RACE, INEQUALITY,

AND THE RESEGREGATION

OF THE BAY AREA

NOVEMBER 2016

CONTENTS
and Regional Resegregation
II. The New Regional Geography of Race and
Inequality

4
6

III. Transportation and Jobs in the New Regional

Geography

13

IV. Conclusion: Toward a More Just Bay Area

15

Appendix A Tables

16

Endnotes

19

Published by: Urban Habitat

Urban Habitat works to democratize power and advance

equitable policies to create a just and connected Bay Area for
low-income communities and communities of color. We confront
structural inequities impacting historically disenfranchised
communities by bringing a race and class lens to the forefront of
transportation, land use, and housing policies.

Authored by:

Tony Roshan Samara, Urban Habitat

Research by:

Amy Martin, UC Berkeley

Advisory Committee:

Dwayne Marsh, Government Alliance on Race & Equity

Alex Schafran, University of Leeds
Chris Schildt, PolicyLink

Urban Habitat would like to thank our

generous funders:
Ford Foundation
Marguerite Casey Foundation
The San Francisco Foundation

San Francisco (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0) by Kwong ee Cheng

RACE, INEQUALITY, AND THE RESEGREGATION

OF THE BAY AREA
Inequality is redrawing the geography of the Bay Area. Low-income communities
and communities of color are increasingly living at the expanding edges of

The goal of this policy brief is to map the regional transformation currently underway and its implications
for low-income communities and communities of color. The brief provides data and perspectives to ongoing

respond to regional inequality and the new forms of race and class segregation.1

There was a clear and dramatic shift in Black

populations from the inner to the outer region,
and the region as a whole lost 22,000 Black
residents over this period.
Only 11 out of 117 places with a population over
10,000 residents saw declines in poverty.
While poverty in Black communities increased
overall, it increased most dramatically in the
outer parts of the region.
The Latino population grew overall, with outer
Poverty in Latino communities increased
disproportionately in the outer parts of the
region, but also increased substantially in some
inner regional jurisdictions.

Places with high rates of increase in poverty

among Asian communities are more dispersed
than those of Black and Latino populations.
The proportion of renter-occupied units to owneroccupied increased most in the outer region.
Distances from work increased for people
living in places with the highest growth rates of
poverty.
Places with high growth rates in poverty
increasingly became home to workers in lower
wage industries, particularly those in health care
and social assistance, retail, and accommodation
and food services.

Taken together, these changes across the region are a call to action for all those committed to a more just and
equitable Bay Area. Without bold, sustained, and collective mobilization, the region that emerges from this

I. INTRODUCTION: URBAN AFFLUENCE, SUBURBAN

POVERTY, AND REGIONAL RESEGREGATION
The Bay Area is in the midst of a great transformation. The regions
economic growth continues to draw people and investment from

While many applaud the Bay Areas impressive economic growth, primarily as measured by gross
regional product, the inequality that has grown alongside it has become impossible to ignore.4
Decades of uneven and unequal development risk turning unprecedented prosperity into an engine
for new forms of injustice for people of color, women, and immigrants. Poor planning and bad
policy decisions have fueled high levels of racial and economic inequality, and pushed the regions
geographic boundaries ever further outwards. Lower wage workers are displaced or excluded from the
places where many of them work, forcing long, expensive commutes.5
Inequality in the Bay Area is driven by a racialized market economy organized
around the needs of wealthier residents employed in high-wage occupations
labor.6
practices that support equitable planning.

refers to the following

To better understand how inequality is reshaping the region, we analyzed data

from 11 counties in the greater Bay Area, recognizing that how the region is
Bay Area utilized by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is
recognize and manage the regional nature of transportation, housing, and landuse planning and governance. While this designation remains an important
dynamic and expanding nature of the region.

nine-county region.

This report refers to the inner and outer region, rather than to urban and
While the growth of poverty in the outer suburbs is a central concern there are inner-regional suburbs,
there are also outer-regional cities, such as Vallejo and Modesto, where poverty is on the rise.
The inner region refers to urbanized areas in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, and
western Contra Costa counties that touch the lower portion of the Bay, up until San Pablo Bay. This
includes the three major cities of the Bay Area and the older suburbs. The outer region extends
primarily east into San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties in the Central Valley, as well as north into

Urban Habitat

Solano, Napa, and Sonoma counties. We acknowledge that these are not hard and fast distinctions, as
the data presented here demonstrate, but they do capture important trends in racial and economic
inequality at the regional scale.7
In line with national trends, poverty in the Bay Area is in the process of migrating out from the center
(see Map 1). Seen in this light, the growth of working-class and low-income communities of color in
the outer region is the geographic expression of the new labor market, the increasing concentration of
For much of the past 10 years, attention to the negative consequences of the regions growth has
estate investment and in-migration of wealthier residents. More recently, a relatively independent
perspective has drawn attention to the disproportionate growth of poverty in suburban regions across
the country.8 Only recently has a more fully integrated regional analysis begun to emerge, which maps
the relationship between these intertwined processes.9 Viewed from this more holistic perspective,
displacement appears as the leading edge of regional resegregation.
Viewing regional transformation through the lens of resegregation is important because the racial
regions transform, we must also be attentive to changes in what segregation looks like, how it is
implemented, and how it is lived. Our use of the term resegregation is not meant to suggest that
older forms of segregation are simply being uprooted from inner cities and replanted in suburban soil,
but that the essential feature of segregation the unequal allocation of land, resources, and political
region of the 21st century.

