Measure of America
We work with partners to: identify areas of need, build consensus about priorities, pinpoint levers for change, and track progress over time. Part of the Social Science Research Council.
- The Galveston County Daily News recently published an article about youth disconnection in Texas’ Galveston County, highlighting findings from our report, Building Bright Futures in Greater Houston.
- Our partner Adriana Wilson is quoted, describing how “these young people are a largely untapped labor force. Many could thrive in high-demand careers but lack access to guidance, training and support.”
- Read the article and our report here: www.galvnews.com/news/one-in-... measureofamerica.org/houston/
- The Kinder Institute for Urban Research at Rice University recently published an article featuring data from our recent report, Building Bright Futures in Greater Houston.
- The article highlights Houston’s slow progress in reconnecting out-of-work and out-of-school youth and young adults relative to other metro areas, and the economic and social benefits that come with connecting these young people to employment and education opportunities.
- Read the article and our report here: kinder.rice.edu/urbanedge/de... measureofamerica.org/houston/
- Reposted by Measure of America@alex-powers.bsky.social, associate director of @measureofamerica.bsky.social, discussed MOA's new report on youth disconnection, "Building Bright Futures in Greater Houston," on @houstonpublicmedia.bsky.social this morning: www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/sho...
- The Texas Tribune released a story this week by Sneha Dey about the barriers to school and work that young mothers in Houston face. This story features research from our report, Building Bright Futures in Greater Houston, that highlights this issue, among others.
- Two other key findings are featured: young people as a whole in Houston are far more disconnected from work and school than the US as a whole or other metro areas; and of the well-paying jobs in the Houston area that don’t require a BA, 3 in 4 are held by young men.
- This work, produced in partnership with with ACAM, GHOYC, and the William Stamps Farish Fund, is the culmination of a long development process & we are glad that it is drawing attention to the need in Houston to build pathways for all young people to have second chances and realize their potential
- Read the story and report here: www.texastribune.org/2025/12/02/t... measureofamerica.org/houston/
- The report is now live! Read it on our website: measureofamerica.org/houston/
- LAUNCHING SOON: Our forthcoming report, Building Bright Futures in Greater Houston, will be released tonight. In advance of that, we will share some of the report’s key findings in this thread.
- KEY FINDING 1: In Greater Houston, 13.3 percent of youth and young adults ages 16 to 24 are not in school and not working, 124,500 total. This is 2.4 percentage points higher than the national rate (10.9 percent) and higher than the rate in Texas as a whole (12.5 percent).
- Of the top 25 most populous metro areas in the United States, Greater Houston has the highest disconnection rate.
-
View full threadKEY FINDING 5: In Greater Houston, 36,400 young adults 16 to 24 who have a high school diploma but no bachelor’s or higher degree have jobs that earn more than $40,000 annually. The vast majority of these jobs are held by men.
- NEW REPORT: Measure of America released Youth Disconnection in The Rapides Foundation Service Area 2025, the latest edition in our series focusing on opportunity youth in rural central Louisiana produced in partnership with The Rapides Foundation. Read here: measureofamerica.org/youth-discon...
- Reposted by Measure of AmericaHalf a million young Californians aren't in school or work. Most are men
- Measure of America research on youth disconnection was used in a recent @calmatters.org article on disconnection in California, spotlighting particularly high rates for Black and Native young men.
- Director Kristen Lewis was quoted in the article and emphasized the importance of support systems for young people and the need for different pathways to reconnection. Read the full article here: calmatters.org/economy/2025...
- Measure of America is hosting a second round of our Technical Assistance Data Clinic for NYC nonprofits. This free, interactive program is designed to empower New York City nonprofit leaders to use data to better target their services, increase their impact, and communicate their results.
- Participants will get to create their own projects using data that are relevant to their needs. The program will consist of four workshops from October 29th to November 19th. Applications are open and close on October 20th—sign up for free now: forms.gle/j6vruXg2Mt9P...
- We're also offering free demos of DATA2GO.NYC to show interested users the tool’s new indicators and other features. You can sign up now for a demo on either October 9th, 12-1pm or October 15th, 1-2pm. Learn more and register: measureofamerica.org/d2g-landing/. Feel free to share with your networks!
- Measure of America research on youth disconnection informed a @csmonitor.bsky.social article highlighting Las Vegas programs working to reduce the city’s 14.8% disconnection rate. Director Kristen Lewis drew attention to girls & young women, who can be overlooked in conversations about reconnection.
