More than 60 percent of adults living in areas of San Marcos, Vista and Escondido did not graduate from high school, according to state data, and research shows they may be more adversely affected by pollution.

According to the California Environmental Protection Agency, educational attainment plays a major role in how communities are affected by pollution.

Studies show communities with a highly-educated population tend to be less polluted, while adults with less education have more pollution-related health problems and are more likely to die from the effects of air pollution.

In an area of San Marcos, south of West Mission Road and north of West San Marcos Boulevard, about 67 percent of people over the age of 25 are not high school educated, the largest proportion in San Diego County.


Data show this same area has more overall pollution than 41 percent of all areas in California.

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The California EPA uses educational attainment data, along with other socioeconomic and public health conditions, and measurements of more than a dozen sources of pollution to help identify environmentally-disadvantaged communities. The data is analyzed on a census tract level, which are small geographic areas inside cities and counties.


In an area of Vista, between North Santa Fe Avenue and East Vista Way, about 66 percent of adults do not have a high school degree. Pollution levels are higher than about 33 percent of all California census tracts.

An area in Escondido, between Valley Parkway and East Lincoln Avenue, comes next. It’s pollution is worse than about half of the state.

It’s followed by a census tract in Logan Heights, south of Ocean View Boulevard and north of Main Street, where nearly 60 percent of adults are not high school educated. Pollution in that area is worse than 99 percent of all census tracts in California.

According to the EPA, research shows effects of air and traffic-related pollution on respiratory illness, including childhood asthma, are more severe in communities with lower levels of education.


Data show the rate of asthma-related emergency room visits in the Logan Heights area was 127.1 per 10,000 people from 2011 through 2013. That’s a higher asthma rate than 97 percent of all areas in California.

About 75 to 80 percent of the people living in San Marcos, Vista, Escondido and Logan Heights are also living below the federal poverty level.

On the other end of the spectrum are census tracts in La Jolla, Pacific Beach and Carlsbad, where nearly all adults age 25 or more have a high school diploma.

Pollution in the La Jolla area is almost non-existent. Data show it’s overall pollution score, which is based on all data collected by the California EPA, is 1.09 — the third best in the state. Pacific Beach and Carlsbad have low pollution as well, scoring better than about 92 percent of the state.


All pollution, socioeconomic and public health data are collected for CalEnviroScreen 3.0, an interactive tool created by state officials to help identify environmentally-disadvantaged communities. It was created after Gov. Jerry Brown passed legislation requiring 25 percent of cap-and-trade auction proceeds to go to projects located in communities particularly vulnerable to pollution and its effects.

CalEnviroScreen was not able to calculate reliable education levels for eight census tracts due to low populations. These areas were excluded from the rankings and analysis.

All education data was collected from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey for 2011 to 2015.

More neighborhood pollution and public health maps:

» Cardiovascular disease rates


» Garbage-filled neighborhoods

» Pesticide exposure

» Diesel emission levels

» Hazardous waste


» Toxic air environments

» Ozone or smog concentrations


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