NAPA

SONOMA

SOLANO

MARIN

CONTRA COSTA

SAN FRANCISCO

SAN JOAQUIN

ALAMEDA

STANISLAUS

Percentage Point Change

in Poverty

-2.50 - 1.00
1.01 - 3.50

SAN MATEO
SANTA CLARA

3.51 - 6.50
6.51 - 15.00

Race, Inequality, and the Resegregation of the Bay Area

II. THE NEW REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF RACE

AND INEQUALITY

CHART 1: Population & Poverty Changes by County, 2000-2014

resegregation

5.00

inner and outer regional counties,

particularly in Santa Clara, Marin,
Solano, and Stanislaus (see Chart 2).

Urban Habitat

Solano

+7.23%

+16.96%

Stanislaus

Contra Costa

3.00

+9.45%

San Francisco

2.00

+6.74%

+3.85%

+13.96%

Santa Clara

Average Regional Change: 2.65

+12.05%

+8.00%

+24.39%

Marin

+4.62%

Alameda

San Joaquin

Napa

San Mateo

1.00

0.00

CHART 2: Black Population & Poverty Changes by County, 2000-2014

13.00
11.00
Santa Clara

9.00

-1.19

Percentage Point Change in Poverty

population growth overall between

2000-2014, the proportion of Black
residents declined in all but two
counties: Napa and San Joaquin,
each of which saw small increases.
At the same time, poverty in Black

Sonoma

% Percentage Point Change in Population

Regional shifts in communities of color

The shift in Black and Latino
populations from inner to outer
regions is dramatic. Although the

+6.86%

4.00

Percentage Point Change in Poverty

The emerging shape of regional

inequality is revealed in the uneven
growth of populations and poverty
across the Bay Area between 2000-2014
(see Chart 1). The regions population
grew overall during this period, with
increases ranging from just under 4
percent in Marin County to almost 25
percent in San Joaquin County. The
proportion of residents living in poverty
increased in all counties, but the greatest
increases occurred in Contra Costa,
Solano, Stanislaus, and Sonoma counties.
As a point of reference, poverty rates
increased in the latter three counties at
more than twice the rate of that in San
Mateo County during the same period.
The two most distant counties, San
Joaquin and Stanislaus, also had the
highest rates of population growth and,
as of 2014, the highest levels of poverty.

7.00

-2.37

San Francisco

-3.19
Alameda

1.00
-1.00

-0.48
Stanislaus

Marin

5.00
3.00

-0.67

Solano

-0.15

San Mateo

-1.14

Average Regional Change: 4.15

-0.78

San Joaquin

+0.13
Contra Costa

+0.63
Napa

Sonoma

-0.42

-3.00
-5.00
Clear bubble indicates negative growth

Percentage Point Change in Population

Solano, Marin, and Sonoma counties.

Asian populations in Solano,
Alameda, Santa Clara, and Napa
counties increased at greater rates
than the regional average (see
Chart 4). Between 2000-2014,
poverty among the Asian population
increased at above the regional
average in San Francisco, Sonoma,
Napa, Solano, and Marin counties.10
Most notably, Native Hawaiian

CHART 3: Latino Population & Poverty Changes by County, 2000-2014

11.00

+7.52

+4.00

5.00

Santa Clara

1.00

Sonoma

+2.98

+2.19

3.00

-1.00

+6.43

Marin

7.00

+2.84

+6.30

+10.83

Average Regional Change: 3.65

Alameda

Stanislaus

Contra Costa

San Mateo

+0.45

+8.53

+8.63

San Joaquin

Napa

San Francisco

-3.00
-5.00
Percentage Point Change in Population

CHART 4: Asian Population & Poverty Changes by County, 2000-2014

communities tended to experience

above average increases in poverty
in the counties where increases in
Asian poverty overall were below
average or decreased.

4.00

Percentage Point Change in Poverty

Rise of the renter region

Solano

9.00

Percentage Point Change in Poverty

The largest increases in the

proportion of Latinos relative to the
total population were in Stanislaus,
Napa, and San Joaquin, though
Contra Costa, Solano, and Sonoma
also experienced increases above
the regional average (see Chart 3).
San Francisco, Santa Clara, and San
Mateo counties experienced the
lowest rates of increase of Latino
population. Poverty among Latinos

San Francisco

Sonoma

+0.14

Solano

2.00

Marin

0.00

+0.22

-2.00

+0.84

+2.51

Napa

San Mateo

Contra Costa

+2.97

+3.77

+5.11

+7.19

Average Regional Change: -0.14

One indication of long-term shifts

-4.00
in structural inequality in the United
-6.00
States is the increase in renters
relative to homeowners.11 The
-8.00
Stanislaus
proportion of renters in the Bay Area
+2.40
-10.00
and particularly renters of color
0.26
is on the rise. The proportion of
San Joaquin
-12.00
renter-occupied households in the
region generally outpaced both the
nation and the state between 20002014. The only county which did
not see an increase in renter households relative to homeowners over this
period is San Francisco, which already has one of the highest percentages
of renter households in the region but has also weathered over a decade of
relentless displacement pressures (see Table 1).
The proportion of renter-occupied units to owner-occupied increased most
in the outer region. Five counties clustered at the top range of increases:
Solano, Stanislaus, Napa, Sonoma, and Contra Costa. These counties also
and people of color were targeted for predatory loan products, lost their
homes, and were forced to move back into the rental housing market.