- Our research, referenced in the article, shows that among young adults 22–24 years old, young women are disconnected at a higher rate than young men, 15.2% compared to 13.8%, and have steeper on-ramps to well-paying jobs that don’t require a bachelor’s degree. www.csmonitor.com/USA/Educatio...
- We’re excited that Lower Manhattan’s local newspaper, The Broadsheet, is starting a new series sharing insights about life in Lower Manhattan using data from DATA2GO.NYC.
- Their first article featured Measure of America data on human development and other core statistics. Keep an eye out for future articles that will cover health, education, public safety, and more! Read the article here: www.ebroadsheet.com/participator...
- Measure of America presented at JobsFirstNYC’s Adapting to the Future of Work convening last week. Tara Shawa and Kate Harvey presented about how DATA2GO.NYC can be used to inform workforce development strategies.
- As we start writing our annual report on youth disconnection, we’re thankful for our collaboration with Andrew Moore, and all the communities we’ve engaged through the National League of Cities and in the course of our other work.
- We were thrilled to participate at the National Youth Employment Coalition annual forum in May alongside our wonderful co-presenters, Andrew Moore, Rachel Snyder, and Emily Norris.
- We enjoyed working with you to incorporate local data and mapping into reengagement plans; and are looking forward to summarizing this work in our annual report!
- This new report from the Illinois Policy Institute emphasizes investing in a career-first educational system to promote upward mobility. Measure of America data on youth disconnection are referenced to underline the importance of connecting young people to opportunities aside from four-year college
- Read more here: www.illinoispolicy.org/reports/beyo...
- A new article from the LIC Post describes the dramatic rise in well-being in three neighborhoods in western Queens. Using data from our tool, DATA2GO.NYC, the article highlights levels of educational attainment and school enrollment, income disparities, and improvements in health outcomes.
- Read the full article here: licpost.com/lic-sunnysid... And explore well-being across New York City’s neighborhoods here: data2go.nyc
- We love when our data is used to help connect people to services! In Knoxville, TN, Measure of America data are being used to help young people find employment in ZIP codes with high youth disconnection rates. This map was created through a partnership with the National League of Cities.
- Read about the program here: www.knoxnews.com/story/news/l...
- NYC non-profits: There is still one more day to apply to our technical assistance program! Learn more and submit your application here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...
- Last week, the Measure of America team presented at the National Youth Employment Coalition Annual Forum. In the morning, Kristen Lewis and Alex Powers presented on the latest national trends in youth disconnection.
- In the afternoon, Kate Harvey co-presented with Andrew Moore of National League of Cities, Emily Norris, Rachel Snyder, and Alex Powers about how data and mapping can inform local reengagement strategies. #NYECAnnualForum
- We’re so excited that the revamped DATA2GO.NYC is live! The tool contains over 400 indicators of well-being and access to opportunity across New York City’s nearly 200 neighborhoods. Below is a preview of some of the data featured on the site, but the tool contains so much more.
- If you’d like to learn about how to use this tool in your work, we’ll be hosting another free, open-to-the-public demo of the tool this Wednesday, and a technical assistance program for NYC nonprofits over the summer. Learn more and register here: measureofamerica.org/d2g-landing/
- We are excited that the Measure of America team will be presenting at the National Youth Employment Coalition Annual Forum tomorrow in Minneapolis! #NYECAnnualForum
- In the morning, we’ll be hosting a featured session on the latest trends in youth disconnection, and in the afternoon, we’ll be presenting with the National League of Cities on how data and mapping can inform local reengagement strategies.
- Yesterday we were thrilled to launch the updated DATA2GO.NYC! A huge thank you to everyone who made this event possible: our incredible speakers Tracy Perrizo, Zachariah Hennessey from @wearephsny.bsky.social Meg Barnette from CFAR, and Anila Cobo from NYC Civic Engagement Commission.
- Thank you to @helmsleytrust.bsky.social for their visionary support of DATA2GO.NYC since 2014, WNYC’s the Greene Space for hosting us in their space, Group Gordon for their strategic support, our colleagues at @ssrc.org, our designer Rosten Woo, and developer Codie See.
- Go to data2go.nyc to see the tool and explore over 400 indicators of well-being and access to opportunity across New York City’s nearly 200 neighborhoods.
- We’re also offering free, open-to-the-public demos of the tool, and a technical assistance program for NYC nonprofits. Learn more here: measureofamerica.org/d2g-landing/
- Please join us at the launch of the updated DATA2GO.NYC on April 30th at the @wnyc.org Greene Space! Learn more about the event and register here: www.eventbrite.com/e/data2gonyc...
