The National Equity Atlas is an incredible new tool that looks at various economic indicators through the lens of race and ethnicity.  Developed in partnership between the PolicyLink and USC’s Program for Environmental and Regional Equity (PERE), the online tool is available for the largest 150 metro regions, 50 states, and the District of Columbia.  You can look at a variety of indicators – including wages, housing cost burden, employment, car ownership – by race and ethnicity and see how they have changed over time.  You can use that data to compare to other similarly-situated regions.

For example, in the Austin-Round Rock Metro region, in 2012, the median wage for workers of color was $7 less than the median wage for white workers.  That gap has grown since data collection began in 1980.  Since people of color are driving population growth (in the region and the country), these racial and ethnic gaps become increasingly important.

Explore the equity indicators and learn more about recommended local policies that can help to grow an equitable economy here.