Attachment A
1 Palo Alto Boards, Committees, and Commissions
Demographic Data Survey 2021
Conducted Summer 2021
A total of 34 participants responded to the survey. The survey was shared with members of all of Palo Alto’s Boards, Committees, and Commissions (BCCs). The results reflect aggregate voluntary information shared from BCC members. Most questions show the table and chart results as percentages.
Survey Results:
Years Percent
0-5 years 3%
6-10 years 9%
11-15 years 9%
16-20 years 6%
21+ years 71%
Not a Palo Alto
resident 3%
Grand Total 100%
Reason Percent
I (or my partner) moved here to
attend Stanford 12%
Just liked the community 3%
Moved here to live near family* 9%
Moved here to live near work 32%
Moved here to raise a family 18%
Not a Palo Alto Resident 3%
Palo Alto is my hometown (I was
born or raised here as a child)* 18%
Schools* 6%
Grand Total 100%
*Palo Alto as hometown also includes spouses, "Schools" was a written -in response, “Moved here to live with family” also includes one "other" who said they moved here to live near friends. 3% 9% 9% 6%
71%
3%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
0-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years 16-20 years 21+ years Not a Palo Alto
resident
Question 1: How many years have you lived
in Palo Alto?
12% 3% 9%
32%
18%
3%
18%
6%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
Question 2: What is the primary reason
you initially located to Palo Alto?
Attachment A
2 Question 3: Housing - Do you own or rent your current residence? (For the purpose of the survey, you own your home even if you have an outstanding debt that you owe on your mortgage loan).
Own/Rent Percent
Own 85%
Rent 12%
Not a Palo Alto
Resident 3%
Grand Total 100%
Gender Percent
Female 50%
Male 50%
Non-binary 0%
Decline to state 0%
Grand Total 100%
Not a Palo
Alto
Resident
3%
Own
85%
Rent
12%
Question 3: Rent, Own, Other
Female
50%
Male
50%
Question 4: What is your Gender?
Attachment A
3 Age Group Percent
25-39 15%
40-59 35%
60+ 47%
Decline to state 3%
Grand Total 100%
15%
35%
47%
3%
Question 5: What is your age group?
25-39
40-59
60+
Decline to state
Race / Ethnicity Percent
American Indian or Alaskan Native 0%
Asian 9%
Black or African American 0%
Hispanic or Latino/Latinx and White 6%
Multi-racial 3%
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific
Islander 0%
White 71%
Decline to state 12%
Other 0%
Total 100%
0% 9% 0% 6% 3% 0%
71%
12% 0%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Question 6: Race and Ethnicity (check all
that apply).
Attachment A
4 Question 7: Education - What is your highest level of school completed? If currently enrolled, mark "Student".
* No respondents chose “Student” so it is not
listed in this chart.
Question 8: How do you identify your socioeconomic status? (Note: this was an open-ended question; answers were coded/tallied)
Self-Described
Socioeconomic Status Percent
Upper Middle Class 29%
N/A 29%
Middle Class 26%
Adequate 3%
Lower Middle Class 3%
Secure 3%
Upper Class 3%
Do Not Understand
Question. 3%
Grand Total 100%
Question 9: What is your Employment Status
Status Percent
Employed full-time 35%
Retired 35%
Employed part-time 15%
Seeking opportunities 9%
A homemaker 3%
Self-employed 3%
Grand Total 100%
Education Percent
Bachelor's degree 21%
Master's degree 44%
Doctorate degree (e.g. PhD, EdD, MD,
etc.) 32%
Decline to state 3%
Grand Total 100%
21%
44%
32%
3%
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
50%
Bachelor's
degree
Master's
degree
Doctorate
degree (e.g.
PhD, EdD, MD,
etc.)
Decline to
state
Question 7: Education
Attachment A
5 Question 10: Employer Type: Please Describe Your Work
Employer Type Percent
Employee of a for-profit company or of an individual, for wages, salary, or commissions 35% Self-employed 24%
Government employee 12%
Retired 12%
Employee of a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, or charitable organization 6% Decline to state 3%
Self-employed and Employee of a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, or charitable organization 3% Self-employed and Employee of a for-profit company or of an individual, for wages, salary, or commissions 3%
Currently not working 3%
Working without pay in family business or farm 0%
Total 100%
Question 11: Employment Location – Note the general area in which your employer is located.
Location Percent
Palo Alto 26%
San Jose or Silicon Valley outside of Palo
Alto 21%
N/A 18%
San Francisco 18%
Decline to state 3%
Home 3%
Out of State 3%
San Mateo County 3%
Santa Clara & San Mateo County 3%
Southern California 3%
Grand Total 100%
Attachment A
6 Question 13: How did you hear about the opportunity to join your current Board/Commission/ Committee? (Check all that apply)
Question 14: Are you a member of a Board/Commission/Committee that conducts quasi-judicial hearings (Architectural Review Board, Historic Resources Board, or Planning Transportation Commission)?
No 68%
Yes 32%
Grand Total 100%
65%
26%
9%
Question 12: Number of children under the age
of 18 live in your household?
0 1-2
3-4
Attachment A
7 Question 15: Do you have any additional comments? [Open-ended responses are provided below]
Council should appoint the best candidates available at the time there are openings. Do not set up a quasi-quota system to mandate diverse candidate membership.
The HRB needs to hire a Historic Planner. HRB has been without a historic planner for several years.
This has had a major impact on the ability of the HRB to function.
It is an honor to serve the City of Palo Alto!
Thank you!
Thank you for gathering this information. It is my hope that our boards and commissions are represented by all people of Palo Alto. A diverse board brings more conversation and better decisions.
The real diversity problem on our b&c’s is a diversity of expertise. Too many under qualified individuals without proper knowledge making recommendations.
Retired, but employer was initially in Palo Alto, then Santa Clara, then Cupertino, then SF It has been an honor to serve
Thanks
Thank You!
Glad you are doing the survey. It seems to be very tough to find folks to serve currently I am in favor of the new policy limited individuals to two terms on boards and commissions.
Attachment A
8 For context of the broader community demographics in Palo Alto as of the 2020 Census and the 2010 Census, below are two charts which represent the community demographics. Source: US Census Bureau and Palo Alto Weekly.