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Poverty
Poverty In California, General Information
When the peak impacts of the 2008 recession are felt]
the poverty rate is projected to reach ... 17 percent in
California, with nearly 6.7 million people in poverty.
(Flaming, Burns, Matsunaga, 2009)
Between 2007 and 2008, real median household income declined
in the West by 2.0 percent (to $55,085). (U.S. Census
Bureau, Poverty: 2008 Highlights, 2009)
Poverty In California, Regional Information
Poverty varies substantially within California, not only
by region but also by other demographic characteristics;
young children have higher poverty rates (21 percent) than
any other age group, and women have higher poverty rates
than men (16 percent versus 14 percent). (Reed, 2006)
Poverty varies considerable across California's counties.
Several counties in the San Francisco Bay Area (Contra
Costa, Marin, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Sonoma) have
relatively low poverty rates—less than 10 percent. But
counties in the Southern San Joaquin Valley (Fresno, Kern,
and Tulare) have very high rates, around 20 percent. The
poverty rate in n California’s largest county, Los Angeles,
is 15%. (PPIC, 2009)
Poverty In California, The Elderly
The federal poverty guideline for a single person in
2007 was an annual income of $10,210, and for an older
couple it was $13,690 (Exhibit 1). According to ...
calculations at the [California] county level, however, a
basic annual cost of living for a retired older adult with
good health in rental housing in California averages
$21,011, and reaches $27,550 in San Mateo County. For an
older couple the average is $30,472 and reaches $37,263 in
San Mateo County.
Poverty in California, Children and Families
When the peak impacts of the 2008 recession are felt]
the annual number of child welfare emergencies in Los
Angeles County is projected to peak at 195,000 and in
California at 581,000, annual increases over 2007 of 28,000
and 88,000 cases respectively. (Flaming, Burns, Matsunaga,
2009)
Healthy Families, which provides health insurance for
low-income children, creates one job for every $25,970 in
state funds spent and generates one dollar of economic
output for every 20 cents spent. (Flaming, Burns, Matsunaga,
2009)
Children in families headed by a single mother have much
higher poverty rates than do children in other families: 41
percent versus 13 percent in 2004. (Reed, 2006)
Poverty rates are particularly high among children. Poverty
rates are higher for children under age 18 (17.1 percent)
than for adults ages 18–64 (11.1 percent) and much higher
than for the elderly, ages 65 and older (8.1 percent). (PPIC,
2009)
Most poor families in California are working. Work
participation among the poor in California has increased
over the past three decades and remains substantially higher
than in the rest of the nation. In 31.8 percent of poor
families, a household member is working full-time. In
another 36.7 percent someone is working part-time. (PPIC,
2009)
Poverty In California, Race and Ethnicity
Latinos and African Americans have higher poverty rates
than other groups. The poverty rates for Latinos and African
Americans (17.8 percent and 20.1 percent, respectively) are
much higher than poverty rates among Asians (9.7 percent)
and whites (7.5 percent).
Poverty rates are considerably higher among Latinos living
in families with a foreignborn head of household (19.8%)
than among U.S.born Latino families (14.3 percent). Poverty
is also high among Native Americans (18.9 percent) and
immigrant families from the Southeast Asian countries of
Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos (14.3 percent). (PPIC, 2009)
Graphs
Reports
Poverty in California
Moving Beyond the Federal Measure
Deborah Reed
2006
www.ppic.org/content/pubs/cacounts/CC_506DRCC.pdf
Ebbing Tides in the Golden State
Impacts of the 2008 Recession on California and Los Angeles
County
Daniel Flaming
Patrick Burns
Michael Matsunaga
2009
www.economicrt.org
Poverty: 2008 Highlights
Current Population Survey (CPS), 2009 Annual Social and
Economic Supplement (ASEC)
U.S. Census Bureau
2009
www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/poverty08/pov08hi.html
Just the Facts: Poverty in California
Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC)
March 2009
www.ppic.org/content/pubs/jtf/JTF_PovertyJTF.pdf
Hidden Pockets of Elderly Said to be in Poverty
Associated Press
September 2009
www.bakersfieldnow.com/internal?st=print&id=57272932&path=/news/national
Federal Poverty Guideline Underestimates Costs of Living for
Older Persons in California
Health Policy Research Brief
UCLA
2008
http://www.healthpolicy.ucla.edu/pubs/files/Elder_Index_PB_022608.pdf
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