Vital Signs: Explore Trends, Visualize Data.

The pulse of the Bay Area.

Header
Land & People
Perhaps the most basic view of the region pertains to its overall population and the jobs it holds. Changes here can impact demand for new homes, impacting existing communities or requiring new ones.
Land & People Stats in the Bay Area

30%

of Bay Area residents lived in the three most populous cities (San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland) in 2021

25%

The number of jobs in our region increased by 25% from 1990 through 2021

28,500

In the Bay Area in 2022 housing permits were issued for 28,500 units according to CIRB data

Transportation
The transportation system is the backbone of the regional economy and community - connecting people to places, workers to employers and goods to markets. Continued investments in the transportation network is critical to allow for the movement of freight and people.
Transportation Stats in the Bay Area

247Mboardings

Total annual boardings across all transit operators in the Bay Area was over 247 million in 2022

33%

of Bay Area commuters worked from home in 2021

142Mmiles

were driven by Bay Area residents each weekday in 2020

Economy
The economy is the critical productive nexus where goods and services are provided and revenue and salaries enter the hands of consumers. A healthy economy creates value for companies and workers. This group of indicators encompasses a range of measures related to economic activity.
Economy Stats in the Bay Area

$2,000+

The median monthly rent payment in the Bay Area was over $2,000 in 2021

2.4MTEUs

Approximately 2.4 million shipping containers (TEUs) passed through the Port of Oakland in 2021

$1.2trillion

The region's economy generated almost $1.2 trillion in output in 2020

Environment
The regional environment encompasses a range of indicators related to resilience and serve as a benchmark for key risks in our region - from greenhouse gas emissions, sea level rise and bay restoration, the quality of the air we breathe, to the safety performance of our transportation network.
Environment Stats in the Bay Area

50Mtons

of greenhouse gas emissions were attributable to transportation and energy consumption by Bay Area residents in 2015

1257acres

have been restored in the 5 years between 2010 and 2015

472people

were killed as a result of traffic crashes on Bay Area roads in 2020, approximately 1.3 persons per day

Equity
It is critical that the economy and housing market function in ways that minimize disparities between communities; that housing be affordable to a range of household types; that growth doesn’t lead to displacement; that work doesn’t lead to poverty; and that life expectancy is not determined by one’s zip code.
Equity Stats in the Bay Area

13years

difference between the highest and lowest life expectancy for Bay Area zip codes based on 2013 data

18%

of the region’s population lived in households with incomes below 200% of the poverty line in 2021

41%

of Bay Area renters spent more than 35% of their income on housing in 2021

About Vital Signs

Vital Signs is an interactive website by MTC/ABAG that offers data, visualizations, and contextualized narratives on important trends in the SF Bay Area related to land use, transportation, the environment, the economy, and equity. The San Francisco Bay Area has established an innovative monitoring initiative to track trends related to transportation, land and people, the economy, the environment and equity. Measurements in these areas are our region’s Vital Signs, helping us understand where we are succeeding and where we are falling short. Led by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG), this effort relies upon extensive collaboration with the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission and the Bay Area Regional Collaborative.\

Learn more about Vital Signs
We work to make data accessible.

We make it easy for people and organizations to download graphs and datasets so they can use our data in their work.

We care about history & trends.

You can explore historical trends, examine differences between cities and counties, and compare the Bay Area with other areas.

We want you to use the data.

We make it easy for people and organizations to download graphs and datasets so they can use our data in their work.

Header

The Vital Signs initiative is led by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) and the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).

mtc logo
association of bay area governments logo
bay area air quality management district logo
san francisco bay conservation and development commission logo
bay area regional collaborative logo

2024 Vital Signs. All right reserved.