Data Insights
You’ve Got Questions, We’ve Got Answers
MBEP is dedicated to providing a standard data set to measure our region’s well-being. We collaborate with regional and national organizations to aggregate, clean and visualize data for you. We strive to have the most up to date information available in all our data content.
Note: When referencing our data, please use the following notation: “Source: Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP), [Infographic/Data Tracker Title], Accessed on [Date].”

Economic Impact of COVID-19:
Demographics & Housing:
The California Housing Partnership recently launched the Housing Needs Dashboard, a new online data tool to discover and compare housing data for every California county and the state overall.
- Affordable housing need versus supply
- Housing market condition indicators
- Federal and state affordable housing funding levels
- Multifamily housing production and preservation trends
Sample research questions that can be answered in the dashboard:
- How many low-income renter households do not have access to an affordable home, and how has this gap changed over time?
- What percentage of extremely low-income households are paying more than half of their income on housing costs compared to moderate-income households, and how has this changed over time?
- How much do renters need to earn to afford local average monthly two-bedroom asking rents? See the Dashboard here.
Workforce Development & Employment:
Higher Education:

Agriculture & Tourism:
Health & Wellness:
Tech & Transportation:
MBEP Data Trackers
MBEP provides additional interactive dashboards exclusively to MBEP members to display data and charts across several important topics in our region. Each MBEP Data Tracker will focus on key indicators related to the topic. If you are a member and have already registered, you will need to log-in to access complete data. If you have not yet registered, click here to request a username and password to access these and other member benefits available exclusively to members in our Member Center.
Once logged in, please see additional information about each data tracker below and to begin exploring the data. The data trackers may take a moment to load.
MBEP Regional Dashboard
- Education, Economic Vitality
- Housing
- Health
- Infrastructure
- Transportation
- Public Safety
- Natural Environment
It is an interactive tool that provides state, regional, county and city-level data in order to track progress on key elements aligned with MBEP’s vision of creating a thriving region for all residents.
Many of these indicators are interconnected — we can’t solve one problem without addressing drivers of another. Data collected annually through the Dashboard will create an actionable, regional index to analyze successes and address areas for improvement. MBEP and its members and regional partners are working together to catalyze community well-being.
Note: Data included is among the most recent from the following sources: State of California Department of Finance, U.S. Census American Community Survey, California Employment Development Department, California Department of Education, Insight Center for Economic Development, AMBAG – Regional Housing Needs Allocation Plan, San Benito County Regional Housing Needs Allocation Plan, University of Wisconsin – Population Health Institute, CalTrans, California Department of Justice.
Workforce Development and Industry Data Tracker
- Population Projections
- Labor Force
- Unemployment Rate
- Industry Employment and Projections
- Occupation Mean Annual Wages
- Population Major Age Group Composition
- Population Race/Ethnicity Composition
- Industry Wages
- Industry Establishments
- Educational Attainment
Note: Data included is among the most recent from the following sources: California Department of Finance, U.S. Census American Community Survey, California Employment Development Department.
Tech Ecosystem Data Tracker
- Internet Households
- Educational Attainment
- STEM Degrees
- UC Santa Cruz – Undergraduate Degrees Awarded
- CSUMB – Undergraduate Degrees Awarded
- Community Colleges – Undergraduate Degrees Awarded
- Tech Occupation & wages
Note: Data included is among the most recent from the following sources: FCC Fixed Broadband Deployment Data, U.S. Census, U.S. Census American Community Survey, California Employment Development Department, UC Santa Cruz, CSU Monterey Bay, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.
Transportation Data Tracker
- Travel Time to Work
- Means of Transportation to Work
- Means of Transportation by Poverty Level
- Traffic Counts
- Safety
Note: Data included is among the most recent from the following sources: U.S. Census American Community Survey, CalTrans, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), California Highway Patrol – Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWTRS).
Agriculture and Tourism Data Tracker
- Industry Employment
- Total Crops Gross Production Value
- Top Crops by Production Value by County
- Wine Grape Production Value
- Organic Crop Production Gross Sales
- Agricultural Export Trade Partners
- Commercial Fishing
- Tourism – Total Direct Travel Spending
- Tourism – Top Areas Visited
- Tourism – Import Factor to Destination Decision
- Tourism – Top Activities and Attractions
- Tourism – Average Visitor Day Spending
Note: Data included is among the most recent from the following sources: California Employment Development Department, USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service, Monterey County Office of the Agricultural Commissioner, Santa Cruz County Office of the Agricultural Commissioner, San Benito County Office of the Agricultural Commissioner, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Dean Runyan Associates, SeeMonterey.com, MCCVB Marketing Intelligence Report – (January 2018), Santa Cruz County Visitor Profile, Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council.
Health & Wellness Data Tracker
- Healthcare Employment
- Occupation Median Annual wages
- Employment Projections
- County Health Rankings
- Crime rate (Violent Crime and Property Crime)
- Recreation – Top Attractions and Activities
- Bicycling and Walking to Work
- Hospital Data
Note:
Data included is among the most recent from the following sources: U.S. Census American Community Survey, California Employment Development Department, University of Wisconsin – Population Health Institute, California Department of Justice, UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. California Health Interview Survey, Education Data Partnership, MCCVB Marketing Intelligence Report – (January 2018), Santa Cruz County Visitor Profile, Santa Cruz County Conference and Visitors Council, State of California Office of Statewide health Planning & Development (OSHPD).
Higher Education and Marine Science Data Tracker
- Educational Attainment
- UC Santa Cruz – Budget Sources
- UC Santa Cruz – Undergraduate Degrees Awarded
- UC Santa Cruz – Source of Student Transfers
- CSUMB – Undergraduate Degrees Awarded
- CSUMB – Source of Student Transfers
- Community Colleges – Student Transfers to UC and CSU Schools
- Community Colleges – Degrees Awarded
- Marine Science – Budget and Staff
- Marine Science – Degrees Awarded
Note: Data included is among the most recent from the following sources: U.S. Census American Community Survey, UC Santa Cruz, UC Information Center Data Warehouse, CSU Monterey Bay, The California State University, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, Monterey Bay Crescent Ocean Research Consortium (MBCORC).
Higher Education Demographics Data Tracker
- UC Santa Cruz – Student Ethnicity
- UC Santa Cruz – Student Enrollment by Field of Study
- Community Colleges – Student Headcount
- Community Colleges – Student Age Group Composition
- Community Colleges – Student Ethnicity Composition
- Community Colleges – Facultly
Note: Data included is among the most recent from the following sources: UC Santa Cruz, UC Information Center Data Warehouse, CSU Monterey Bay, The California State University, California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office
MBEP gives a special thanks to local software company, Looker, for providing us with the Looker platform that powers the MBEP Regional Dashboard and data trackers on a pro bono basis. Looker has generously provided help and support throughout the process of building the MBEP Dashboard.