California Children Living Below the Poverty line
| New Census Data Show That More Than One in Seven Californians -- One-Third of Them Children -- Lived in Poverty in 2013 STATE'S OVERALL POVERTY RATE AND CHILD POVERTY RATE REMAIN HIGH DESPITE DECLINES SINCE 2011, HIGHLIGHTING NEED FOR POLICIES THAT BOOST WORKERS' EARNINGS |
| SACRAMENTO -- Census Bureau data released today show that the share of all Californians with incomes below the federal poverty line in 2013 remained significantly higher than in 2006, the year before the Great Recession began. More than 5.6 million Californians -- over one in seven -- had incomes below the poverty line in 2013. California's overall poverty rate of 14.9 percent in 2013 is down significantly from 16.9 percent in 2011, but is still much higher than the pre-recession level of 12.2 percent in 2006. Nearly 2 million California children were living in poverty in 2013, accounting for one in five children in the state (20.3 percent). Although this child poverty rate is down significantly from that in 2011 (24.3 percent), children still account for an outsize share of Californians living in poverty. Californians under age 18 were less than one-quarter of the total state population (23.9 percent) in 2013, but they accounted for nearly one-third of those living in poverty (32.5 percent). "The new Census poverty figures highlight the fact that many Californians are being left behind by our economy, even several years after the Great Recession ended," said Alissa Anderson, senior policy analyst with the CBP. "The child poverty rate is especially troubling, since children who grow up in poverty are more likely to remain in poverty as adults." "Most California families in poverty are working," said Anderson. "The problem is that the jobs they have don't pay enough. The key to reducing poverty in California is increasing workers' earnings so they can afford a decent standard of living and create a better future for their families."  The new Census data show that:
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