Marin County is known for its natural beauty, but it is also known for its affluence. However, the level of affluence is not equal for all residents. A new report commissioned by the Marin Community Foundation (MCF) and executed by the American Human Development Project of the Social Science Research Council illustrates a large disparity between different groups of residents when measured by the American Human Development Index (HD Index).
The report, A Portrait of Marin, analyzes gaps based on geography, race, and gender. According to the MCF press release:
The highest HD Index ranking for communities in Marin is Ross, which is 90 percent white, with a composite index of 9.70; the Canal area of San Rafael, which is 76 percent Latino, scores the lowest, at 3.18, below that of West Virginia, the lowest-ranking state overall. Using this scale to measure the comparative well-being of racial groups in Marin, the highest HD Index is for Asian Americans (8.88) and whites (8.44), with a wide gap between those groups and African Americans (5.72) and Latinos (5.17).
Other findings included in the press release:
- While 88 percent of white children are enrolled in preschool, only 47 percent of Latino children are.
- In Marin, as across the nation, the schools whose students have greater needs tend to get fewer public dollars. Furthermore, low-income children, who would benefit most from high-quality preschools, are least likely to be enrolled in one.
- The typical female worker living in Marin earns nearly $14,000 less per year than the typical male worker—a larger earnings gap than the one for California ($10,217) and for the country as a whole ($11,179).
The American Human Development Project has been measuring the well-being of America using the HD Index since 2008; however, A Portrait of Marin County is the first time the analysis has been applied to a specific county.
The report is available for download from MCF and the American Human Development Project.
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