Santa Clara

+6.12

Alameda

Percentage Point Change in Population

County

Percentage
Point Change

Solano

4.97

39.79%

Stanislaus

4.76

42.83%

Napa

4.65

39.56%

Sonoma

4.48

40.40%

Contra Costa

4.28

34.99%

San Joaquin

3.52

43.14%

Santa Clara

2.89

43.05%

San Mateo

2.17

40.73%

Alameda

1.84

47.14%

Marin

1.02

37.41%

San Francisco

-1.61

63.40%

Race, Inequality, and the Resegregation of the Bay Area

County comparisons provide an important context, but they also risk obscuring much of the
complexity of the regional shifts currently underway. Important patterns in how poverty and
populations are changing occur across county lines and within counties. Hence, it is all the more
important to focus in on the sub-county scale as well, and to integrate developments in suburban
and urban jurisdictions outside of the traditional core or inner region into a regional analysis. These
are especially vital considerations from an equity and advocacy perspective, which requires a more
between the local and the regional.
Of the 117 places with populations over 10,000, including aggregated unincorporated areas by
county, only 11 experienced declines in poverty between 2000-2014. Seven jurisdictions experienced
increases of at least twice the national average of 3.22 percent, while the top three experienced
increases that were three times the national average. (See Table 1 in Appendix A for a list of the top
20 places that experienced a population increase.)
Poverty is on the rise across much of the region, but the most impacted places are found along its
outer edge (see Maps 2, 3, and 4, which illustrate changes in poverty by subregion, 2000-2014).
The 20 places with the greatest increases span eight counties, but are concentrated across Solano,
Stanislaus, and Contra Costa. The places with the highest rates of poverty in 2014 were also
disproportionately in the outer sectors of the region.

NAPA
Dixon

Santa Rosa
SONOMA

Napa
SOLANO

Novato
MARIN

Urban Habitat

San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO

Daly City
South San Francisco
San Bruno
Millbrae
Burlingame
Hillsborough San Mateo
Foster City

San Carlos Redwood City

Menlo Park
North Fair Oaks
East Palo Alto

Half Moon Bay

Palo Alto
Stanford

SAN MATEO

Milpitas

Mountain View
Sunnyvale
Los Altos
Santa Clara

San Jose

Alum Rock

Cupertino

Saratoga

Campbell
SANTA CLARA
Los Gatos

Percentage Point
Change in Poverty
-2.50 - 1.00

Morgan Hill

1.01 - 2.50
2.51 - 5.00
5.01 - 9.00
Esri, HERE, DeLorme, MapmyIndia, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community
Source: Census 2000, American Community Survey 2010-2014

Gilroy

Lodi
Bay Point
Pittsburg
Hercules
Martinez
Pinole
Concord
San Pablo
Pleasant Hill
Richmond
Clayton
El Cerrito
Walnut Creek
Albany
Lafayette
Orinda
Berkeley
CONTRA COSTA Alamo
Emeryville
Piedmont
Danville
Oakland
Alameda
San Ramon
San Leandro Castro Valley
Ashland
San Lorenzo
Hayward

Antioch

Oakley

Country Club

Brentwood

Stockton
Garden Acres
SAN JOAQUIN

Discovery Bay

Lathrop

Manteca

Oakdale
Ripon
Salida

Dublin

Riverbank

Livermore

Pleasanton
ALAMEDA

Modesto

Union City

Newark

Ceres
STANISLAUS

Fremont

Turlock
Patterson

Percentage Point
Change in Poverty
Newman

-1.50 - 0.50
0.51 - 3.00
3.01 - 6.00
6.01 - 14.50

Source: Census 2000, American Community Survey 2010-2014

Race, Inequality, and the Resegregation of the Bay Area

NAPA

SONOMA

SOLANO
Vallejo

MARIN
Antioch
Richmond
El Cerrito

Brentwood

SAN JOAQUIN

CONTRA COSTA

Berkeley
Moraga

Emeryville
SAN FRANCISCO
San Francisco

Oakley

Lathrop
Oakland
Tracy
San Leandro

Cherryland
San Lorenzo

Dublin
ALAMEDA

Patterson

East Palo Alto

STANISLAUS

SAN MATEO
Santa Clara

Largest Black
Population Changes

SANTA CLARA

Gains
Losses

Source: Census 2000, American Community Survey 2010-2014

Black communities
The population shift outward from the regional center is particularly stark for
Black communities (see Map 5, above). In 2000, the greatest number of Black
residents lived in the inner region of the East Bay, stretching from Ashland
to Vallejo. These places experienced the largest decrease in Black residents
between 2000-2014. The most substantial increases in the number of Black
residents occurred in places to the east, in a belt stretching north from Patterson,
through central Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties and into eastern Contra
Costa County, ending in Suisun City in eastern Solano County.12
The four largest decreases in the proportion of Black residents relative to the
total population occurred in Richmond, Oakland, East Palo Alto, and Berkeley.
The absolute loss of Black residents for each was 5,531 in Berkeley, 43,777
in Oakland, 12,565 in Richmond, and 2,796 in East Palo Alto. Although the
proportional loss of Black residents in San Francisco was substantially lower than
it was for these cities, the absolute loss was a shocking 18,417 residents. Overall,
the region lost 22,000 Black residents between 2000-2014.

experienced the largest

residents over this period

saw the regions single

largest increase.

By contrast, the number of Black residents in Antioch nearly doubled to 18,409 residents,
representing 17 percent of the overall population by 2014. In Patterson, the Black population
increased from 227 to 1,307 residents, and grew proportionately from 1.8 to 6.3 percent of the total
population. This pattern of large increases in population and proportion occurred in a number of
places in eastern Contra Costa and San Joaquin counties. (See Table 2 in Appendix A for top 20 places
with increases in Black population.)

