Census

Land Use

The Bay Area’s Fastest Growing Cities and Towns

May 31, 2018 By Chirag Rabari
Aerial view of development in Vacaville
Karl Nielsen

The Census Bureau last week released 2017 population estimates for the nation’s cities and towns, showing that cities in the South (especially Texas) and the West are posting the largest gains. 

What about closer to home here in the Bay Area?  Which jurisdictions are seeing the fastest growth in percentage terms and which jurisdictions are seeing the largest numeric increases in population? Although none of the nine county region’s cities and towns made any of the nationwide “Top 15” lists, a number of locations saw steady or even – dare we say it – moderate growth.

Since 2016, this population growth, both numerically and in percentage terms, has been especially concentrated in Solano, Contra Costa and Alameda counties.  Keep reading to find out more! Read More

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Census
Population
Policy

April 2018 Map of the Month: The High Stakes of the 2020 Census

April 30, 2018 By Chirag Rabari
April 2018 Map of the Month

April's Map of the Month from MTC and ABAG Executive Director Steve Heminger looks at the predicted impact of the Census Bureau's recent decision to include a citizenship question on response rates to the 2020 Census.

From the Executive Director's latest report to the MTC Commission and ABAG Executive Board:

April’s Map of the Month recently was featured in a post from CityLab and highlights potential issues with the Census Bureau’s recent decision to include a question about citizenship in the upcoming 2020 Census. Though the issue of adding this question to the census largely has been thought of as a partisan one, a deeper investigation reveals there may be consequences for both parties. This map uses data from the Census Bureau’s new Response Outreach Area Mapper (ROAM) and shows predicted mail non-response rates. The darker blue areas depict low mail-in response areas.

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Census
Economic Development

New Data from U.S. Census Shows (Mostly) Broad and Steady Employment Growth, Highlights Changing Nature of Bay Area Economy

April 23, 2018 By Chirag Rabari
Construction on the San Francisco Skyline
Karl Nielsen

The latest U.S. Census data from the 2016 County Business Patterns series shows continued overall growth for the nine-county Bay Area in employment as well as the number of business establishments. While the news is mostly good, the data also reveals some soft spots, and further highlights some of the disparities that have developed between different parts of the Bay Area, as well as between different industries.

In this post, we’ll take a deep dive into the latest data to look at:  

  • Bay Area Employment, or the number of employees as of the First Quarter of a given year, and
  • Bay Area Business Establishments. 

This data will be broken down by County, Bay Area Subregion, and Industry Sector. Data will be presented from 2005, 2015 and 2016. Tables will be followed by discussion and comments. For more information on the County Business Patterns annual release, visit the data series page the U.S. Census website. Read More

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Census
Economic Development
Employment
Vital Signs
Land Use

Bay Area Opportunity Zones

March 30, 2018 By Chirag Rabari
Map of the Month March 2018 - CA Opportunity Zones

March's Map of the Month from MTC and ABAG Executive Director Steve Heminger looks at Bay Area "Opportunity Zones" designated by the State of California Department of Finance (DOF).

From the Executive Director's latest report to the MTC Commission and ABAG Executive Board:

The federal tax bill, passed in December 2017, allows investors to defer or eliminate capital gains on investments made in “Opportunity Zones”. These zones must be designated by the governor in each state from a set of eligible Census tracts. Governors must select no more than 25 percent of eligible tracts statewide. Federal criteria for determining eligible areas states that tracts must either have poverty rates above 20 percent or median family income below 80 percent of either the statewide or metropolitan area income. Slightly over 3,500 Census tracts in California qualify under this criteria, spread across 54 counties. The state’s final recommendation is provided on the map. Within the Bay Area, 530 tracts were eligible under the federal criteria, of which 107 were recommended by DOF to the governor. Of the 107 recommended tracts, 94 tracts were MTC Communities of Concern. 

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Census
Communities of Concern
Income
Land Use
Opportunity Zones
Policy

Fun With U.S. Census Data: Bay Area Highlights from the 2017 Local Population Estimates

March 22, 2018 By Chirag Rabari
Source: U.S. Census Bureau
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

The U.S. Census Bureau today released their 2017 local population estimates and – as usual – there’s a smorgasbord of fascinating data on where and how the U.S. population changed between July 1, 2016 and July 1, 2017.

From the press release:

The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metropolitan area’s 146,000-population increase last year was the most of any metro area and Maricopa County, Ariz., saw a population increase of nearly 74,000 — the most of any county last year — according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s July 1, 2017, population estimates released today. The statistics provide population estimates and components of change for the nation’s 382 metropolitan statistical areas, 551 micropolitan statistical areas and 3,142 counties… 

For an interesting perspective breaking down the nation's recent population growth through the lens of 2016 Presidential Election results, check out this piece from Jed Kolko over at CityLab: Red Counties + Blue Folks = Purple? Reading the New Census Data.

Closer to home, the story is much more “slow and steady.”  Keep reading on for more detail on how the Bay Area's nine counties fared over the last year. Read More

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Census
Population