State Of The Southern California Region, 2004

The State of the Region 2004 has been published by the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).

2 minute read

February 15, 2005, 1:00 PM PST

This 123-page report examines the population, the economy, housing, transportation, the environment, and the quality of life in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura and Imperial counties. Indicators examine employment, income, poverty, taxable sales, international trade, housing construction, housing affordability, highway use and congestion, air quality, education, public safety and more. The data is presented in easy-to-read charts and tables.

Selected Findings:

Los Angeles County lost 47,400 payroll jobs in 2001-2 and 36,500 jobs in 2002-3 and was 140,000 jobs below the 1990 level. The other five counties gained jobs during the same period.

In 2003 the poverty rate for the 6 county region was close to 15%, highest among the nine largest metropolitan areas in the county.

The share of households that could afford a median priced home dropped in all counties with Los Angeles experiencing a decrease from 31% to 26% between 2002 and 2003.

Among the 8 million renters in the region, about 53% spent 30% or more of their income on rent.

High school dropout rates were highest in Los Angeles and San Bernardino Counties and lowest in Ventura and Imperial Counties.

Between 1990 and 2003, violent crime decreased in all surveyed counties.

The SCAG region had the lowest per-capita income among the 17 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

[Editor's note: Special thanks to Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center for this summary of the report. Please note that the link below is to a 1MB PDF document.]

Thanks to Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty Listserv

Read the full story: The State of the Region 2004

Saturday, February 12, 2005 in Southern California Association of Governments

Community / Economic Development California

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