About the Equity in Evanston Project:
YWCA Evanston/North Shore is launching this first-of-its-kind project, Equity in Evanston, to begin to explore how our communities are advancing —or failing to advance — equity. Equity means that all community members have access to the same opportunities to achieve their full potential, regardless of their background or identity.
As we developed this project, we asked:
- What do the data on our community and the stories of residents and leaders tell us about equity and opportunity right here in Evanston?
- Are there gaps and barriers preventing some of our neighbors and children from reaching their full potential?
- If so, what can we, as individuals and as a community, do about it?
We provide this preliminary summary to expand the conversation around equity and to encourage us to work collaboratively to take action.
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We all have the right to achieve our full potential, but society isn’t set up to give everyone a fair shot at success. In the United States, racism and gender inequality have deep and far-reaching roots that impact not just how people interact, but how the very founding blocks of our society are shaped.
Inequity is a system built to favor one group of people over another and the results are predictable – some forcibly fall behind while others thrive. Race and gender should not predict one’s destiny.
If we want our communities to be places where everyone has an equal chance to succeed, we must level the playing field. That means confronting the past and committing to a more just future. By amplifying voices that have not been heard, prioritizing solutions to benefit those who have historically been excluded from opportunity, and by changing minds, hearts, and laws, we can finally right past injustices, be more open and inclusive, and set an example for the region and beyond.
Today’s many inequities stem from a legacy of systemic racism and oppression that began long before us. Reversing this is a
complex challenge with no single solution.
Real change requires action at every level:
- SYSTEM: Ensuring that laws and policies include rather than exclude.
- COMMUNITY: Building an inclusive, welcoming society
- ORGANIZATION: Shaping equitable institutional practices
- INDIVIDUAL: Empowering people to recognize the forces of inequity
DEMOGRAPHICS
Population: 75,472
Median age: 35.3
Median Household Income: $71,317
Median Home Value: $367,300
Unemployed: 6.2%
Foreign-born: 19.7%
Bilingual: 23.6%
Source: CMAP (Data as of 2016)
AN INCLUSIVE LEADER
The City of Evanston is committed to inclusion, diversity, and equity. It has made great strides to identify and mitigate barriers that disproportionately impact its residents with the goal of being a place where difference is both welcomed and celebrated, and inclusion is actively practiced – an example that others can learn from.
- EQUITY AND EMPOWERMENT COMMISSION: A nine-person elected body that meets monthly and is tasked with eradicating inequities in City services, programs, human resources, and decision-making.
- HUMAN RIGHTS ORDINANCE: Two decades ago, Evanston was the first municipality in Illinois to include transgender persons in its nondiscrimination policy. The City employs an LGBT liaison and in 2014 received a score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign.
- WELCOMING CITY ORDINANCE: In 2016, the City reaffirmed its ordinance prohibiting City staff and police from inquiring about one’s immigration status.
- CLIMATE ACTION PLAN: The City is also recognized as a climate change leader.
But there still remain barriers to Evanston achieving full equity in its community!
Evanston’s Equity Snapshot

Evanston's Non-White Population
Source: US Census Bureau

Evanston's Per Capita Income
Source: US Census Bureau
3.5x higher
Rates of uninsured Evanston residents of color, as compared to white residents
Source: American Community Survey (2012-2016)
4 years
Difference in life expectancy in primarily non-white communities (79 years old) and primarily white communities (83 years old) in Evanston
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
17%
Proportion of Evanston
residents who are black
Source: US Census Bureau
71%
Proportion of people stopped
and frisked by Evanston Police
who are black
Source: City of Evanston
4.4%
The rate of high-interest loans in a majority white (93%) census tract in Evanston.
48.7%
The rate of high-interest loans in a majority black (55%) census tract in Evanston.
Source: US Dept of Housing and Urban Development
Karen Courtright, Citizen Police Complaint Assessment Ctte.
What Can I Do?
Review our Policy and Advocacy platform to learn about making systems-level change.