This fact sheet presents new statewide estimates from the California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) of the number of people in 2024 who experienced or witnessed an act of hate in the past year. These hate acts included physical attacks, verbal abuse, cyberbullying, property damage, and other types of incidents (e.g., emotional abuse). Criminal hate acts are a subset of these incidents and include physical attacks and property damage. The fact sheet provides overall statewide estimates, as well as separate estimates for adults and adolescents. It also highlights the most common types of hate acts, where they happened, and reasons why victims believed they were targeted, noting some key differences between adults and adolescents. Finally, it also compares results from the 2024 CHIS to those from 2023 to assess changes.

Findings: Nine percent of Californians ages 12 and older (approximately 3.1 million people) directly experienced an act of hate in the past year, significantly higher than 2023. Adults were significantly more likely to report experiencing hate in 2024 (9%) compared to 2023 (7%). Although the prevalence of hate acts among adolescents did not significantly change between 2023 and 2024, adolescents remained nearly twice as likely as adults to report these experiences (17% vs. 9%). Among Californians who experienced any hate in the past year, the most common form was verbal abuse or insults, reported by 83% (2.6 million people). More than half (55%) of respondents who experienced hate in the past year reported that it was due to their race or skin color (approximately 1.7 million people). Other common reasons respondents reported being targeted included ancestry, origin, or language (21%), gender or sex, including gender identity (17%), sexual orientation (15%), age (13%), religion (12%), and disability status (7%).