http://ssrc-static.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-c...2.2015.pdf
GeoGraphies of opportunity
:
ranking Well-Being by Congressional
District
ranks the country’s 435 congressional districts and Washington, DC, using the American Human Development Index. While Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other money metrics tell us how the economy is doing, the American Human Development Index measures how people are doing, taking into account health, education, and earnings.
To understand why this Index is an important supplement to GDP as a measure of America, consider Connecticut and Wyoming, states with similar GDPs per capita, in the $65,000 to $68,000 range. Does this mean that the people living in these two states enjoy similar levels of health, education, and living standards? It does not: Connecticut residents, on average, can expect to outlive their western compatriots by nearly two and a half years, are 40 percent more likely to have bachelor’s degrees, and typically earn $6,000 more per year.
1
GDP tells us many important things about economic development, but the American Human Development Index and GeoGraphies of opportunity provide policymakers, advocates, and the public a unique window into human development, revealing challenges and opportunities on which to act. What does it mean to live in a congressional district ranked near the top of the Index? Compared to living in one of the country’s lowest-ranking districts, living in one of the highest-ranking districts can mean eleven more years of life expectancy, being about eight times as likely to have a bachelor’s degree , and for the typical worker, earning three times as much.
Vast differences in fundamental aspects of human life are found not just across the country but also within states. In fact, our nation’s
greatest extremes are found in a single state.
The top-ranked district on the American Human Development Index is California’s 18th District, the epicenter of Silicon Valley; the bottom-
ranked district is California’s 21st District, which includes part of Bakersfield and the Central Valley—a leading agricultural producer that
feeds the country, but where many can barely afford to feed their families. These stark gaps tell us a lot more about progress and quality of life in America than do quarterly GDP reports and the minute-by-minute stock ticker.
(California has 53 congressional districts).
Well-Being in the Top Three Congressional districts
Topping the chart with a score of 8.18 out of 10 is California District 18, which includes the Silicon Valley cities of San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Los Gatos. Residents in these communities have an average life expectancy of 83.7 years, about four and a half years longer than the average American. Three of ten residents hold graduate or professional degrees (nearly triple the national average), and median personal earnings in this high-tech stronghold are $55,215. Close on its heels is New York District 12 (8.05), comprising much of New York City’s East Side as well as several neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn. Interestingly, compared to the top-ranked Silicon Valley district, this district performs significantly better in terms of earnings, $60,953. In addition, a slightly higher share of the New York district’s adults have bachelor’s degrees. However, life expectancy and the school enrollment rate are both lower. The third-place finisher is California District 33 (7.82), which encompasses the Los Angeles metro area’s Beach Cities, the Westside, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. California District 33 has the highest rate of children and young adults ages 3 to 24 enrolled in school among
the 436 districts.
The district with the lowest well-being score is, like the district with the highest score, in California. California District 21 comprises Kings County and parts of Fresno, Kern, and Tulare Counties. Though this agricultural powerhouse in California’s Central Valley soars when
it comes to dairy and crop production, it lags badly in terms of human development, scoring just 3.04 on the 10-point scale. Putting this score in historical perspective is sobering; 3.04 is roughly the score of the United States as a whole more than thirty years ago.
In this Central Valley district, four in ten adults did not graduate high school, and median personal earnings barely top $20,000, roughly the
poverty line for a family of three. Kentucky District 5 is next-to-last. This rural Appalachia district has the lowest life expectancy, 72.9 years, of any district in the country. Again, the historical perspective is telling; 72.9 is the life expectancy that prevailed in the United States in the mid-1970s. Texas District 33, comprising parts of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, is third from the bottom, with a score of 3.20. A Washington Post study identified this district as one of the country’s ten most gerrymandered districts, drawn such that it joins two noncontiguous, highly disadvantaged areas. The district’s population is over 80 percent African-American and Latino combined.
...Before someone takes swipes at immigrants:
Interestingly, in the 22 congressional districts where almost all residents (98 percent or more) are native-born, Human Development Index scores are all below the national average; scores range from 3.11 to 4.77. Many reasons can help explain this outcome. As discussed above, immigrants tend to have better health than native-born Americans, so the near-total absence of immigrants may be pulling down the life expectancy in this group of districts. Another possible explanation is that areas with higher levels of well-being are more attractive places for immigrants to settle than areas with lower levels of well-being; new arrivals may be less likely to move to places where low levels of income and education indicate faltering economic opportunity.
