Hunger and Poverty Statistics
- Poverty rate in San Diego is at 50-year high and 500,000 San Diegans are uninsured.
- San Diego County’s official poverty rate rose in 2008 from 11.1% to 12.6%, the highest level on record during the past 50 years.
- 367,000 county residents are living below the federal poverty level (46,000 more than in 2007), with household incomes of less than $10,991 for an individual or $21,834 for a family of two adults with two children.
- The number people in poverty in San Diego grew at a much faster rate than in the state or the nation. US poverty grew .2 percentage points and California poverty grew .9 percentage points, while San Diego County poverty grew 1.5 percentage points.
- The data show that 850,000 county residents -- 29% of the population -- were living in economic hardship in 2008. Economic hardship is CPI’s term describing households with in¬comes below 200% of FPL, e.g. $21,982 for an individual, $43,668 for a family of 4.***
***(Note: This is the number we use as the number of food-insecure residents living in San Diego County. Rationale: If a family lives in economic hardship they often cannot meet their financial obligations on a timely basis. To cope they will most likely – in a majority of the cases – cut back on food expenses first i.e. rent versus food; medicine versus food etc.)
The Data:
The following data comes from the 2008 American Community Survey (ACS) which was re¬leased on September 29, 2009 by the US Census Bureau. ACS provides demographic, economic and social data for individuals and households. The data is made available for geographic areas with populations of 65,000 or more.
To view the complete report CLICK HERE.