Socioeconomic Scale

A scale depicting variation in selected socioeconomic factors for the community aggregation units was developed from 1990 Census of Population and Housing data. The socioeconomic scale incorporates five primary categories: housing tenure; poverty; education; unemployment; and children in homes with public assistance income. These individual categories are combined into a single scale to take advantage of each individual measure while ensuring that no single one dominates. Each category is weighted equally within the scale, although the poverty category has two components. The primary assumption of the scale is that higher levels of home ownership, education, and employment indicate higher levels of socioeconomic well-being, and higher levels of poverty and a higher percentage of children in homes receiving public assistance income indicate lower levels of socioeconomic well-being.

The housing tenure score of the scale is the percentage of all occupied housing units that are owner-occupied. Since the universe is occupied housing units, this variable includes only permanent residences that are the occupants' usual place of residence. It excludes group quarters (e.g. military quarters, college dormitories, or prisons). The inverse of this variable is equal to the percentage of occupied housing units that are renter-occupied. The housing tenure score, then, reflects the relative level of owner-occupied housing vs. renter-occupied housing across the Klamath Province. The housing tenure component is suggestive of the relative wealth and permanence of residents in an area, and offers insight into the degree of local control of a vitally important resource.

The poverty score includes two equally weighted components: the percentage of all persons in poverty; and a measure of poverty level and intensity. Poverty status is determined at a national level by the Bureau of the Census as a function of family income and size. The number of persons below the poverty level is the sum of the number of persons in families with incomes below the poverty level and the number of unrelated individuals with incomes below the poverty level. Poverty status is not determined for institutionalized persons, persons in military group quarters and in college dorms, and unrelated individuals under 15 years of age.

The first component in the poverty score, the percentage of all persons with income below the poverty level, is the ratio between persons with incomes above the poverty level and those with incomes below the poverty level. The second component of the poverty score indicates the relative intensity of poverty of those individuals with incomes below the poverty level. Three variables are combined to capture the intensity of poverty within a given area using the following formula.

S = Sum [(1 * X), (3 * Y), (9 * Z)]

     where: S = Poverty Intensity

     X = percent of persons with incomes between 75 and 99 percent of poverty level.

     Y = percent of persons with incomes between 50 and 74 percent of the poverty level.

     Z = percent of persons with incomes less than 50 percent of the poverty level.

The multiplication factors of 1, 3 and 9 are used to emphasize the intensity of poverty by placing greater weight on the highest poverty levels. These factors help to stretch out the range of numbers and create greater distance between incomes that are just below poverty level and those that are far below the poverty level. More linear factors of 1, 2, and 3 do not place enough emphasis on the higher levels of poverty to provide a score reflective of poverty intensity.

Education is reflected by a cumulative educational attainment score weighted toward higher levels of educational attainment. Education is assessed in the census data for all persons 25 years of age and older. This is the only component of the socioeconomic scale that includes institutionalized persons, such as those in correctional institutions, and others in group quarters such as college dormitories and military quarters. Unlike other components of the scale, the universe for educational attainment is all persons, including prisoners, and is reported in a way that does not allow for isolation of incarcerated populations. The education score is calculated by multiplying the percentage of persons in each of the seven Census data education categories by a factor that increases by one at each higher level and summing the products.

S= Sum [A, (B*2), (C*3), (D*4), (E*5), (F*6), (G*7)]

     where: S = Educational Attainment Score

     A = percent of persons with less than 9th grade education.

     B = percent of persons with 9th - 10th grade education, and no diploma.

     C = percent of high school graduates or equivalent.

     D = percent of persons with some college, but no degree.

     E = percent of persons with an associate degree.

     F = percent of persons with a bachelor's degree.

     G = percent of persons with a graduate or professional degree.

The employment score is the percentage of the civilian labor force that is employed, and is the inverse of the percentage of persons unemployed. All civilians 16 years old and over are classified by the Bureau of the Census as unemployed if they (1) were neither "at work" nor "with a job but not at work" during the week of enumeration, and (2) were looking for work during the four weeks preceding enumeration, and (3) were available to accept a job. Also included as unemployed are civilians who did not work at all during the reference week and were waiting to be called back to a job from which they had been laid off. As used here, the universe for employment excludes those not "in the labor force" and those in the Armed Forces.

As measured by the Bureau of the Census, unemployment provides a well-defined but somewhat narrow view of the status of the labor force. Since it is limited to individuals who are actively seeking work, the measure is often inaccurate in areas of chronic unemployment where frustrated workers have dropped out of the labor force. Frustrated workers who have dropped out of the labor force cannot be identified using only Census data. These data report employment and labor force participation for those between the ages of 16 and 64, as well as those over 64 years old, but the percentage of persons not in the labor force includes far more than the frustrated workers who have dropped out.

Children in households with public assistance income reflects the percentage of all children under 15 years of age living in households receiving public assistance income. Public assistance income includes (1) supplementary security income payments by federal or state welfare agencies to low income persons who are 65 years old or over, blind, or disabled; (2) aid to families with dependent children (AFDC), and (3) general assistance. It excludes payments for hospital or medical care. The percentage of children in households with public assistance income provides an indicator of families in need. Yet, it is important to point out that not all families in need receive public assistance. This is true particularly in cases where local cultural values limit the acceptability of public assistance.