Map of the Month

These custom-crafted maps are developed by ABAG and MTC’s mapmakers who turn data into art to tell compelling stories about important trends in the Bay Area, across the nation and around the world.

Map of school performance and home values
April, 2017

Northern California Mega Region Employment Density

A recent New York Times article examines one of the biggest drivers in a families' decision to leave cities: school. Using data from a number of sources, the New York Times developed charts that look at school performance and median home sale price per square foot for 5 metro areas including New York/New Jersey, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, and Minneapolis. For mostof the cities studied, home prices rise with the quality of the school district but a number of districts break this pattern. The map shown highlights 5 Bay Area schools that perform above average, and have below average housing costs.The New York Times used median price per square foot to measure housing costs and the median number of grades ahead (or behind) for school district quality. In the Bay Area, the price per square foot was around $500 while students were .28 grades ahead of their grade placement. The 5 Bay Area schools that were selected had the lowest home prices and the best performing schools in the region. Source: New York Times .