The Working Age Population of the Coachella Valley

By |2021-06-24T22:09:56-07:00June 23rd, 2021|Categories: Data Digest|Tags: , , |

You can’t seem to open a newspaper or listen to the news lately without hearing a story about employers having a hard time finding new employees. Despite a resurging economy and countless job openings, many openings remain unfilled. In fact, the New York Times reports that there are more job openings this spring than before [...]

Diversity in the Coachella Valley

By |2021-06-11T10:56:09-07:00June 11th, 2021|Categories: Data Digest|Tags: , , |

As a GIS professional, perceiving the world through geography is my dominant lens. One of the principal tenants of Geography is Tobler’s First Law of Geography: Everything is related to everything else. But near things are more related than distant things. More and more, we live in neighborhoods with others like ourselves, mimicking Tobler’s “law.” [...]

2020 Presidential Election: Geographic Comparisons

By |2021-06-01T16:53:21-07:00June 2nd, 2021|Categories: Data Digest, News|Tags: |

The 2020 Presidential election was one for the history books, in many, many ways. While we await final precinct-level results I thought it would be informative to see the results mapped by various political districts. I have mapped the results below by county supervisor, state senate, and state assembly districts, as well as by the [...]

Year-Over-Year Unemployment Rates

By |2021-05-25T17:42:35-07:00May 25th, 2021|Categories: Data Digest, Jobs, News|Tags: , |

What a difference a year makes! In April 2019, official unemployment rates for the nine Coachella Valley cities were at historic lows. Confidence in the economy was high and an ever more prosperous future seemed probable. Ignorance is bliss. How could we ever have imagined that unemployment rates would nearly triple, in just one year? [...]

The Coachella Valley: Our Own Unique Economy

By |2021-05-13T17:59:11-07:00May 13th, 2021|Categories: Data Digest, Economic Development, Innovation|Tags: , |

In an earlier blog, I discussed how the Coachella Valley is subsumed by the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). Recently we teased the idea of succeeding and creating our own MSA, an idea that has been floating around the valley for quite some time. It turns out that MSAs must contain at least one [...]

Broadband Internet Availability in the Coachella Valley

By |2021-05-11T14:46:34-07:00May 11th, 2021|Categories: Business Development, Data Digest, Economic Development, Innovation|Tags: , , |

Advocating for fundamental infrastructure to support and enhance entrepreneurship is a primary function of regional economic development. Access to high-speed, broadband internet is increasingly becoming an essential infrastructure. As more and more commerce, communication, education, and business workflows become virtual and remote, reliable and fast internet service has never been more necessary. The disruptions of [...]

The Importance of Regional Economic Development for the Coachella Valley

By |2021-05-13T16:54:57-07:00May 11th, 2021|Categories: Data Digest, Economic Development|Tags: , , , |

This week we celebrate Economic Development Week. Since 2016, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) has emphasized the importance of economic development during a week in May: this year, from May 9-15. The ideals celebrated this week - of economic development standing at the core of well-being and quality of life - are embodied at [...]

California to Lose One Congressional Seat

By |2021-04-27T18:26:19-07:00April 27th, 2021|Categories: Data Digest|Tags: , , , , |

The numbers are in! And it doesn't look good for California. The U.S. Census delivered state population data to President Biden that determine the apportionment of congressional seats. Congressional apportionment takes the new census population and divides it by 435, the number of seats in the House. Fast-growing states gain seats, while slow-growing or shrinking [...]

Historically Low Housing Starts in the Coachella Valley

By |2021-04-22T21:16:11-07:00April 22nd, 2021|Categories: Data Digest|Tags: , , , |

In my last blog, I discussed the staggering rise in median home prices in the valley.  COVID stay-at-home restrictions and the desire to move to less congested locales unleashed an unexpected buying spree. But the historically low pace of new housing construction, locally and nationally, underlies the explosive rise in median home prices. This week [...]

Coachella Valley Home Prices on the Rise

By |2021-04-19T15:15:27-07:00April 9th, 2021|Categories: Coronavirus, Data Digest, News|Tags: , , , , , , |

A couple of years ago I was honored to represent CVEP as a speaker at the quarterly Market Watch Seminar series sponsored by Palm Springs Life.  This seminar series presents a thorough examination of the residential real estate market. I would encourage readers to attend.  Even if you are not a realtor, you will learn [...]

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