Community & Culture in Long Beach
In 2022, the California Community Foundation (CCF) launched the Regional Recovery Hub to strengthen place-based coordination in Los Angeles County regions that were most heavily impacted by
Variable Definitions:
Median Earnings: The middle value of individual yearly earnings for the earning population aged 16 years and over in an area (including part-time & seasonal workers), measured in 2022 dollars
Other Notes:
The American Community Survey has a minimum estimated median earnings at $2,500. All census tracts with a median earnings of under $2,500for these years are shown as $2,500.
Source:
American Community Survey, 5-year estimates, Table S2001
Years Available:*
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022
*Note: Each year of available data shown above is a 5-year estimate, or an average of data collected over a five year period. 5-year estimates are used to increase the reliability of the data at small geographies like neighborhoods and census tracts. The years shown on the NDSC map represent the final year of the five year average (e.g. “2010” represents 2006-2010 data, “2011” represents 2007-2011 data, and so on). For the most impactful comparison of data over time, the ACS recommends comparing non-overlapping years (e.g. 2010-14 with 2015-19).
Analyzing earnings can be a useful tool in gauging economic inequality. Formally, earnings or wages are one form of income. More broadly, income is any money that a person earns from work, selling products or services, or any other streams such as Social Security payments, pensions, child support, public assistance, annuities, money derived from rental properties, interest and dividends, etc. Earnings, however, come directly from wages and salaries from an employer or revenue from selling goods and products. Measuring median earnings reflects money made by a single individual, as opposed to other commonly used metrics such as household income, which measures the combined earnings of every individual in a household. The Census Bureau defines a household as any group of individuals living together, whether they are related or not.
While household income is a helpful measure for understanding eligibility for certain government programs, earnings is a more relevant measure for understanding job quality among residents in an area and employment outcomes like wage growth and equity. Focusing on individual earnings can further emphasize differences in earnings across industries, genders, and other identities. Because earnings tend to be the most liquid form of income, they can also be a measure of spending power.
Written by Rediet Retta
Citations:
Bureau, U. C. (n.d.). Understanding the Relationship Between Individual Earnings and Household Income. The United States Census Bureau. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/random-samplings/2017/11/earnings-income.html
Household Income: What It Is and How to Calculate It. (n.d.). Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/household_income.asp#:~:text=A%20single%20person%20occupying%20a
In 2022, the California Community Foundation (CCF) launched the Regional Recovery Hub to strengthen place-based coordination in Los Angeles County regions that were most heavily impacted by