California is a vast state with representation of a huge variety of human experience. As we seek to serve our neighbor, we must first know our neighbor. Learning about California as a whole helps us understand the larger context of issues like housing insecurity, climate impact, and hunger. Data is also essential to advocacy and smart policy making.
The Know Your Neighborhood worksheet and guide produced by our partner, ELCA World Hunger, is an incredible resource for your congregation to dig into the data about hunger and poverty in your region.
In addition, ELCA World Hunger put together median* income maps of each synod in the U.S. These maps, shown below, show concentrations of wealth and of poverty. Click on the map to view larger versions.
*Median means the middle number in a data set rather than the average (technically the ‘mean’) of all data; the median gives a better picture of the majority than the mean does.
Estimated Median Income by ZIP Code
Sierra Pacific Synod
Estimated 2019 Median Income by ZIP Code
Southwest California Synod
Estimated 2019 Median Income by ZIP Code
Pacifica Synod
