is a research center housed at the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research (CESR). We conduct basic and applied social science research on issues affecting Los Angeles County residents, with the aim of informing academic research, public discourse, and policy. At the heart of our research is the LABarometer Panel, a probability-based Internet survey panel of approximately 2,000 adults randomly selected from households throughout Los Angeles County. The LABarometer Panel is a sub-panel of the Understanding America Study.

LABarometer has three ongoing data collection efforts:

LABarometer surveys are fielded to the LABarometer Panel on a biannual basis to monitor social and economic conditions in Los Angeles County. These longitudinal surveys focus on four dimensions of individual and community well-being: livability, affordability, mobility, and sustainability. LABarometer surveys include questions about residents’ lives, their attitudes and behaviors, and the challenges they encounter in their communities, filling data gaps on topics ranging from housing insecurity and climate resilience to transportation behavior and the economy. 

COVID-19 tracking surveys are fielded to the LABarometer panel as part of a national survey effort called Understanding Coronavirus in America. This longitudinal survey was launched in March 2020 to track the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on U.S. residents. Surveys cover a number of topics related to COVID-19, including health-related attitudes, preventive health behavior, mental and physical health, employment, discrimination, family, and education.

Our Contextual Database includes hundreds of Los Angeles County neighborhood environment measures culled from administrative and geospatial data sources. These data can be downloaded and used on their own to explore neighborhood conditions in Los Angeles or linked to LABarometer survey data to enrich survey analysis.