10

Urban Habitat

the greatest increases clustered in Santa Clara, Alameda, and Contra Costa counties. Most of the
places where poverty increased substantially experienced little, if any, change in population and were
already struggling with high rates of poverty overall and for Black residents. Most of the places that
experienced Black population increases also saw increases in the poverty rate, with some notable
exceptions in the far eastern edge of the region, including Patterson, Lathrop, Dixon, and Lodi, where
poverty rates declined in Black communities. (See Table 3 in Appendix A for top 20 places which
experienced greatest increases in poverty in Black communities.)
Latino communities
Latino communities are growing rapidly across the Bay Area, with an overall growth of 474,000 Latino
residents between 2000 and 2014. Growth was concentrated along a belt on the eastern edge of the
region running north-south from the Stockton metro area in San Joaquin County, through the Modesto
area, and down to Newman in Stanislaus County (see Map 6).13 The largest decreases occurred along
the east and west sides of the Bay in San Mateo and Alameda counties, and in Santa Clara County,
including absolute population losses in Daly City and Union City. (See Table 4 in Appendix A for top
20 places with increases in Latino population.)
across eight counties, with larger clusters in Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and Alameda, mirroring the
clusters of growth in poverty for Black communities. There is some overlap between these and places
with the highest rates of poverty for Latinos in 2014, but the latter were more prevalent in Stanislaus
and San Joaquin counties. There was also an increase in poverty in Latino communities in the inner
barriers to people moving in. (See Table 5 in Appendix A for top 20 places which experienced greatest
increases in poverty in Latino communities.)

NAPA

SONOMA

Napa

SOLANO

MARIN
Bay Point
Richmond
CONTRA COSTA

Brentwood
Discovery Bay

Country Club Garden Acres

SAN JOAQUIN

Manteca
SAN FRANCISCO
Dublin

Ashland

Salida

ALAMEDA
Union City
Foster City

Ceres
STANISLAUS

Fremont

Menlo Park
Milpitas

SAN MATEO

Newman
Saratoga
Los Gatos

Largest Latino
Population Changes

SANTA CLARA

Gains
Losses
Source: Census 2000, American Community Survey 2010-2014
Esri, HERE, DeLorme, MapmyIndia, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS user community

Race, Inequality, and the Resegregation of the Bay Area

11

Asian and NHOPI communities

Asian communities continue to grow rapidly across the Bay Area, with 400,000 Asian residents moving
to the region between 2000 and 2014. Unlike Black and Latino communities, much of the population
growth of Asian communities is concentrated in the inner region, including Santa Clara, San Mateo,
and western Alameda counties. The Asian communities in these counties are disproportionately
non-Taiwanese Chinese, Vietnamese, and, in the case of Santa Clara and Alameda, Asian Indian.
Communities in Alameda, San Francisco, and Santa Clara counties also have higher proportions of
Korean residents, and San Mateo County has a high proportion of Filipino residents, second only to
Solano County.
relative to the total population. San Ramon in Contra Costa County had the largest increase in the
proportion of Asian residents across the Bay Area (24 percent). Lathrop (6.5 percent) and Tracy (5
percent) in San Joaquin, American Canyon (17.74 percent) in Napa, El Sobrante (7.61 percent) in
Appendix A for top 20 places with increases in Asian population.)
A number of Asian ethnic groups have sizable communities in the outer counties. San Joaquin, for
example, is home to 76 percent of the regions Hmong population, 42 percent of the Cambodian
population, and 23 percent of the Pakistani population.14
Places with high poverty rates in 2014, and places with high rates of increase in poverty between
2000-2014 among Asian communities are more dispersed than for Black and Latino populations.
The places with the highest poverty rates for Asians in 2014 are concentrated in Contra Costa County,
mainly in the eastern county, in Alameda, and in Stanislaus, with smaller clusters in Sonoma, Santa
Clara, and San Joaquin. (See Table 7 in Appendix A for top 20 places which experienced greatest
increases in poverty in Asian communities.)
Places with the largest increases in poverty between 2000-2014 are also concentrated in Contra
Costa and Alameda, with additional clusters in Sonoma, Santa Clara, San Joaquin, and Solano. What
are more likely to experience poverty, and as a result, where they are able to live.
The trends for NHOPI communities show that high rates of poverty and increases in poverty are
concentrated in Alameda County and, to a lesser extent, in Contra Costa County. There is also a
cluster of communities comprised of NHOPIs experiencing high and climbing rates of poverty in San
Mateo County, particularly in the cities of San Mateo and East Palo Alto. The cities with the greatest
increases in poverty have relatively small NHOPI communities and stretch across three counties.
These are Sunnyvale (58 percent), Turlock (42 percent), and Concord (35 percent). Cities with larger
NHOPI populations that also saw substantial increases include Oakland (11.25 percent), Vallejo (5.81
percent), and Stockton (2.38 percent).
Rise of the renter suburb
Places with the highest percentages of rental units are concentrated in Alameda and Santa Clara
counties, with slightly smaller clusters in San Mateo and western Contra Costa. By contrast, San
Joaquin, Stanislaus, and eastern Contra Costa counties saw a dramatic rise in renter-occupied units
between 2000-2014, particularly in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. Unincorporated areas are also
heavily represented here, including the aggregated unincorporated communities of San Joaquin,
Stanislaus, and Marin counties. (See Table 8 in Appendix A for top 20 places which experienced
greatest increase in rental units.) Places where the proportion of renter-occupied units either
stagnated or decreased are heavily concentrated in jurisdictions spanning the inner regional counties
of San Mateo, northern Santa Clara and eastern Alameda counties, and San Francisco.

