LOS ANGELES, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- A new report conducted by Los Angeles County shows that the gap of residents' well-being and equity to use development resource is striking with some boasting the highest levels in the United States while others having some of the lowest.
The country's Supervisor Sheila Kuehl was quoted by the NBC 4 news channel Saturday as saying that the report, entitled "A Portrait of Los Angeles County," offered an understanding that there were grave disparities across the county in term of income, health and education, and some communities "experienced well-being or live at a great disadvantage."
The report presented American Human Development (HD) Index scores for LA County places and demographic groups and explored a range of critical issues, including health, education, living standards, environmental justice, housing, homelessness, violence, and inequality.
A total of 106 cities and unincorporated areas in Los Angeles County as well as the thirty-five community plan areas within the City of Los Angeles were calculated in the report.
The HD Index was based on the Human Development Index developed by the United Nations, the gold standard for measuring the well-being of people in every nation.
Los Angeles County's overall HD Index score is 5.43 out of 10, which is higher than the U.S. average value of 5.17, but some community face challenges akin to those found in impoverished areas of Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta.
Moreover, On the 10-point HD Index scale, the highest- and lowest- scoring communities are separated by seven points in the county, with three communities which top the list scoring over 9.3 and three poorest each scoring lower than 2.7.
Within the city of Los Angeles, the gap is even larger. Bel Air-Beverly Crest and Brentwood-Pacific Palisades are on top with scores of 9.51 and 9.24, respectively while southeast L.A., gathering communities for Black Angelenos, is at the bottom with 2.26.
Median personal annual earnings in Los Angeles County are 30,700 U.S. dollars, slightly less than the U.S. median of 31,416 U.S. dollars. However, the range within the county is from a peak of 82,813 U.S. dollars to a mere 16,044 U.S. dollars.
Whites earn the most in the county among the major racial and ethnic groups with 47,600 U.S. dollars on average, Asians followed by 38,000 U.S. dollars, while Latinos earn the least, with median personal earnings of 22,600 U.S. dollars.
Los Angeles County's report, released last Wednesday, is the fifth that Measure of America has produced on the state of California.
