Key takeaways
- Hate acts are defined as incidents motivated by bias against people based on their identities, characteristics or beliefs, and are not necessarily crimes.
- About 500,000 more Californians aged 12 and older experienced a hate act in 2024 compared with 2023.
- 1.7 million Californians who experienced hate acts in the past year said they were targeted because of their race or skin color.
In 2024, approximately 3.1 million Californians 12 and older directly experienced a hate act in the previous year, according to the newest California Health Interview Survey data, which was a half million more than the 2.6 million people in 2023 who said they experienced a hate act in the previous 12 months.
When asked about witnessing a hate act, 15% of Californians aged 12 and older (4.8 million people) reported witnessing one in the previous 12 months, which is a similar percentage as 2023.
These findings about occurrences of hate incidents are part of the annual California Health Interview Survey (CHIS), which now includes 2024 data. The information about hate incidents can be found in a new fact sheet produced by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research (CHPR) in partnership with the California Civil Rights Department (CRD). In 2023, the CRD began sponsoring questions that were added to the annual CHIS to gain a clearer understanding of the overall impact of hate acts across California.
"The data show that hate is pervasive," said Alex Bates, senior data analyst for the California Health Interview Survey and lead author of the fact sheet. "But understanding the types of hate acts people experience, reasons they are targeted and where these incidents occur can help better inform approaches to prevent and address hate in California."
Hate acts are defined as incidents motivated by bias against people based on their identities, characteristics or beliefs. Hate acts, which can include acts that are criminal in nature, include physical violence, verbal abuse, cyberbullying, property damage and other types of incidents (e.g., emotional abuse).
Each year, the California Health Interview Survey conducts interviews with more than 20,000 households, which is extensive enough to be statistically representative of California's diverse population. The 2024 CHIS included responses from 24,810 adults and 1,021 adolescents. CHIS data for 2024 revealed the most common types of hate acts, as well as reasons why victims believed they were targeted. Among the key findings related to the approximately 3.1 million Californians 12 and older who experienced hate in 2024:
- 83% of Californians 12 and older who experienced hate in the past year (2.6 million people) encountered verbal abuse or insults.
- 55% of Californians 12 and older who experienced hate in the past year (1.7 million people) said they were targeted because of their race or skin color.
- 40% of Californians 12 and older who experienced hate were targeted based on multiple identities or characteristics, such as ancestry, gender identity, sexual orientation or disability status.
CHIS also showed significant differences between the experiences of adults and adolescents. Adolescents were nearly twice as likely as adults to experience hate (17% of adolescents and 9% of adults), and more than twice as likely as adults to witness hate in the past year (35% versus 13%).
Adults and adolescents typically experienced hate incidents in different places, according to CHIS. The street or sidewalk was the most common location for adults who experienced hate (43%). The remaining common locations for adults who experienced hate were businesses (35%), the workplace (24%) or at home (24%).
More than 4 in 5 adolescents who experienced hate (83%) encountered it at school. Other common locations where adolescents experienced hate were online (29%), on a street or sidewalk (20%) or at home (20%).
"Including questions about hate acts in the California Health Interview Survey allows us to leverage the power of the largest state-based population health survey in the country to gain a better understanding of an urgent public health issue that affects people's well-being," said Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the principal investigator of the California Health Interview Survey.
Among those who experienced hate in 2024, CHIS data showed that 21% faced a hate act that was potentially criminal (such as hate-based physical violence and/or property damage). In other words, approximately 649,000 Californians 12 and older experienced an act of hate that was potentially criminal in nature in 2024.
Although hate crimes reported to the California Department of Justice increased by 142% between 2015 and 2024, the total number of reported hate crime events in California in 2024 was only 2,023. Consistent with past research into hate crime reporting, this suggests significant underreporting remains an issue.
