Los Angeles County departments use demographic data for planning purposes and to develop resource allocation formulas. Los Angeles County has had an ongoing relationship with WRMA since 1999 to prepare demographic databases and reports to meet the needs of various County departments.

WRMA provides demographic estimates and projections for census tracts, service planning areas, and supervisor districts annually. These reports also include estimates and projections of the County’s population by age, race/ethnicity, sex, poverty status, and medical insurance status.

To perform this work, the project team obtains and validates tract-level files on vital records, licensed drivers, registered voters, and housing units. Other data for larger geographic areas include school enrollments and surveys. The WRMA model updates data from the most recent census to make estimates for the current year and projections in five-year intervals. The project team compares the population estimates and projections to county- and city-level estimates and projections from the Bureau of the Census and California’s Demographic Research Unit. Examples of specific estimates include poverty estimates and estimates of children in families with specific income and employment characteristics.