The combined index, a popular measure of social development level, for Hebei province in 2011 reached 156.26, an increase of 16.05 percent over the previous year. The annual growth from 2005 to 2011 was 7.72 percent.

The index also measures various other economic metrics. It ranked Hebei’s economic foundation at 202.48, an increase of 28.30 percent over the previous year. The index for population development reached 110.87, an increase of 2.21 percent over 2010; index of people's livelihood was 166.80, an increase of 17.83 percent over 2010; index of public undertakings reached 134.52, an increase of 12.50 percent over the previous year; the index of social security was 99.88, an increase of 2.67 percent over the previous year; and the index of environmental protection was 222.99, an increase of 32.79 percent over the previous year. Population in urban areas reached 33.02 million in 2011, an increase of 1.01 million over 2010. The urbanization level was 45.6 percent, an increase of 1.1 percent over 2010 and an increase of 7.9 percent over 2005. Per capita electricity consumption reached 437 kilowatt-hours, an increase of 43.437 kilowatt-hours over the previous year. Government spending on medical healthcare reached 30.28 billion yuan, an increase of 6.73 billion yuan over the previous year.

Other per capita metrics in 2011 indicate improvements in the quality of life for Hebei residents. Per capita housing area of urban residents reached 32.2 square meters, an increase of 1.7 square meters over the previous year. The per capita housing area in rural regions was 34.1 square meters, an increase of 1.9 square meters over the previous year. Per capita disposable income of urban residents reached 18,292 yuan ($2,881), an increase of 2,029 yuan (12.5 percent) over last year. Per capita net income of rural residents reached 7,120 yuan, an increase of 19.5 percent over 2010.