A snapshot of our communities

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Clementine Norton
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1 A snapshot of our communities 2014

2 Overview 1 Defining our region 2 Growing suburban poverty 6 Increasing globalization 7 Stubborn education gaps 8 What is the state of our region? How will we know progress when we see it? Metro Hartford Progress Points takes a look at the forces shaping Hartford and the region today, both the connections across it and the critical education, income and opportunity gaps within it. It is a call to action for groups and individuals throughout Metro Hartford to recognize all that we share, to join forces to address our challenges and to create more vibrant and prosperous communities for all. To learn more, visit MetroHartfordProgressPoints.org. What do we mean by Metro Hartford? The Hartford region consists of 750,000 people living in the city of Hartford, its surrounding inner-ring suburbs, and outer-ring and rural towns that have historical, economic or social ties with the city. We refer to Metro Hartford and Greater Hartford interchangeably. SUFFIELD ENFIELD SOMERS CANTON SIMSBURY GRANBY BLOOMFIELD EAST GRANBY WINDSOR WINDSOR LOCKS EAST WINDSOR ELLINGTON VERNON STAFFORD TOLLAND AVON WEST SOUTH WINDSOR BOLTON MANCHESTER FARMINGTON EAST HEBRON ANDOVER NEWINGTON WETHERSFIELD GLASTONBURY MARLBOROUGH ROCKY HILL INNER OUTER * Inner suburbs have higher population density and poverty levels than outer suburbs. See footnotes for more detail. 1 MetroHartfordProgressPoints.org

3 DEFINING OUR REGION Long-term shift from urban to suburban Following World War II, people gradually moved from the city of Hartford to the suburbs. Beginning in the 1960s, most of the population growth has been farther afield in formerly rural towns beyond the inner-ring suburbs. Both Latino and Asian populations have grown rapidly throughout the region for the last 25 years. The black population has shifted from living mostly in the city of Hartford to a majority now living in the inner suburbs. The white population has shrunk overall, with growth only in the outer suburbs. 500,000 Most rapid growth in outer suburban areas 400,000 INNER 300,000 OUTER 200, , Population ; projections Source: State Data Center Aging population across the region Fewer young people are projected to live and work in the region while growing numbers of aging workers will reach retirement age in the next decade, particularly in the suburbs. INNER OUTER 30,000 20,000 10, , years years 900-5,100-6,100-8,400 7,900 29,300 36, years and over -10,000-15,100 Projected change Source: State Data Center projections 2

4 DEFINING OUR REGION (CONTINUED) Jobs draw people in and out of Hartford The population of Hartford doubles each workday, as commuters travel from all over the region to jobs in the city which tend to be concentrated in highly skilled professions such as insurance and finance. 82 percent of the region s workers commute within the region. SIMSBURY 16% WEST BLOOMFIELD 27% 26% WINDSOR 23% SOUTH WINDSOR 20% MANCHESTER 19% Other top destinations for commuters include: 2 East Hartford 3 Manchester 4 Windsor 5 West Hartford AVON 19% 20% 19% MARLBOROUGH 17% 20% EAST FARMINGTON NEWINGTON 27% 19% GLASTONBURY WETHERSFIELD 25% ROCKY HILL Source: U.S. Census Bureau, % of all Metro Hartford workers commute alone by car 83% of the 121,000 jobs in Hartford are filled by commuters 65% of Hartford residents with jobs are employed outside of Hartford 75% of Hartford workers who commute outside of Hartford make less than $40K Source: U.S. Census Bureau, in 6 students attends school in a different town Even as school enrollment has dropped throughout the region a reflection of the larger trend of an aging population the number of students commuting to a school that is not in their neighborhood has increased with the growth of magnets, charters and other public school options. 9% of students MAGNET/CHARTER/CHOICE 56% 87% 96% Growth Source: State Department of Education 84% of students PUBLIC 7% of students PRIVATE 3 MetroHartfordProgressPoints.org -17% -7% -5% -2% -13% -15%

