PolicyLink and PERE
21
An Equity Profile of Orange County
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA: #1 (1.45)
McAllen-Edinburg-Pharr,
TX: #151 (0.35)
#10: Los Angeles County, CA (1.29)
#15: San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA (1.25)
#18: Orange County, CA (1.23)
One of the most diverse regions
Orange County is the nation's 18
th
most
diverse region out of the 150 largest regions.
Orange County has a diversity score of 1.23.
The diversity score is a measure of
racial/ethnic diversity in a given area. It
measures the representation of the six major
racial/ethnic groups (white, Black, Latino,
Asian American/Pacific Islander, Native
American, and other/mixed race) in the
population. The maximum possible diversity
score (1.79) would occur if each group were
evenly represented in the region—that is, if
each group accounted for one-sixth of the
total population.
Note that the diversity score describes the
region as a whole and does not measure racial
segregation, or the extent to which different
racial/ethnic groups live in different
neighborhoods. Segregation measures can be
found on pages 74 and 75.
Orange County is the 18
th
most diverse region
Demographics
4. Diversity Score in 2016: 150 Largest Metros, Orange County, and Los Angeles County, Ranked
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
Note: Data represent a 2012 through 2016 average. Rankings include the most populous 150 Metropolitan Statistical Areas. However, because Orange County and
Los Angeles County are in the same Metropolitan Statistical Area, data for each county are reported as separate observations and the combined metro data is
omitted.
