A structured, open research dataset comparing racial equity plans, accountability mechanisms, cost-of-living disparities, housing burden, wage gaps, and commute inequities across the 20 largest U.S. cities by population (2024 Census estimates).
Anchored by New York City's first-ever Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan (April 2026) and the inaugural NYC True Cost of Living Measure, this dataset enables city-by-city comparison of both plan quality and real-world racial disparities.
| File | Format | Description |
|---|---|---|
data/racial_equity_20_cities.csv |
CSV | Primary dataset — 20 cities × 40 columns |
data/racial_equity_20_cities.tsv |
TSV | Tab-separated variant for shell/pandas use |
docs/methodology.md |
Markdown | Equity score formula, metric definitions, limitations |
docs/sources.md |
Markdown | Full primary source list with URLs |
docs/column_definitions.md |
Markdown | Field-by-field data dictionary |
- Only 3 of 20 cities (Chicago, Philadelphia, Seattle) have equity plans with both budget commitments and enforcement mechanisms
- Dallas and Fort Worth formally suspended equity plans in 2025 under federal executive orders (EOs 14173, 14218, 14151)
- Los Angeles defunded its Office of Race and Equity in FY2025–26; San Diego proposed eliminating its Department of Race & Equity
- NYC's True Cost of Living Measure found 62% of New Yorkers cannot meet basic needs — with rates of 43.7% (white) vs. 77.6% (Hispanic)
- Black renters average 58% cost-burdened across the 20 cities vs. ~41% for white renters
- Black workers spend an average of 19 extra minutes per week commuting compared to white workers (Federal Reserve Philadelphia)
- The average equity score across all 20 cities is 35/100
| Rank | City | State | Equity Score | Plan Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York City | NY | 73 | Comprehensive |
| 2 | Los Angeles | CA | 42 | Partial (office defunded) |
| 3 | Chicago | IL | 81 | Comprehensive |
| 4 | Houston | TX | 12 | None |
| 5 | Phoenix | AZ | 14 | None |
| 6 | Philadelphia | PA | 84 | Comprehensive |
| 7 | San Antonio | TX | 8 | None |
| 8 | San Diego | CA | 36 | Partial (dept. being eliminated) |
| 9 | Dallas | TX | 10 | Suspended |
| 10 | San José | CA | 44 | Partial |
| 11 | Austin | TX | 38 | Partial |
| 12 | Jacksonville | FL | 6 | None |
| 13 | Fort Worth | TX | 5 | Suspended |
| 14 | Columbus | OH | 34 | Partial |
| 15 | Charlotte | NC | 48 | Partial |
| 16 | Indianapolis | IN | 22 | Partial |
| 17 | Seattle | WA | 89 | Comprehensive |
| 18 | Denver | CO | 41 | Partial |
| 19 | Nashville | TN | 9 | None |
| 20 | Oklahoma City | OK | 8 | None |
| Category | Fields |
|---|---|
| Accountability | Equity plan existence, measurable goals, timelines, budget linkage, enforcement, equity office, annual reporting, composite score |
| Poverty & Income | Official poverty rate, Black/Latinx/White poverty rates, median household income by race, True COL gap |
| Housing | Median rent, Black/Latinx/White rent burden (%), homeownership rates, rent burden gap (pp) |
| Wages | Black/Latinx wage gap (¢ per $1 white), Black/White unemployment rates, unemployment gap ratio |
| Commute | Black/White average commute (min), commute gap (extra min/week) |
| Qualitative | Accountability gap descriptions, primary sources per city |
The composite Equity Score (0–100) measures the strength of accountability structures, not outcomes:
| Component | Points | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| Plan existence & comprehensiveness | 25 | Citywide plan covering multiple agencies |
| Measurable goals | 10 | Quantifiable targets with baselines |
| Implementation timelines | 15 | Specific deadlines for goal completion |
| Budget commitments | 20 | Dedicated funding tied to equity goals |
| Enforcement mechanisms | 20 | External audits, penalties, or oversight bodies |
| Dedicated equity office | 5 | Standalone office or department |
| Annual public reporting | 5 | Required annual progress reports |
| Total | 100 |
Important: A high score means strong accountability commitments — not that disparities have been reduced. Cities with suspended plans receive partial credit only for elements in place before suspension.
| Status | Definition |
|---|---|
Comprehensive |
Citywide plan covering multiple agencies with goals, strategies, and indicators |
Partial |
Plan exists but lacks one or more critical elements (budget, enforcement, or dedicated office) |
Suspended |
Plan was formally adopted but suspended or de-implemented (often citing federal executive orders) |
None |
No formal citywide racial equity plan |
| Metric | Definition | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Rent burden | % of renters spending ≥30% of gross income on housing | ACS 2023 Table B25140 |
| Wage gap | Black workers' median earnings as cents per $1 earned by white workers | ACS 2023 Table B20017 |
| Commute gap | Extra minutes per week Black workers commute vs. white workers | Fed Reserve Philadelphia |
| Unemployment gap | Ratio of Black to white unemployment rates (2.0 = twice as high) | ACS 2023 |
| True COL gap | % of households below threshold needed to meet all basic needs | NYC official TCOL measure; proxy estimates elsewhere |
| Source | URL |
|---|---|
| NYC Preliminary Citywide Racial Equity Plan (April 2026) | nyc.gov |
| NYC True Cost of Living Measure (April 2026) | nyc.gov |
| U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 1-Year Estimates | data.census.gov |
| Chicago CPD Racial Equity Action Plan (2024) | chicagopolice.org |
| Philadelphia Budgeting for Racial Equity FY2024 | phila.gov |
| Seattle RSJI 2025–26 Budget | seattle.gov |
| McKinsey — Mapping Road to Prosperity & Parity (2024) | mckinsey.com |
| NLIHC Housing Gap Report 2025 | nlihc.org |
| Federal Reserve Philadelphia — Racial Commute Study | philadelphiafed.org |
| Dallas equity plan suspension (Resolution 25-2552A) | Dallas City Council, August 2025 |
| San Diego equity dept. elimination | inewsource.org |
See docs/sources.md for per-city source citations.
- City vs. metro-level data — Estimates derived from ACS 2023 city-level tables; may differ from state or metro figures
- Extrapolated fields — Not all cities publish race-disaggregated data; some values extrapolated from regional ACS tables and adjusted for city cost context
- Scores reflect plan quality, not outcomes — A score of 89 (Seattle) means strong accountability structures, not that disparities are resolved
- Federal rollback context — EOs 14173, 14218, and 14151 (2025) altered equity programs between source publication dates and this dataset
- True COL gap — Only NYC has an official TCOL measure; all other city values are proxy estimates
This dataset follows Semantic Versioning:
- MAJOR version: structural changes (columns added/removed, methodology change)
- MINOR version: new cities or time periods added
- PATCH version: data corrections or source updates
See CHANGELOG.md for full version history.
Corrections, updated city plans, and additional metrics are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
This dataset is released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).
You are free to share and adapt it for any purpose, including commercial, with attribution.
Citation:
Racial Equity Dataset: 20 Largest U.S. Cities (v1.0.0, April 2026).
Compiled from publicly available government reports, U.S. Census ACS 2023,
McKinsey, NLIHC, and Federal Reserve research.
GitHub: https://github.com/Trulove111/racial-equity-dataset
Dashboard: https://www.perplexity.ai/computer/a/racial-equity-dashboard-20-lar-E1EJiRZlSCyupQX84K_bqw
- Interactive Dashboard — perplexity.ai/computer/…
- Google Sheet with pivot tables — docs.google.com/spreadsheets/…