NSBN Projects - South Central

Community Profile

Jurisdiction Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent – Roy Romer

Compton Unified School District Superintendent – Jesse L. Gonzalez

LA County Children’s Planning Council Service Planning Area 6

Los Angeles County Supervisor, 2nd District – Yvone Brathwaite Burke

State Assembly Dist. 52 – Mervyn M. Dymally

State Senate District 25 – Edward Vincent

Congressional District 37 – Juanita Millender-McDonald

Area Statistics

Ethnicity/Race: Latinos represent 53.8% of the Zip Code population. Blacks 44.7%, Whites 0.7% and Asians. 0.2%.

Income/Poverty: 55% of all households make less than $25,000 a year.

Education/Language Spoken: 55.6% of all adults hold less than a high school education. 50.6% of the Zip Code population speak a non-English language at home.

Presence of Families with Children Ages 0-6
The Zip Code has a larger proportion of families with children ages 0-6 than countywide.

  • 34% - 2,632 out of 7,690 families in the Zip Code have children ages 0-6.
  • 25% - 543,233 out of 2,136,977 families in Los Angeles County have children aged 0-6.

Very Low Average 3rd Grade Test Scores
Average test scores taken from three elementary schools in the Zip Code (within LAUSD) were very low:

  • 55% of third graders in the Zip Code (within LAUSD) scored at the below basic or far below basic level in English and Language Arts.
  • 28% of third graders in the Zip Code (within LAUSD) scored at the below basic or far below basic level in Math.

Average test scores taken from three elementary schools in the Zip Code (within Compton Unified School District) were also very low:

  • 63.7% of third graders in the Zip Code (within Compton Unified School District) scored at the below basic or far below basic level in English and Language Arts.
  • 43.7% of third graders in the Zip Code (within Compton Unified School District) scored at the below basic or far below basic level in Math.

13.3% of third graders in the Zip Code (within LAUSD) scored at or above the 50th National Percentile in reading (compared to 30% across LA County). 10.7% of third graders in the Zip Code (within Compton Unified School District) scored at or above the 50th National Percentile in reading.

The average 2005 Academic Performance Index (API) for the three schools in the Zip Code (within LAUSD) was 652. The average 2005 API for the three schools in the Zip Code (within Compton Unified School District) was 591. The statewide API performance target is 800.

High Incidence of Low-birth Weight Babies.
9.3% or 83 babies out of 890 live births in the Zip Code were born with low birth weights.

6.6% or 10,213 babies out of 153,523 live births in Los Angeles County were born with low birth weights.

High Level of Participation in WIC.
21.3% of 4-year olds within SPA 6 participate in WIC. This is the highest level of participation in WIC by 4-year olds within all SPA areas. The next highest level of participation in WIC by 4-year olds is 17.3% in SPA 7.

Average Incidence of Childhood Obesity
37.1% or 5,561 4-year olds within SPA 6 have a BMI > 85th percentile. In comparison, 37.4% of 4-year olds within all SPA areas have a BMI > 85th percentile.

18.8% or 2,818 4-year olds within SPA 6 have a BMI > 95th percentile. In comparison, 19.9% of 4-year olds within all SPA areas have a BMI > 95th percentile.

The Zip Code is listed by the county as a high-risk area for child lead poisoning.

Moderate Incidence of Newborn Disability and Disease
The infant death rate in the Zip Code was higher than in LA County

  • The infant death rate in the Zip Code was 7.6 per 1,000 live births.
  • The infant death rate in SPA 6 was 8.8 per 1,000 live births.
  • The infant death rate in Los Angeles County was 5.9 per 1,000 live births

High Incidence of Crime, Domestic Violence and Assault
(Note: The Zip Code is in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles County.)

  • In all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County (including the project area Zip Code), there were 3,738 domestic violence related calls for assistance in the year 2003 – 463 of which involved weapons. In the adjacent city of Compton, there were 462 domestic violence related calls for assistance in the year 2003 – 55 of which involved weapons.
  • There were 5,846 aggravated assault crimes in all unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County (including the project area Zip Code) in the year 2003. In the adjacent city of Compton, there were 1,021 aggravated assault crimes.
  • There were a total of 7,971 violent crimes committed in all unincorporated areas of Los Angels County (including the project area Zip Code) in the year 2003. In the adjacent city of Compton, there were a total of 1,549 violent crimes in the year 2003.