5 Affordable housing options concentrated in Hartford Those seeking more affordable housing options won t find many in the inner and outer suburbs. In turn, this tends to concentrate lower-income families in the city of Hartford and limits options for families in the suburbs. 36% 11% INNER 6% OUTER Homeownership dramatically higher in suburbs Homeownership is one of the strongest features of a vibrant community. While homeownership rates are typically lower in cities, the gap between the percent who live in owner-occupied homes in Hartford and suburban communities is high compared to other regions. Source: Department of Housing, % 26% INNER Source: U.S. Census Bureau estimates 88% OUTER Voter turnout significantly lower in Hartford There is a significant difference in turnout among registered voters between Hartford and its neighboring towns. Lack of engagement in the electoral process makes it difficult for residents to make changes in their community. 28% 32% Lower crime rates in suburbs, but higher housing costs While crime in Hartford has decreased in recent years, neighboring communities and suburban areas still have higher levels of public safety than their counterparts in the city. Unfortunately, low incomes and a lack of available/affordable housing mean that many cannot afford to live in lower-crime areas outside the city. 5,745 5% 1,119 2,461 INNER OUTER 2013 ELECTION TURNOUT Source: Secretary of the State, November 2013 election results. INNER OUTER NUMBER OF TOTAL CRIMES PER 100,000 RESIDENTS Source: CT Data, Department of Public Safety. 4

6 DEFINING OUR REGION (CONTINUED) Growing job opportunities in caring for our aging population While the Hartford region is still providing large numbers of jobs, its historically strong sectors of finance, insurance and manufacturing have seen their numbers decrease over the past decades. Many of the sectors with recent growth involve service industries related to meeting the needs of an aging population in the outer suburbs specifically, in healthcare. On the decline Construction Manufacturing Finance & Insurance Holding steady Government Administrative Support Retail Transportation Shifting top 5 job sectors over past 20 years On the rise Healthcare Education Real Estate Scientific & Technical NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 90,000 80,000 70,000 60,000 50,000 40,000 MANUFACTURING FINANCE & INSURANCE RETAIL HEALTHCARE EDUCATION 30, Source: Department of Labor, Metro Hartford employment snapshot 70% of the unemployed residents in the region live in the suburbs 3,000 people return from prison to the region just over half to Hartford each year 29% of those unemployed in the region are between the ages of 16 and 24 7,600 Hartford residents are looking for work and cannot find jobs 25,000 suburban residents are looking for work and cannot find jobs Source: U.S. Census Bureau, estimates; Department of Labor, 2013 local area estimates. 5 MetroHartfordProgressPoints.org

7 GROWING AN POVERTY Poverty growing beyond the city limits In Hartford, a high proportion of the population is living under the federal poverty line (about $23,000 for a family of four). But the sharpest increases in poverty have been outside the capital city, mostly in the inner suburbs. POPULATION LIVING UNDER FEDERAL POVERTY LINE 50,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 10, INNER OUTER Source: State Data Center, U.S. Census Bureau. Poverty rates in Hartford highest of all CT cities NEW HAVEN BRIDGEPORT WATERBURY 38% 26% 25% 25% NEW BRITAIN 24% And on par with the poorest cities in the U.S. DETROIT, MI 42% CAMDEN, NJ 39% FLINT, MI YOUNGSTOWN, OH 39% 39% SPRINGFIELD, MA 33% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 estimates. 6

8 INCREASING GLOBALIZATION Increasing globalization through immigration Schools are more ethnically and culturally diverse than at any time in our history. More than 100 different languages are spoken in homes throughout the region, bringing diversity to our schools and our towns. Hartford West Hartford East Hartford Newington Rocky Hill Farmington Wethersfield Windsor Locks CREC East Windsor Windsor South Windsor Glastonbury Vernon Avon Manchester Simsbury East Granby Enfield Andover Ellington Bloomfield Suffield Stafford Marlborough Somers Canton Granby Hebron Tolland PERCENT OF HOUSEHOLDS IN EACH SCHOOL DISTRICT WHERE MORE THAN ONE LANGUAGE IS SPOKEN Source: State Department of Education. A great variety of languages spoken in homes across the region Because more foreign-born families are immigrating to the region, we have more ELL (English language learner) students than ever before. Spanish Vietnamese Chinese 7 Serbo- Croatian Korean Albanian MetroHartfordProgressPoints.org Gujarati Urdu Karen Polish Russian Malayalam Portuguese Telugu Arabic Source: State Department of Education,

