Orange County's Disinvested Communities

Integrating Policy Link's report, "An Equity Profile of Orange County" and data to expand OC's definition of "Disinvested Communities."

Presented By Mapping Black California's Alex Reed & Candice Mays

01 / 05

Community Breakdown

Diverse populations are increasing across nearly all communities of color.

Policy Link, "An Equity Profile of Orange County"

Steady decrease in predominately white population since 1980.

Predominately Latino and Asian, populations of color are largely concentrated in northern Orange County.

Two groups with differing circumstances.

Increasing Diversity Across the County

Southern Orange County is seeing a shift in diverse populations and migration patterns.

This pattern is an expansion of communities with preexisting populations of color.

Lower Income Areas

People of color have higher unemployment rates across the board.

Designated Disadvantaged Areas

Disadvantaged communities in California are specifically targeted for investment of proceeds from the state’s Cap-and-Trade Program. These investments are aimed at improving public health, quality of life and economic opportunity in California’s most burdened communities, and at the same time, reducing pollution that causes climate change.

Areas of Intersect

"Disinvested Communities" Expanded Definition

Communities considered disadvantaged by CERF’s definition alongside communities with only one of the disadvantaged qualifiers, specifically those whose residents earn less than Orange County’s median income.

Extended Explanation

CERF’s predefined definition of “disinvested communities” includes a variety of overlapping factors prioritizing specific Census tracts in need of immediate investment. While the challenges CERF qualifying “disinvested communities'' face are intersectional, this map also highlights areas of Orange County in which a single factor such as making below Orange County’s annual median income of $95,280 is a signifier of a Census tract at risk for becoming disadvantaged. For this reason, this map takes into consideration and identifies both Census tract communities that meet all of the criteria for qualifying as “disinvested communities” alongside Census tracts with only medium income as disadvantaged and thus, a warning signifier for risk of becoming a “disinvested community.”