Compare by Region: The colored gauge gives a visual representation of how your community is
doing in comparison to other communities. The three-colored dial represents the distribution of values from the
reporting regions (e.g. counties in the state) ordered from those doing the best to those doing the worst (sometimes
lower values are better and in other cases higher values are better). From that distribution, the green represents the
top 50th percentile, the yellow represents the 25th to 50th percentile, and the red represents the "worst" quartile.
Compare by Average: This gauge shows how the Sonoma County value compares with the median or mean value for all counties in the
state (or all US counties). The gauge is blue and white when being higher (or lower) is not necessarily good or bad and is multi-colored when
being higher (or lower) is good or bad.
Compare by Time Period: This gauge shows whether the Sonoma County value is increasing or decreasing over time. A green arrow means
the value is improving and a red arrow means the value is getting worse. The = (equal) sign means that there is not a significant increase or
decrease since the last measurement.
Target: This gauge shows whether or not the Sonoma County value meets a specific target. The Sonoma County value is represented by the
left bar and the target value by the right bar.
Target: This gauge shows whether or not a specific target is met. A green check means
the target is met and a red "X" means the target is not met.
What is this Indicator? This indicator shows the percent of growth or decline in the resident population since the 2000 U.S. Census.
Why this is important: Population change is an important indicator of the demand on community resources such as schools, hospitals, and roads, as well as environmental resources including energy, food, and water consumption. Policymakers use this information for decision-making on economic and infrastructure plans.
Technical note: This distribution is based on the average state population change from U.S. Census data.
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