A recent study from the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) has found that experiences of hate acts in California vary significantly by race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual identity, disability status, and housing stability. The findings are based on data from the 2023 and 2024 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), which is recognized as the largest population-representative state health survey in the United States.
According to the report, about 9% of Californians aged 12 and older reported experiencing a hate act in the previous year. However, certain groups faced much higher rates. Among transgender and gender-expansive individuals, more than one in four (26%) reported experiencing a hate act—over three times the rate for cisgender respondents. Adults with unstable housing also saw elevated rates at 20%, while 18% of Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (NHPI) respondents and 16% of Black or African American respondents experienced hate acts.
“Hate is not felt equally among people in California,” said Alex Bates, CHIS senior data analyst and lead author of the study. “Our study’s findings about how different groups are affected by hate are critically important for knowing how to address the serious negative mental and physical health consequences that experiencing or witnessing hate acts can have.”
Hate acts include both criminal offenses such as physical violence and noncriminal incidents like verbal abuse or insults motivated by bias against an individual’s identity or beliefs.
The California Department of Justice reports that documented hate crimes increased by 142% between 2015 and 2024. In addition, CHIS data showed that approximately 3.1 million Californians ages 12 and older directly experienced a hate act in the year before they were surveyed—a half-million increase compared to the previous year.
By race and ethnicity, NHPIs had the highest rate at 18%, followed by Black or African American (16%), multiracial (16%), Middle Eastern or North African (13%), American Indian or Alaska Native (13%), Asian (10%), Latinx (9%), and white Californians (8%).
Sexual identity was also associated with differing rates: respondents identifying as lesbian, gay, bisexual, pansexual or another nonheterosexual identity experienced hate acts at twice the rate of heterosexual respondents (16% vs. 8%).
Disability status played a role as well; adults living with a disability reported nearly double the rate of hate incidents compared to those without disabilities (12% vs. 7%). Housing instability further heightened risk: adults reporting unstable housing experienced hate at almost three times the rate of those with stable housing.
The study analyzed regional differences across seven areas in California using predictive modeling to account for small sample sizes within specific populations. For example, Black or African American residents in Northern/Sierra counties had a predicted rate of experiencing a hate act at 30%, more than triple the statewide average for all residents aged 12 and up.
Transgender and gender-expansive individuals faced their highest predicted rates in the Greater Bay Area at 39%. Sexually diverse individuals also had their highest predicted rates there at 22%. Among adults with disabilities, predicted rates ranged from a high of 16% on the Central Coast to a low of 11% in Southern California counties including Orange, San Bernardino, Imperial, San Diego and Riverside. For adults facing unstable housing situations, Sacramento area residents had a predicted high rate of 35%.
“The Bay Area’s strong support for LGBTQ+-residents may be associated with greater awareness of hate experiences for these populations, though our data cannot determine why these patterns occur,” Bates said. “This proves once again the importance of data and the California Health Interview Survey.”
In response to growing concerns about underreporting due to distrust between some communities and law enforcement agencies, one key recommendation from this report is providing non-police options for reporting hate acts and accessing victim support.
“Our understanding about how many people are affected by hate acts comes from data,” said Susan Babey, director of research at UCLA CHPR and co-author of the study. “Without this information, it would be so much more difficult to create and direct resources to the areas and people that could most use the help.”
UCLA is known nationally and internationally for its achievements in scholarship—including Nobel laureates—and fosters diversity through its academic programs according to its official website. The university operates within the University of California system on its Los Angeles campus.
