HOME: Oakland Equity Indicators | Housing | Essential Services

A lack of essential services can have a significant impact on the daily lives of residents. The three Indicators in this Topic measure three different types of essential services: plumbing facilities, energy (i.e., electricity, gas), and high-speed Internet. Plumbing facilities are necessary for the basic functions of a home, energy costs should not place too large a burden on households and families, and high-speed Internet has become a crucial component of work, school, and social life.

The Essential Services Topic received a score of 36.0, and the Indicators in this topic received similar scores. The energy cost burden Indicator received the highest score in the Topic (38), while the complete plumbing facilities and high-speed Internet access indicators both received scores of 35.

African American individuals were the most likely to not have complete plumbing facilities in their homes (1.63%). White individuals were the least likely to lack complete plumbing facilities in their homes (0.59%), followed closely by Asian individuals (0.61%) and Latino individuals (0.69%). Citywide, 0.81% of Oaklanders lacked complete plumbing facilities in their homes. African Americans were 2.78 times more likely than Whites to live in housing units without complete plumbing facilities.

The median energy cost burden for African American households was 2.4%, compared to 1.0% for White households. Latino households spent 1.9% of their income on energy costs, on average. The median energy cost burden for Asian households was 1.3%, which was similar to the citywide median of 1.4%. The median energy cost burden for African American households was 2.34 times higher than the cost burden for White households.

African American individuals were the most likely to not have high speed Internet access at home (40.8%), followed by Latino individuals (33.5%). White individuals were least likely to lack high speed Internet access at home (14.6%). Among Asian individuals, 25.2% did not have access to high speed Internet at home, slightly lower than the citywide percent (26.8%). African Americans were 2.79 times more likely than Whites to not have high speed Internet access at home.