The Mayor’s Office of Resilience and Equity (MORE) and the Tulsa Area United Way (TAUW) have released the sixth Tulsa Equality Indicators report, with results showing a continued overall score increase from the 2018 baseline.
Tulsa’s aggregate City Score for 2023 is 42.37 out of 100, which is greater than any of the scores from the previous five report years (prior years’ scores have been adjusted for indicator changes). This scoring suggests Tulsa may be improving in regard to equality on some of the 54 indicators.
The full 2023 Tulsa Equality Indicators Report, in addition to learning opportunities and past reports be found online at www.tulsaei.org.
"I am grateful for the time and effort that went into putting these scores together, and I'm encouraged to see continued improvement in our scores since we started tracking these numbers six years ago," Mayor G.T. Bynum said. "The data in this report is invaluable, and we will continue to use it to track progress and see where we can improve."
Compared to the baseline scores from 2018, Tulsa’s average scores for 2023 have increased in four of the six themes; Economic Opportunity (nearly 5 points), Education (over 12 points), Housing (2 points), Public Health (nearly 8 points). Two themes, Justice and Service, declined since 2018 by approximately 5 and 1 points, respectively.
Using methodology developed by the City University of New York, Institute for State and Local Governance (CUNY ISLG), the report uses 54 indicators equally distributed across six themes to measure and track the level of inequality in Tulsa. Each indicator is scored on a scale from 1 (high inequality) to 100 (high equality).
This year, the highest scoring indicator(s) were “Housing Complaints by Geography,” and “Veterans Affairs Appointment Wait Time,” each with a score of 100. The lowest scoring indicator was “Payday Loans and Banks by Geography,” with a score of 1.
The indicator with the largest positive change score since 2018 is “Chronic Absenteeism by Race” with an increase of 58 points. The indicator with the largest negative change score since 2018 is “Homelessness by Veteran Status” with a decrease of 30 points.
“Tulsa Area United Way is pleased to partner with the city of Tulsa to produce the 2023 Tulsa equality indicators report to illuminate the ways in which Tulsa is advancing toward greater equality and the areas where we are struggling to make progress. This project demonstrates the city of Tulsa‘s commitment to be data-informed in its efforts to ensure that all Tulsans have equitable opportunities to thrive, said Alison Anthony, CEO of Tulsa Area United Way. “This year’s equality score reflects continuing progress in advancing equality. Eliminating disparities requires honest reflection and cross-sector collaboration among many partners, including the city and other governmental bodies, nonprofit organizations, the business community, funders, researchers, and people with lived experience. We are fortunate to live in a city where people work across sectors in a spirit of continuous learning and improvement.”
To be added to our listserv to receive updates on presentations and learning sessions please email [email protected].
2023 Report Overview Presentation Scheduled
To provide an overview of the latest report and in-depth review of each theme, MORE and TAUW will host a presentation on Tuesday, April 30, 2024, at noon in the Baily Room at Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder Ave.
Those interested in attending should RSVP online.