9 STUBBORN EDUCATION GAPS Racial and ethnic disparities in educational attainment While Greater Hartford continues to enjoy a highly skilled workforce, those skills are not equitably distributed across all residents. More white residents have a bachelor s degree or higher than their black and Latino counterparts. In fact, one-third of all Latinos in the region lack a high school diploma. 7% 16% 12% 19% 42% 26% WHITE BLACK LATINO 30% 34% 25% 30% 23% 35% BACHELOR S DEGREE SOME COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL DEGREE LESS THAN HIGH SCHOOL Source: U.S. Census Bureau, estimates. Range of high school graduation rates varies greatly High school graduation rates are higher on average for whites and Asian-Americans, but the range of results for individual schools shows that other groups including low-income, special education and ELL students find success in at least some schools in the region. WHITE ASIAN-AMERICAN ELIGIBLE FOR REDUCED LUNCH FEMALE ALL STUDENTS MALE BLACK LATINO ELIGIBLE FOR FREE LUNCH SPECIAL EDUCATION ELL 25% 50% 75% 100% AVERAGE GRADUATION RATE RANGE GRADUATION RATE Source: State Department of Education,

10 STUBBORN EDUCATION GAPS (CONTINUED) 3rd-grade reading scores vary widely across different groups Although third-grade reading scores are increasing overall, the gaps aren t narrowing much when viewed by race/ethnicity, income and other dimensions FEMALE ASIAN WHITE MALE GOAL 235 GOAL BLACK LATINO FULL PRICE NOT ELL GOAL 235 GOAL 235 ELL 200 F/R MEALS NOT SPECIAL ED Early childhood education provides the foundation for school success SPECIAL ED GOAL in 5 children in the region have preschool experience prior to kindergarten. Many who do attend pre-k programs do so regionally, with 2 in 5 kids attending school-based programs outside their home district. ELL = English language learners F/R Lunch = Students receiving free or reduced cost lunch Source: State Department of Education, MetroHartfordProgressPoints.org

11 Where do we go from here? Increased job opportunities, a growing population, high-quality, affordable housing, educated workers, engaged citizens and cultural diversity are just a few of the factors that make a community a place where all kinds of people want to live, work and raise their families. How do we get there? Consider the following in a discussion of Progress Points in your community: Where is home to you? Where do you and your family live, work, shop, learn, worship and play? How does your community connect to the rest of the region? How do we build stronger connections among the communities of Metro Hartford? What are the greatest assets of the Metro Hartford region? What are its greatest challenges? How can we together address our greatest challenges and capitalize on our greatest assets for the good of all residents throughout the region? Progress Points represents the start of a collective effort to address the root causes of our region s challenges, toward a vision of more vibrant and prosperous communities for all. We, the institutional partners behind Progress Points, hope that this report will prompt groups and individuals across Metro Hartford state and local government, academic institutions, businesses, nonprofits, faith- and community-based organizations, advocacy organizations and institutions to work together to make real progress on the issues illustrated by this report. Please visit MetroHartfordProgressPoints.org to learn more. 10

12 MetroHartfordProgressPoints.org 2014 Metro Hartford Progress Points

To: Transportation Subcommittee From: Rob Aloise, Acting Director of Transportation Planning Date: December 4, 2018 c: Transportation Committee

241 Main Street / Hartford / Connecticut / 06106 Phone (860) 522-2217 / Fax (860) 724-1274 www.crcog.org To: Transportation Subcommittee From: Rob Aloise, Acting Director of Transportation Planning Date: