Did You Turn in Your Census, Echo Park?

According to an LA Weekly article, the California Community Foundation has found that one of Los Angeles’ least-counted areas in the 2010 Census includes the Echo Park/Hollywood communities.

“For the first time in census history, we have access to information that can really help us focus our outreach efforts,” said Antonia Hernández, president and CEO of the foundation. The early data gives groups like the CCF and its partners an opportunity to give underrepresented communities a second chance to be included in the census, according to the LA Weekly article.

As of early April, the Hollywood/Echo Park communities have a 42.8% participation rate, compared to a national average of 67% and a countywide average of 64%.

Other under-counted areas include Koreatown, 110 Corridor in South L.A. Long Beach, South West area, the North Valley and Boyle Heights.

While we will have to wait a few months (the Census data is supposed to be released to the government on or before December 31, 2010) to see exactly what the data reflects, here are some interesting Echo Park facts from the 2000 Census, provided by the LA Times Mapping LA Neighborhoods Project:

  • The population of Echo Park from the 2000 Census was 40,455 (about average in comparison to the rest of the city’s neighborhoods), compared to an estimated 43,832 for 2008
  • Echo Park consists of 2.4 square miles, but with 16,867 people per square mile is among the highest densities in the city
  • Latinos make up a majority of the population with 64%, while 18.9% are Asian, 12.9% White, 2.3% Other, and 2.0% Black
  • $37,708 median household income (low in comparison to the rest of the city) with an average of 3.0 people per household (which is high).
  • 76.0% of households are renters (high in comparison to the rest of the city)

Click here to read more statistics about Echo Park in the year 2000 from the LA Times project.

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