California Index: Overview

Tracking US decline

Since it was first launched in 2014, the Social Progress Index has documented the US lagging behind its global competitors on issues of safety, health, education, enviromental quality and inclusiveness. Worse, the index reveals no real improvement in recent years. As the world's largest economy, the US ranked just 25th in social progress on the 2018 global Social Progress Index. And as the 2018 Social Progress Index for the 50 US States reveals, California ranks 33rd out of 50 states, a remarkably poor result for the largest economy in the country and fifth-largest in the world.

These results underline the need for a more detailed assessment of quality of life in California. The Social Progress Index for California Counties offers a distinctly unique way to view neighbors and regions, providing a roadmap for prioritization and a lens through which to identify scalable solutions from state peers.

Figure 1. Social Progress Map of California.