Press Advisory
August 26, 2008
Contact: Susan Duerksen, (619) 804-1950 or (619) 584-5744 x.64

San Diego County poverty and earnings described in new data

CPI to provide analysis of local Census data today

The U.S. Census Bureau is releasing its 2007 data on poverty and income this morning. The Center on Policy Initiatives will have a local summary and analysis of the San Diego County data available after 12 noon.

With inflation at the highest rate in almost 30 years, the Census data on income and earnings provide a fuller picture of the financial struggle facing the majority of working families.  

The national, statewide and county-by-county information includes racial discrepancies in poverty rates and median household income and gender differences in earnings.  It also defines the extent of the income gap between rich and poor in the region.

If anything, the Census data will underestimate the severity of the economic challenges workers are facing, because the economy has worsened since 2007.  Also, official national poverty measures greatly undercount the poor in high-cost areas like San Diego.

Working people at low and moderate income levels are particularly affected by the economic crunch described in the data.  For instance:

• Teachers Kent and Lisa Hess were planning their wedding and were in escrow to buy a house when both were laid off last year.  They had to scale back the wedding, withdraw their offer on the house and move in with her mother because they could no longer afford their rent.
• Rosa Tapia, a dormitory custodian on the UCSD campus, works a second job as a hotel housekeeper to provide for her four children, and she worries that her work schedule does not leave her enough time with them.
• Maria Moreno lives in a small studio with her granddaughter and often has to skip her arthritis and diabetes medication in order to pay her other bills.

CPI researchers will be available after noon to discuss the local data, and will provide an issue brief with charts and graphics illustrating key points on income, poverty and earnings in San Diego County.

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