better time for this nonpartisan, fact-based tool to break down the silos, look at who is thriving and who is merely surviving, and identify the most strategic levers for change," added Kristen Lewis, co-author of A Portrait of California.
Supporters of A Portrait of California are The California Community Foundation, The California Endowment, the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, Mr. and Mrs. William Draper III, The San Francisco Foundation, United Ways of California, and the Weingart Foundation. For an interactive map program and more information on A Portrait of California, visit: www.measureofamerica.org/california.
Download the report (21MB pdf)
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