Census: More than 900,000 Central Valley residents live in poverty

from the Central Valley Business Times

Tulare has highest percentage; Sacramento lowest

• Overall, 41 percent of children in poverty

In eleven counties of the Central Valley, 927,562 people were living in poverty in 2005, according to estimates released Wednesday by the Census Bureau.

Of those, 381,474 or 41 percent, were children under 18 years of age or younger, the report says.

Poverty numbers by county with percentage of total population and then percentage of children:

• Fresno: 177,498 (20.8 percent; 30 percent)

• Butte: 39,786 (19.2 percent; 22.8 percent)

• Kern: 149,772 (20.8 percent); 28.3 percent)

• Kings: 24,912 (20.6 percent; 25.4 percent)

• Madera: 24,389 (18.3 percent; 27.3 percent)

• Merced: 43,837 (18.6 percent; 25.6 percent)

• Sacramento: 181,110 (13.6 percent; 19.6 percent)

• San Joaquin: 94,537 (14.7 percent; 19.7 percent)

• Stanislaus: 71,595 (14.5 percent; 18.9 percent)

• Tulare: 93,398 (23.2 percent; 31.7 percent)

• Yolo: 26,728 (15.2 percent; 14.9 percent)

The U.S. Census Bureau’s report of 2005 poverty estimates covers each of the nation’s almost 14,000 Title I-eligible school districts.

The estimate tabulations, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education, are one of the criteria used to allocate federal funds to local jurisdictions.

The Census Bureau has, for the first time, produced the estimates by using results from its American Community Survey (ACS). ACS data were combined with aggregate data from federal tax information, administrative records on food stamp program participation, Census 2000 statistics and annual population estimates.

Overall poverty rates ranged from 23.2 percent for Tulare County, where 31.7 percent of children were listed as poor, to 13.6 percent for Sacramento County, where 19.6 percent of children fell into the “poor” income classification.