GeoGraphies of opportunity
:
ranking Well-Being by Congressional
District
ranks the country’s 435 congressional districts and Washington, DC, using the American Human Development Index. While Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and other money metrics tell us how the economy is doing, the American Human Development Index measures how people are doing, taking into account health, education, and earnings.
To understand why this Index is an important supplement to GDP as a measure of America, consider Connecticut and Wyoming, states with similar GDPs per capita, in the $65,000 to $68,000 range. Does this mean that the people living in these two states enjoy similar levels of health, education, and living standards? It does not: Connecticut residents, on average, can expect to outlive their western compatriots by nearly two and a half years, are 40 percent more likely to have bachelor’s degrees, and typically earn $6,000 more per year.
1
GDP tells us many important things about economic development, but the American Human Development Index and GeoGraphies of opportunity provide policymakers, advocates, and the public a unique window into human development, revealing challenges and opportunities on which to act. What does it mean to live in a congressional district ranked near the top of the Index? Compared to living in one of the country’s lowest-ranking districts, living in one of the highest-ranking districts can mean eleven more years of life expectancy, being about eight times as likely to have a bachelor’s degree , and for the typical worker, earning three times as much.
Vast differences in fundamental aspects of human life are found not just across the country but also within states. In fact, our nation’s
greatest extremes are found in a single state.
The top-ranked district on the American Human Development Index is California’s 18th District, the epicenter of Silicon Valley; the bottom-
ranked district is California’s 21st District, which includes part of Bakersfield and the Central Valley—a leading agricultural producer that
feeds the country, but where many can barely afford to feed their families. These stark gaps tell us a lot more about progress and quality of life in America than do quarterly GDP reports and the minute-by-minute stock ticker.
(California has 53 congressional districts).
Well-Being in the Top Three Congressional districts
Topping the chart with a score of 8.18 out of 10 is California District 18, which includes the Silicon Valley cities of San Jose, Palo Alto, Mountain View, and Los Gatos. Residents in these communities have an average life expectancy of 83.7 years, about four and a half years longer than the average American. Three of ten residents hold graduate or professional degrees (nearly triple the national average), and median personal earnings in this high-tech stronghold are $55,215. Close on its heels is New York District 12 (8.05), comprising much of New York City’s East Side as well as several neighborhoods in Queens and Brooklyn. Interestingly, compared to the top-ranked Silicon Valley district, this district performs significantly better in terms of earnings, $60,953. In addition, a slightly higher share of the New York district’s adults have bachelor’s degrees. However, life expectancy and the school enrollment rate are both lower. The third-place finisher is California District 33 (7.82), which encompasses the Los Angeles metro area’s Beach Cities, the Westside, and the Palos Verdes Peninsula. California District 33 has the highest rate of children and young adults ages 3 to 24 enrolled in school among
the 436 districts.
The district with the lowest well-being score is, like the district with the highest score, in California. California District 21 comprises Kings County and parts of Fresno, Kern, and Tulare Counties. Though this agricultural powerhouse in California’s Central Valley soars when
it comes to dairy and crop production, it lags badly in terms of human development, scoring just 3.04 on the 10-point scale. Putting this score in historical perspective is sobering; 3.04 is roughly the score of the United States as a whole more than thirty years ago.
In this Central Valley district, four in ten adults did not graduate high school, and median personal earnings barely top $20,000, roughly the
poverty line for a family of three. Kentucky District 5 is next-to-last. This rural Appalachia district has the lowest life expectancy, 72.9 years, of any district in the country. Again, the historical perspective is telling; 72.9 is the life expectancy that prevailed in the United States in the mid-1970s. Texas District 33, comprising parts of Dallas and Tarrant Counties, is third from the bottom, with a score of 3.20. A Washington Post study identified this district as one of the country’s ten most gerrymandered districts, drawn such that it joins two noncontiguous, highly disadvantaged areas. The district’s population is over 80 percent African-American and Latino combined.
...Before someone takes swipes at immigrants:
Interestingly, in the 22 congressional districts where almost all residents (98 percent or more) are native-born, Human Development Index scores are all below the national average; scores range from 3.11 to 4.77. Many reasons can help explain this outcome. As discussed above, immigrants tend to have better health than native-born Americans, so the near-total absence of immigrants may be pulling down the life expectancy in this group of districts. Another possible explanation is that areas with higher levels of well-being are more attractive places for immigrants to settle than areas with lower levels of well-being; new arrivals may be less likely to move to places where low levels of income and education indicate faltering economic opportunity.
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.