12

Urban Habitat

III. TRANSPORTATION AND JOBS IN THE NEW

REGIONAL GEOGRAPHY

BART (CC BY 2.0) by Hitchster

unevenness of the labor market and economic development

more generally across the Bay Area. Parallel to the shift in
populations, higher wage jobs appear to be concentrating
in the regional center while lower wage industries become
more prevalent in the outer region.15 The cost of living, and
homes and raises the transportation costs between home and
work.
Here we present data on commutes and the jobs held by
residents in the 20 places with the highest increases in
poverty across the region between 2002-2014 (see Table
2). What the data suggests is that these areas are home to
more and more low-wage workers and the commutes for
these workers are taking up a greater proportion of their
time and paychecks. (See Table 9 in Appendix A for top work
destinations aggregated by places of highest poverty, 2014.)
In many places, the change is most noticeable in the shift
between workers who traveled less than 10 miles to work in
2002, and more than 25 miles in 2014.
In Santa Rosa, for example, 70 percent of workers in 2002
traveled less than 10 miles to work, and 14.7 percent traveled
more than 25 miles. By 2014 only 53 percent traveled less
than 10 miles while the number of workers commuting over
25 miles had doubled to 30 percent. This corresponds to
a decrease in the proportion of Santa Rosa residents who
worked in the city over the same period, from 46 to 34
percent. Across the region as a whole, this appears to be the
trajectory.
To understand what jobs are available in places struggling
most with increasing poverty, we look at three employment

TABLE 2: Change in Commuters Traveling 25 Miles or

More to Work in Top 20 Places with Highest Growth in
Poverty, 2002-2014
Place

County

Percentage
Point Change

of Workers

Suisun City

Solano

12.29

44.68%

Country Club CDP

San Joaquin

10.34

39.12%

Antioch

Contra Costa

10.21

51.64%

Morgan Hill

Santa Clara

8.74

41.71%

Gilroy

Santa Clara

8.64

56.54%

Santa Rosa

Sonoma

7.93

32.30%

Oakdale

Stanislaus

7.56

40.91%

Dixon

Solano

7.35

40.34%

Rohnet Park

Sonoma

6.70

40.73%

Petaluma

Sonoma

6.32

34.06%

Vallejo

Solano

5.13

36.01%

Concord

Contra Costa

4.95

31.80%

Newman

Stanislaus

4.73

48.14%

Pittsburg

Contra Costa

4.12

40.19%

Patterson

Stanislaus

4.00

54.02%

Cherryland CDP

Alameda

3.91

17.75%

North Fair Oaks CDP

San Mateo

3.14

16.51%

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

2.79

38.45%

Ceres

Stanislaus

-0.21

31.73%

Ripon

San Joaquin

-14.37

25.30%

Source: LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics

System:
Retail Trade (Table 10 in Appendix A)
Accommodation and Food Services (Table 11 in Appendix A)
Health Care and Social Assistance (see Table 3, next page)

Race, Inequality, and the Resegregation of the Bay Area

13

Taken together, these three industries constitute a

substantial proportion of occupations held by residents
in the places with the highest increases in poverty, and
are in keeping with the general trend regionally toward
an increase in the proportion of service sector jobs, and a
decrease in traditionally middle-wage jobs in industries
such as manufacturing.16

Place

County

Percent Point
Change

of Jobs

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

15.05

17.1%

Antioch

Contra Costa

11.56

28.4%

The Health Care and Social Assistance category is the

largest, or near-largest single employment category held
by residents in places experiencing the highest rates of
increasing poverty (see Table 3).17 In one striking example,
Bay Point (unincorporated in Contra Costa County) saw
declines in residents working in manufacturing and
construction, and small increases in those working in retail
and services. The percentage of residents employed in
health care and social assistance over this period, however,
jumped from 2 percent to 17 percent.

Cherryland CDP

Alameda

10.04

40.5%

Ceres

Stanislaus

7.98

15.1%

Vallejo

Solano

7.56

33.5%

Santa Rosa

Sonoma

6.52

23.7%

Ripon

San Joaquin

4.76

9.4%

Suisun City

Solano

4.74

11.8%

Rohnet Park

Sonoma

4.69

10.2%

Newman

Stanislaus

4.32

10.7%

Concord

Contra Costa

4.10

15.0%

Ceres, in Stanislaus County, experienced decreases

in residents working in both retail and services, and a
doubling of those employed in health care and social
assistance. Here, however, the largest sector represented
is Educational Services, at 20 percent of the total. Annual
median wages range from $27,000 to $93,000 in these
industries, with teachers aides at the low end of the scale
and education administrators at the high end.

Oakdale

Stanislaus

3.25

13.1%

Pittsburg

Contra Costa

2.78

9.9%

Gilroy

Santa Clara

2.73

13.3%

Patterson

Stanislaus

2.67

8.8%

Morgan Hill

Santa Clara

2.44

7.0%

North Fair Oaks CDP

San Mateo

2.35

5.5%

Petaluma

Sonoma

2.07

12.2%

Inner regional places that experienced the largest increases

in rates of poverty Redwood City, San Jose, and, to a lesser
extent, North Fair Oaks also had substantial increases
in residents from two high-wage sectors (Professional,

Dixon

Solano

1.54

4.8%

Country Club CDP

San Joaquin

-7.63

9.4%

suggesting that there may be intensifying displacement

pressures as high-wage earners move in to be closer to
their jobs.

