Poverty in California and Alameda County Sarah Bohn April 23, 2014
Poverty remains high, despite recent turnaround Children 30% All ages 25% Percent Poor 20% 15.8% Alameda’s children 15% 12.8% Alameda 10% residents 5% 0% 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 2 SOURCE: “Child Poverty” PPIC Just the Facts (2013) ; author’s calculations from Current Population Survey ASEC.
We need realistic picture of poverty Official poverty measure devised in 1960s – Used to track trends in poverty and determine eligibility for many safety net programs Has not been modified to reflect changes in cost of living and anti-poverty programs National effort to design alternative measures began in 1990s – Census Bureau releases “Research Supplemental Poverty Measure” in 2011 – PPIC & CPI release “California Poverty Measure” in 2013 3
The California Poverty Measure is more accurate and comprehensive Includes in-kind and tax-based safety net program benefits Accounts for out-of-pocket medical and work expenses Factors in cost of living differences across California 4
Our measure finds more people in poverty…. 40 CPM rate 35 official rate 30 25.1 25 23.1 Percent 22.0 20 16.2 15 10 5 0 All persons Children SOURCES: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011; official poverty estimates from the California sample of the ACS (2011). 5
…but fewer in deep poverty 40 CPM deep 35 poverty rate Official deep 30 poverty rate 25 Percent 20 15 9.6 10 6.8 6.1 5.7 5 0 All persons Children SOURCES: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011; official poverty estimates from the California sample of the ACS (2011). 6
Poverty higher in Alameda than official statistics suggest 40% CPM rate in 35% Alameda Official rate in 30% Alameda Percent Poor 25% 21.9% 20% 18.4% 16.3% 15% 13.0% 10% 5% 0% All Children SOURCES: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011; official poverty estimates from the California sample of the ACS (2011). 7
Fewer than 5% of Alameda’s children experience deep poverty 40% CPM deep 35% poverty rate in Alameda Percent in Deep Poverty 30% Official deep 25% poverty rate in Alameda 20% 15% 10% 7.6% 6.5% 5.5% 4.8% 5% 0% All Children SOURCES: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011; official poverty estimates from the California sample of the ACS (2011). 8
Compared to other large regions, fewer in poverty in Alameda County 40% Overall Children 35% 30% Percent Poor 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Alameda San Bay Area Los Angeles Central California Francisco overall Valley SOURCES: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011. 9
Compared to other large regions, fewer in poverty in Alameda County 40% Overall Children 35% 30% Percent Poor 25% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% Alameda San Bay Area Los Angeles Central California Francisco overall Valley SOURCES: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011. 10
Families need $10,000 more than the Federal Poverty Threshold to make ends meet in Alameda County 40,000 35,000 32,438 30,000 Poverty Threshold ($) Federal Poverty 25,000 Line 20,000 15,000 10,000 5,000 0 Alameda San Bay Area Los San Diego Fresno California Francisco Angeles overall average SOURCE: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011 11
Safety net programs benefit millions of Californians Federal, , state, and Recip ipie ients local e expenditure res (millions ons) (billions) CalWO WORKs 1.47 $3.44 General A Assistance 0.15 $0.40 Supplemental Security In y Income ome 1.27 $9.14 CalFr Fresh 3.64 $6.73 Child ld T Tax Credit 2.91 (filers) $4.14 Earned In Income ome Tax Credit 3.27 (filers) $7.25 Federal h hous using s sub ubsidies 0.48 (units) $3.60 School b breakfast and nd l lunc unch 2.18 $2.04 SOURCE: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011 12
Need-based programs cut the poverty rate sharply, especially for children 40 35 If program omitted 30 CPM rate 25 Percent 20 15 10 5 0 All persons Children CalWORKs/GA SOURCE: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011 13
Need-based programs cut the poverty rate sharply, especially for children 40 If all major programs 35 omitted 13.9 30 California Poverty 8.4 25 Measure Rate Percent 20 15 10 5 0 All persons Children SOURCE: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011 14
Contribution of the safety net is relatively smaller in Alameda If all major 40% programs omitted 35% CPM rate 30% 8.9% 25% Percent 5.7% 20% 15% 10% 5% 0% All Children SOURCE: California Poverty Measure estimates for 2011 15
Earnings appear to play a larger role in the Bay Area At the same time, more research to be done to pin down sources of regional differences Also better understand role the safety net could play 16
Notes on the use of these slides These slides were created to accompany a presentation. They do not include full documentation of sources, data samples, methods, and interpretations. To avoid misinterpretations, please contact: Sarah Bohn (bohn@ppic.org: 415-291-4413) Caroline Danielson (danielson@ppic.org; 415-291-4462) Thank you for your interest in this work. Additional resources: www.ppic.org 17
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