California
State Government
Governor
Gavin Newsom (D)
State Senate
32
Democrats,
8
Republicans
State House
62
Democrats,
17
Republicans
Economic well-being - California
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.1
Minimum wage
16.5
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.3
Poverty rate
11.8%
Unemployment rate
5.5
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
5.9
Housing - California
Home foreclosure rate
1 in 3407
People experiencing homelessness
187,084.0
Households paying more than 50% of income on housing
1,633,600.0
Percent renters
0.4
Poverty by demographic - California
Child poverty rate
0.2
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
251000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
192000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
1981000
Senior poverty rate
12.0 %
Women in poverty
19,461,027
Contra Costa Times, February 23, 2012: Tri Delta Transit to take over operations for Antioch senior bus program
"Antioch residents age 60 and older are now charged 50 cents per ride. In return, the city will give its three buses back to the transit agency. Tri Delta Transit has applied for funding on Antioch's behalf since 1999 and passed the $275,000 subsidy to the city for the bus program. That will end Aug. 31.A program that gives free rides to low-income seniors to the Antioch Senior Center for lunch would remain, said Jeanne Krieg, Tri Delta's chief executive officer."
Los Angeles Times, February 21, 2012: College path paved with potholes
"About 96% need remedial math and English, and many are the first in their family to attend college. They grew up amid crime and poverty and graduated from local high schools that are among the lowest-performing in the state, he added."
Eureka Times Standard, February 21, 2012: Humboldt school districts react to new funding model; Local officials say proposed formula benefits urban, suburban areas
"As Humboldt County school districts prepare their budgets for next year, officials are trying to wrap their heads around a new proposal from the governor that would allocate additional funding to schools based on the number of low-income students and English-language learners."
Sacramento Bee, February 21, 2012: Tax plans would boost schools but leave social safety net vulnerable
"As education groups battle over which California tax initiative would give the biggest boost to schools, advocates for low-income residents fear safety-net programs remain vulnerable no matter what happens on the ballot in November."
Contra Costa Times, February 18, 2012: (Op-Ed) Keep Cal Grants for students at independent nonprofit colleges
"Those cuts would almost halve the grant amount for more than 26,000 deserving students at nonprofit private colleges across the state, even though such grant awards comprise less than 3 percent of the state's budget. This measure would block access to higher education and sacrifice the aspirations of low-income students for a minimal, if any, improvement to the state's bottom line."
Chico Enterprise-Record, February 18, 2012: (Op-Ed) Money must be found to save higher education
"'California has the "finest system of higher education in the world,' but it's in peril because of budget cuts, Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom said... The public must be made to understand the danger, he said, adding people wrongly think the system is managing despite having been cut by $2 billion in the last year. Over a few years, a system of higher education that took a century of investment is being destroyed, he said."