14

TABLE 3: Change in Health Care and Social Assistance

Jobs in Top 20 Places with Highest Growth in Poverty,
2002-2014

Urban Habitat

Source: LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics

IV. CONCLUSION: TOWARD A MORE JUST BAY AREA

The great transformation currently underway across the Bay Area

communities of color out from the center even as many others

and creating change across this new geographic reality.
existing inner regional low-income communities and communities of color, and the new or expanding
outer regional ones. But a framework that allows us to better understand how inequalities between
broader regional movement.
future will require organizing and advocacy that is focused on democratizing power and advancing an
integrated local and regional agenda for equitable development. Our hope is that this brief is a useful
starting point, and that future research will deepen and extend the initial analysis presented here so
that we can continue to build a long-term vision and movement guided by a commitment to racial and
economic justice.

Race, Inequality, and the Resegregation of the Bay Area

15

APPENDIX A TABLES
TABLE

TABLE

Place

County

Percentage
Point Change

Poverty

Place

County

Percent
age Point
Change

Black Residents
in Poverty

Cherryland CDP

Alameda

14.39

Newman

Stanislaus

13.27

2,299

26.67%

Morgan Hill

Santa Clara

31.26

337

31.26%

1,844

26.35%

Pleasanton

Alameda

29.33

550

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

31.42%

11.09

2,430

28.32%

Mountain View

Santa Clara

28.74

25

North Fair Oaks CDP

28.74%

San Mateo

8.85

1,342

24.23%

San Lorenzo CDP

Alameda

27.12

391

34.27%

Vallejo

Solano

8.23

9,821

18.31%

Gilroy

Santa Clara

22.77

224

25.00%

Rohnert Park

Sonoma

7.48

3,096

15.48%

Turlock

Stanislaus

19.50

571

50.39%

Ceres

Stanislaus

7.12

4,711

20.01%

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

19.50

538

41.01%

Country Club CDP

San Joaquin

6.88

721

18.38%

Fremont

Alameda

14.45

1,255

18.03%

Patterson

Stanislaus

6.59

2,479

18.61%

Redwood City

San Mateo

14.41

222

24.19%

Pittsburg

Contra Costa

6.56

5,330

18.08%

Vallejo

Solano

14.12

3,257

29.41%

Suisun City

Solano

6.42

2,013

12.89%

Concord

Contra Costa

12.37

781

22.63%

Morgan Hill

Santa Clara

6.28

2,789

10.97%

Campbell

Santa Clara

12.02

99

17.95%

Oakdale

Stanislaus

6.23

1,937

17.55%

Suisun City

Solano

10.82

741

20.14%

Antioch

Contra Costa

6.13

7,683

14.66%

San Ramon

Contra Costa

10.52

209

14.41%

Gilroy

Santa Clara

5.74

3,848

16.10%

Brentwood

Contra Costa

10.48

285

10.48%

Dixon

Solano

5.67

1,269

13.72%

Santa Clara

Santa Clara

10.21

529

17.34%

Concord

Contra Costa

5.46

7,060

13.06%

Sunnyvale

Santa Clara

10.09

(140)

17.52%

Ripon

San Joaquin

5.33

1,046

11.57%

Alameda

Alameda

9.38

682

26.96%

Petaluma

Sonoma

4.77

3,040

10.76%

Newark

Alameda

9.36

214

15.54%

Santa Rosa

Sonoma

4.76

10,000

13.30%

Novato

Marin

9.12

140

22.35%

Source: Census 2000 & American Community Survey 2010-2014

San Jose

Santa Clara

9.12

2,934

19.55%

Analysis limited to those places with populations of 10,000 residents or more and 250
or more people in poverty in 2014

Source: Census 2000 & American Community Survey 2010-2014

TABLE

TABLE

Residents in
Poverty

Place

County

Percentage
Point Change

Antioch

Contra Costa

7.73

8,965

Patterson

Stanislaus

4.48

Lathrop

San Joaquin

Oakley

Contra Costa

Moraga

Poverty Rate
Among Black

Analysis limited to those places with populations of 10,000 residents or more and 500
or more Black residents in 2014

