Today, the City of Tulsa and the Tulsa Area United Way (TAUW) released the seventh Tulsa Equality Indicators report, with results showing a continued overall score increase from the 2018 baseline.

The first Tulsa Equality Indicators report was released in 2018 to establish a baseline for understanding inequalities in Tulsa across various areas.

Tulsa’s aggregate City Score for 2024 is 43.09 out of 100, which is greater than any of the scores from the previous six report years (prior years’ scores have been adjusted for indicator changes). This scoring suggests Tulsa may be improving in regard to equality on some of the 54 indicators.

Among the six themes included in the report, Education scored the highest at 55.11, followed by Economic Opportunity at 48.44, Housing at 45.11, Public Health at 41.11, Services at 38.33, and Justice at 30.44.

The full 2024 Tulsa Equality Indicators Report, in addition to learning opportunities and past reports be found online at www.tulsaei.org. 

“The Equality Indicators Report is a benchmarking tool to help us see the areas of least and greatest equality in our city” Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols said. “While I am encouraged by the increase of our overall score, I’m reminded that challenges remain, and there is much work to be done if we want to move Tulsa toward greater equality.”

Compared to the baseline scores from 2018, the total City Score for 2024 is 4.4 points higher than in 2018. Tulsa has shown increased scores in five of the six themes. Education has increased by 16 points, Economic Opportunity by 11 points, Housing by nearly four points, Services by two points, and Public Health by one point. Five indicators in the 2024 report have scores of 100, indicating equality or a reversal of positions of advantage between the two comparison groups.

“Seeing Tulsa's overall Equality Score reach its highest point since the report began in 2018 is certainly welcome news, reflecting the dedicated work happening throughout our community involving so many partners and residents to identify, address, and reduce inequalities,” said Alison Anthony, Tulsa Area United Way President and CEO. “While significant gains show us where certain collaborative efforts are making a tangible difference in people's lives, the data also clearly points to remaining challenges, particularly the decline in the Justice theme, which requires our shared commitment and continued focus. This report serves as a vital tool as we strive united to build a Tulsa community where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.”

Using methodology developed by the City University of New York, Institute for State and Local Governance (CUNY ISLG), the report uses 54 indicators equally distributed across six themes to measure and track the level of inequality in Tulsa. Each indicator is scored on a scale from 1 (high inequality) to 100 (high equality).

The highest scoring indicators, which all received a score of 100, were:

The greatest positive change scores were:

The lowest scoring indicator was “Payday loans and banks by geography.” The indicator with the greatest negative change score was “Infant mortality by race.”

To be added to our listserv to receive updates on presentations and learning sessions please email resilient@cityoftulsa.org. 

May 6 Learning Opportunity

To provide an overview of the latest report and a review of each theme, the City of Tulsa and TAUW will host a presentation on Tuesday, May 6, from 10 – 11:30 a.m. at Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder Ave.

Those interested in attending should RSVP online.