About Statewide Database

Statewide Database (SWDB) is the official redistricting database for the state of California. Since the 2001 redistricting, our data have been used for state legislative, Congressional, Board of Equalization and local redistrictings as mandated by law. Data collection and processing for redistricting are ongoing tasks conducted over a ten year period of time, starting with the receipt of the decennial census at the beginning of each decade. With each statewide election between redistrictings, we provide updated datasets as a free, nonpartisan public resource as soon as they are processed. Currently, the data are being collected for the 2031 redistricting.

Our staff can provide support with projects relating to redistrictings and/or the demographic and political make-up of California, including downloading and formatting our data, using statistical analysis packages, and working with Geographical Information Systems softwares. In this capacity, we have provided journalists with data for articles, assisted students with complex data analysis, taught graduate-level courses on redistricting in California at higher education institutions, and more. Non-profit organizations regularly utilize the database to create demographic maps with densities of particular populations in order to identify locations for new service providers.

Watch this short video to learn what is the Statewide Database

Our Mission Statement

Statewide Database staff is dedicated to providing no-cost, nonpartisan support and assistance to all interested in using our data, including the general public. We strive to make our data accessible to all and are continuously updating our products with a focus on accessibility and ease of use.

We are located on University of California, Berkeley's campus. Our mailing address is provided below.

Statewide Database
University of California, Berkeley
M126 School of Law
Berkeley, CA 94720-7200

Statewide Database staff are available to give presentations on our data and their use. Please contact us with feedback, suggestions, or any questions via e-mail ([email protected]), by phone at (510) 642-9086, or to make an appointment to drop by our offices.

The History of the Statewide Database

Statewide Database emerged from a database that was originally created for California's State Assembly, to be used in the redistricting of 1981. Legislative redistricting is the process in which the lines of the State Senate and Assembly districts are redrawn every ten years following the new census. Redistricting is a complex process in which a variety of criteria have to be taken into consideration. One of these criteria is the constitutionally mandated 'equal population' rule that states that districts shall roughly contain the same number of residents. Other criteria include contiguity, compactness and respect for communities of interest, not necessarily in that order. Some criteria are at odds with each other and interpretation of what should or ought to be done varies widely. Consequently, a detailed database that gives legislators, and now the California Citizens Redistricting Commission and other interested parties, the opportunity to look at the variables important to them, and provides the freedom to draw different redistricting plans to evaluate the outcomes for the population of interest, is of great importance. During the redistricting of 1981, the database was not nearly as sophisticated as it has evolved to be at this point. Technologies such as Geographical Information Systems (GIS) were not available, and paper maps had to be edited manually. Statistical packages were more difficult to use and much more expensive than today. The general public was practically excluded from the process of redistricting simply due to these factors. Much has changed since then.

In 1993, the California Legislature voted to house the database permanently in a nonpartisan environment. The location at the University of California assures open access to the public, and places the database in an environment that welcomes academic input, which in turn is a benefit to the project.

Statewide Database’s data are a public resource and available free of charge to anyone interested in the political and demographic make-up of the State of California.