Place

County

Percent
age Point
Change

Residents

17.43%

Garden Acres CDP

San Joaquin

21.79

2,854

75.36%

1,080

6.30%

Ceres

Stanislaus

20.30

13,274

58.68%

3.73

1,085

8.50%

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

16.87

2,933

56.21%

3.43

1,632

6.95%

Country Club CDP

San Joaquin

16.50

1,550

47.16%

Contra Costa

2.93

480

4.11%

Newman

Stanislaus

16.26

3,263

67.82%

San Lorenzo CDP

Alameda

2.11

554

5.16%

Salida CDP

Stanislaus

15.20

2,568

47.03%

Brentwood

Contra Costa

1.84

1,820

4.65%

Manteca

San Joaquin

13.70

14,425

39.90%

Suisun City

Solano

1.70

501

20.49%

Richmond

Contra Costa

13.46

14,756

40.59%

San Leandro

Alameda

1.04

1,172

10.86%

Ashland CDP

Alameda

12.04

3,100

45.13%

Santa Clara

Santa Clara

0.92

1,394

3.38%

Napa

Napa

11.43

9,809

38.94%

Tracy

San Joaquin

0.92

2,079

6.44%

San Lorenzo CDP

Alameda

11.22

3,056

36.58%

Concord

Contra Costa

0.74

770

3.99%

Cherryland CDP

Alameda

11.20

1,903

53.34%

Morgan Hill

Santa Clara

0.73

374

2.60%

Modesto

Stanislaus

10.95

23,910

37.18%

Turlock

Stanislaus

0.69

644

2.20%

Oakley

Contra Costa

10.75

6,624

36.88%

Pleasanton

Alameda

0.66

589

2.18%

Antioch

Contra Costa

10.67

13,191

34.03%

Dixon

Solano

0.62

153

2.77%

Tracy

San Joaquin

10.45

15,576

39.01%

Manteca

San Joaquin

0.61

973

3.61%

Santa Rosa

Sonoma

10.44

21,044

30.41%

Lodi

San Joaquin

0.58

389

1.22%

Rohnert Park

Sonoma

10.44

3,843

24.70%

Albany

Alameda

0.53

174

5.30%

San Pablo

Contra Costa

10.29

1,736

55.00%

Hayward

Alameda

0.48

509

11.20%

Pinole

Contra Costa

9.00

1,459

23.59%

in Black
Residents

Source: Census 2000 & American Community Survey 2010-2014

Source: Census 2000 & American Community Survey 2010-2014

Analysis limited to those places with populations of 10,000 residents or more and 500
or more Black residents in 2014

Analysis limited to those places with populations of 10,000 residents or more and
1,000 or more Latino residents in 2014

16

Urban Habitat

TABLE
Place

TABLE
County

Percent
age Point
Change

dents in Poverty

Poverty Rate

Place

County

Percent
age Point
Change

Residents in
Poverty

Poverty Rate
Among Asian Res

Suisun City

Solano

17.18

1,387

23.69%

Rohnert Park

Sonoma

15.94

29

25.37%

Cherryland CDP

Alameda

16.35

1,617

29.57%

Cherryland CDP

Alameda

15.38

316

19.36%

Newman

Stanislaus

13.48

1,659

33.60%

Pleasant Hill

Contra Costa

9.94

1243

20.07%

Vallejo

Solano

12.91

4,707

23.25%

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

8.98

-642

15.76%

Oakdale

Stanislaus

11.68

992

24.13%

Petaluma

Sonoma

7.15

663

14.09%

Morgan Hill

Santa Clara

11.62

1,876

20.65%

Gilroy

Santa Clara

6.86

949

9.16%

Pittsburg

Contra Costa

10.11

3,903

24.91%

Manteca

San Joaquin

6.39

3561

11.11%

North Fair Oaks CDP

San Mateo

9.66

1,114

28.08%

San Leandro

Alameda

6.28

9630

10.81%

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

9.64

1,997

31.82%

Pittsburg

Contra Costa

5.99

3494

12.66%

Milpitas

Santa Clara

9.58

1,088

15.25%

Danville

Contra Costa

5.57

1313

7.95%

Petaluma

Sonoma

9.57

2,007

22.64%

Oakley

Contra Costa

5.40

2475

7.12%

Ripon

San Joaquin

9.08

499

21.58%

Antioch

Contra Costa

4.83

4265

11.52%

Emeryville

Alameda

8.88

152

23.47%

San Pablo

Contra Costa

4.78

-587

16.88%

Concord

Contra Costa

8.61

4,574

21.00%

Vallejo

Solano

4.12

1353

9.52%

Albany

Alameda

8.57

291

20.28%

Napa

Napa

3.90

456

10.07%

Lafayette

Contra Costa

8.37

236

12.40%

Alameda

Alameda

3.88

4854

13.16%

Burlingame

San Mateo

8.22

370

14.30%

Benicia

Solano

3.80

1086

6.82%

Sunnyvale

Santa Clara

7.85

2,529

15.88%

Alum Rock CDP

Santa Clara

3.43

103

14.62%

San Ramon

Contra Costa

7.82

2,042

28.08%

Hillsborough

San Mateo

3.38

332

7.42%

Santa Clara

Santa Clara

7.61

500

8.17%

Lathrop

San Joaquin

3.14

2391

7.10%

Source: Census 2000 & American Community Survey 2010-2014

Source: Census 2000 & American Community Survey 2010-2014

Analysis limited to those places with populations of 10,000 residents or more and
1,000 or more Latino residents in 2014

Analysis limited to those places with populations of 10,000 residents or more and
1,000 or more Asian residents in 2014

TABLE

TABLE

Place

County

Percent
age Point
Change

Asian Residents

San Ramon

Contra Costa

24.15

22217

40.20%

Dublin

Alameda

20.52

12280

31.81%

Cupertino

Santa Clara

20.25

15479

64.88%

American Canyon

Napa

17.74

5210

34.85%

Saratoga

Santa Clara

15.25

4679

45.05%

Millbrae

San Mateo

15.12

3518

42.67%

Fremont

Alameda

15.03

35366

52.04%

Pleasanton

Alameda

13.35

10662

26.14%

Foster City

San Mateo

12.67

4604

45.75%

Milpitas

Santa Clara

11.95

9985

62.96%

Palo Alto

Santa Clara

11.18

8346

29.47%

Castro Valley CDP

Alameda

9.72

6310

24.03%

Santa Clara

Santa Clara

9.47

14797

38.94%

South San Francisco

San Mateo

9.25

6179

37.95%

San Leandro

Alameda

8.89

8360

31.86%

Sunnyvale

Santa Clara

8.88

15596

41.26%

Union City

Alameda

8.62

6158

51.57%

Daly City

San Mateo

7.84

4895

57.27%

El Sobrante CDP

Sonoma

7.61

989

20.98%

San Lorenzo CDP

Alameda

7.46

2020

23.35%

Source: Census 2000 & American Community Survey 2010-2014

Analysis limited to those places with populations of 10,000 residents or more and
1,000 or more Asian residents in 2014

