How SF compares with other big cities

Here are highlights from the executive summaries in the original benchmarking document from the SF Controller:

Demographics highlights *  Only 13% of San Francisco's residents are under 18, the lowest percentage among peers (20% peer average). *  San Francisco has a significantly lower black population than most peer cities. As of 2014, only 5.7% of residents identified as black or African American. * In 2014, San Francisco had the highest average household income among peers, $112,459. San Francisco does, however, have the highest cost of living among peers. *  63.4% of occupied housing units in San Francisco are renter-occupied, ranking third highest among peers.

Livability highlights *  San Francisco spent $213 per resident on recreation and parks compared to an average of $151 across peers. *  San Francisco libraries logged 8 visits per resident, second highest behind Seattle with 9.4. *  San Francisco residents use 42 gallons of water per day, on average, 14.8 gallons less than its closest peer in California. *  San Francisco's Pavement Condition Index was 68 in 2015, second highest among its peers. Public Safety highlights *  San Francisco has the fourth highest property crime rate among peers. In 2015, 4,726 property crimes were committed per 100,000 daytime population, compared to the peer average of 3,058. *  San Francisco has 190 sworn officers per 100,000 daytime population. This number is virtually equivalent to the peer average for this measure. *  Compared to peer cities, San Francisco has a lower than average 911 call volume. In fiscal year 2014-15, there were 0.57 911 calls per daytime population compared to the 0.85 peer average. * San Francisco County's average daily jail population per 100,000 resident population is 144, lower than seven of eight * surveyed peers.

Safety Net highlights *  The number of San Franciscans in poverty was 105,244, a rate of 12.4 percent, slightly higher than the peer average poverty rate of 11.9 percent. *  San Francisco's average monthly CalFresh enrollment was 52,302 and on average 6 percent of residents per month received benefits compared to 8 percent in peer jurisdictions. *  San Francisco’s count of homeless individuals was 795 per 100,000 population (compared to 479 in peer jurisdictions). *  San Francisco had an average monthly general assistance caseload of 5,826 and on average provided $369 per month to cash grant recipients.

Population Health highlights *  Sixteen percent of San Francisco's population was food insecure, meaning they lacked access to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle, compared to a 13 percent peer average. *  San Francisco's HIV Prevalence (2,004 cases per 100,000 population) was nearly four times greater than the second highest ranked county. *  San Francisco County had 794 mental health providers per 100,000 population, ranking first among peers and higher than the peer average of 390 providers. *  San Francisco had the second smallest percentage of uninsured children (5.2 percent compared to peer average of 6.6 percent) and the smallest percentage of uninsured adults (13.9 percent compared to 18.7 percent) among this peer group.

Transportation highlights *  34% of workers in San Francisco commute to work using public transportation compared to a peer average of 17%. *  There were 3.6 traffic fatalities per 100,000 residents in San Francisco in 2014, lower than the peer average of 5.0. *  On average in 2014, a San Franciscan boarded a public transit vehicle 272 times. This number is much higher than other peer transit systems (65 times). *  The average speed of San Francisco’s motorbuses is 8.1 miles per hour while in service — the slowest speed among peers. *  Total operating expense per passenger trip is $3.05 dollars for San Francisco Muni, below the peer average of $4.05.

Finance highlights *  San Francisco's General Obligation Bond Rating from Moody's is Aa1—the second highest possible rating—and higher than the median rating of Aa2. *  San Francisco's employee pension plan funded ratio is higher than peers (86% compared to 72%). *  San Francisco spent less than budgeted by 4.3% in fiscal year (FY) 2014-15 compared to the peer average of 5.0%. * San Francisco earned 3.9% more revenue than budgeted in FY 2014-15, higher than the 2.5% peer average.

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