Social Vulnerability Index Recalculation

The Social Vulnerability Index Recalculation is based on the important work of the federal Centers for Disease Control. With the future of that index in doubt, the same federal datasets and methodologies were used to carry the index forward.

The most recent SVI uses the 2022 American Communities Survey as its base. This recalculation matches the 2022 baseline 100 percent. The 2022 methodologies form the basis of the updated calculations for subsequent ACS vintages. This platform will run updates on all new ACS releases.

Should the SVI be updated with changed methodologies, this platform will update to match, while preserving the 2022 methodologies for comparison purposes.

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Santa Cruz County — Social Vulnerability Index

Unofficial CDC-method recomputation, 2020–2024 ACS 5-year
Santa Cruz County — Social Vulnerability Index by census tract
Shading: Overall SVI Percentile
Lower (24 to 45)Lower-middle (52 to 78)Middle (79 to 81)Upper-middle (91 to 98)Higher (99)
Each unit is shaded by its Overall SVI Percentile value and grouped into equal-count bands (quantiles) against the other units shown — lighter = lower, darker = higher. It ranks position among the units in view; it does not grade places, and the ranges shift with which units are shown.

The map is bounded to this parent geography — it shows the selected unit among its own siblings only, the same depth rule the drill-down uses. Shading ranks position on the measure among the units shown; it does not grade places.
Median tract: 81st percentile (among all U.S. tracts).
These tracts span the 24th percentile to the 99th percentile. The width of that range is the internal disparity.
Tract 9663.02 is marked below — Well above the median.
Well above the median8 (57%) · 32,279 people ◀ Tract 9663.02
Above the median3 (21%) · 8,594 people
Near the median2 (14%) · 5,193 people
Below the median1 (7%) · 2,860 people
Well below the median0 (0%) · 0 people
Widest spread across these tracts: Housing Type & Transportation — this theme most separates the higher- and lower-ranked tracts here.

The SVI ranks each tract's position relative to a comparison set; it is not averaged into one number for the area, because percentiles do not average meaningfully. The distribution — median, range, and shape below — is the summary.
Tract 9664.01 (pop. 3,631) — 99th percentile — Well above the median CDC-based flag ≥ 90th percentile
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (well above), Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above) and Housing Type & Transportation (well above).
Tract 9663.02 (pop. 3,422) — 99th percentile — Well above the median CDC-based flag ≥ 90th percentile
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (well above), Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above) and Housing Type & Transportation (well above).
Tract 9664.02 (pop. 4,111) — 99th percentile — Well above the median CDC-based flag ≥ 90th percentile
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (well above), Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above) and Housing Type & Transportation (well above).
Tract 9662.00 (pop. 4,443) — 98th percentile — Well above the median CDC-based flag ≥ 90th percentile
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (above), Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above) and Housing Type & Transportation (well above).
Tract 9661.03 (pop. 901) — 93rd percentile — Well above the median CDC-based flag ≥ 90th percentile
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (well above) and Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above); near the median on Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9663.01 (pop. 4,235) — 91st percentile — Well above the median CDC-based flag ≥ 90th percentile
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (well above) and Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above); near the median on Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9661.08 (pop. 6,003) — 81st percentile — Well above the median
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (above) and Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above); below the median on Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9661.11 (pop. 5,533) — 81st percentile — Well above the median
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (well above) and Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above); below the median on Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9661.01 (pop. 2,722) — 79th percentile — Above the median
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (above), Household Characteristics (well above) and Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (above); below the median on Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9661.06 (pop. 2,073) — 78th percentile — Above the median
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (well above), Household Characteristics (well above) and Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above); below the median on Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9661.09 (pop. 3,799) — 74th percentile — Above the median
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (above), Household Characteristics (well above) and Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above); below the median on Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9661.07 (pop. 1,599) — 52nd percentile — Near the median
Driven by Socioeconomic Status (above), Household Characteristics (above) and Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above); below the median on Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9660.00 (pop. 3,594) — 45th percentile — Near the median
Driven by Household Characteristics (above); near the median on Socioeconomic Status; below the median on Racial & Ethnic Minority Status and Housing Type & Transportation.
Tract 9661.10 (pop. 2,860) — 24th percentile — Below the median
Driven by Racial & Ethnic Minority Status (well above); near the median on Household Characteristics; below the median on Socioeconomic Status and Housing Type & Transportation.
SVI = the CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index, recomputed by this platform from American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year estimates using CDC's published method. Percentiles rank each tract against all U.S. tracts. "Vulnerability" is the name of CDC's index; the platform reports where a place ranks on it, and does not grade places or their residents.
Top-decile flags follow CDC's own convention (≥ 90th percentile) and are attributed as such; they are not part of an official CDC distribution.

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