Place

County

Percentage
Point Change

Newman

Stanislaus

17.58

45.04%

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

14.34

49.88%

Alum Rock CDP

Santa Clara

13.68

41.10%

Country Club CDP

San Joaquin

12.79

40.35%

American Canyon

Napa

12.26

26.41%

Garden Acres CDP

San Joaquin

11.70

47.32%

Suisun City

Solano

11.61

37.97%

Salida CDP

Stanislaus

11.48

24.50%

Oakley

Contra Costa

10.39

25.33%

Discovery Bay CDP

Contra Costa

10.36

20.42%

Antioch

Contra Costa

9.93

38.97%

Lathrop

San Joaquin

8.63

28.89%

Tracy

San Joaquin

8.53

36.35%

Dixon

Solano

8.31

35.45%

Ceres

Stanislaus

7.86

41.62%

San Bruno

San Mateo

7.42

44.38%

Sonoma

Sonoma

7.34

45.46%

Rohnert Park

Sonoma

7.27

48.87%

Brentwood

Contra Costa

7.22

26.48%

San Pablo

Contra Costa

6.63

57.56%

Source: Census 2000 & American Community Survey 2010-2014

Analysis limited to those places with populations of 10,000 residents or more and
units only

Race, Inequality, and the Resegregation of the Bay Area

17

TABLE
County (Places of Highest Poverty)
Alameda
(Cherryland CDP, San Leandro,
San Lorenzo CDP)

Contra Costa
(Antioch, Bay Point CDP, Pittsburg)

Marin
(Novato, San Rafael)

Napa
(American Canyon, Napa)

San Francisco
(San Francisco)

San Joaquin
(Country Club CDP, Ripon, Tracy)

San Mateo
Redwood City)
Santa Clara
(Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Jose)
Solano
(Dixon, Suisun City, Vallejo)

Destination

Place

County

Percent Point Change

Oakland

15.96%

Dixon

Solano

12.96

20.0%

San Francisco

12.52%

Patterson

Stanislaus

6.72

16.2%

San Leandro

9.46%

Suisun City

Solano

4.34

19.6%

San Francisco

9.02%

Gilroy

Santa Clara

3.31

24.6%

Pittsburg

6.10%

Ripon

San Joaquin

2.41

11.5%

Antioch

6.07%

Santa Rosa

Sonoma

1.44

14.8%

San Francisco

20.93%

Cherryland CDP

Alameda

1.24

12.3%

San Rafael

16.55%

Petaluma

Sonoma

0.75

12.5%

Novato

10.57%

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

0.45

8.7%

Napa

26.07%

Rohnet Park

Sonoma

0.30

13.0%

San Francisco

4.27%

Antioch

Contra Costa

-0.60

19.6%

St. Helena

2.70%

Oakdale

Stanislaus

-1.39

11.2%

San Francisco

59.60%

Concord

Contra Costa

-1.81

10.8%

Oakland

3.20%

Pittsburg

Contra Costa

-2.75

16.9%

Mountain View

2.20%

Vallejo

Solano

-3.12

11.8%

Tracy

12.60%

Country Club CDP

San Joaquin

-3.77

14.5%

Stockton

9.32%

Morgan Hill

Santa Clara

-3.84

10.0%

Livermore

6.72%

North Fair Oaks CDP

San Mateo

-4.39

5.7%

San Francisco

18.55%

Ceres

Stanislaus

-8.95

11.5%

Redwood City

8.92%

Newman

Stanislaus

-15.07

10.5%

Palo Alto

6.92%

San Jose

36.71%

Vallejo

11.48%

San Francisco

7.61%

Source: LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics

7.27%

Place

County

Percent Point Change

Santa Rosa

23.51%

Rohnet Park

Sonoma

18.89

26.7%

Petaluma

9.79%

Suisun City

Solano

5.89

16.6%

San Francisco

5.55%

Morgan Hill

Santa Clara

3.51

10.4%

Modesto

18.58%

North Fair Oaks CDP

San Mateo

3.09

10.4%

Ceres

6.07%

Gilroy

Santa Clara

2.94

11.5%

Turlock

4.34%

Santa Rosa

Sonoma

2.32

8.5%

Source: LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics

Dixon

Solano

2.25

11.1%

Analysis limited to top 3 places in each county with populations of 10,000

residents or more and 250 or more people in poverty in 2014

Patterson

Stanislaus

2.17

12.3%

Pittsburg

Contra Costa

1.78

9.9%

Concord

Contra Costa

1.69

8.1%

Antioch

Contra Costa

1.55

9.9%

Petaluma

Sonoma

1.38

8.3%

Country Club CDP

San Joaquin

1.33

17.5%

Bay Point CDP

Contra Costa

0.83

9.4%

Oakdale

Stanislaus

0.43

8.4%

Newman

Stanislaus

0.43

3.9%

Ripon

San Joaquin

0.15

10.2%

Cherryland CDP

Alameda

-0.47

6.4%

Vallejo

Solano

-0.51

7.8%

Ceres

Stanislaus

-1.58

8.9%

Sonoma
(Petaluma, Rohnert Park, Santa Rosa)

Stanislaus
(Ceres, Newman, Patterson)

Source: LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics

18

Urban Habitat

ENDNOTES
Development without Displacement:
International Journal of Urban and Regional
Research

report.pdf
San Francisco Chronicle

and other communities of color is necessary in order to more

San Francisco Chronicle

;
San

way.

Francisco Chronicle

Rise of the Renter Nation: Solutions to the

Forward
percent increase.
Techs
Invisible Workforce

population sizes.
remained small over time due to anti-growth and exclusionary

The Growth and Spread of Concentrated

Suburbanization of

with the assumption that the latter two categories constitute a

consideration.

Race, Inequality, and the Resegregation of the Bay Area

19

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Urban Habitat