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
The Merced Sun-Star, January 17, 2012: (Editorial) Brown gets A on school funding plan
"Like the Kirst-Bersin-Liu plan, the governor's proposal targets funding based on an unduplicated count of low-income students and English learners, and on the concentration of such students in a given district"
Sacramento Bee, January 15, 2012: Gov. Brown offers a way for California to escape the maze of school funding
"Like the Kirst-Bersin-Liu plan, the governor's proposal targets funding based on an unduplicated count of low-income students and English learners, and on the concentration of such students in a given district."
Sacramento Bee, January 11, 2012: (Editorial) W. Sac charter schoolneeds to be watched
"The aim was to reach kids 'who do not speak English as their first language; come from low-income families; attend low-performing schools in the district, as measured by the California Academic Performance Index; and whose parents did not graduate from college.'"
Sacramento Bee, January 4, 2012: (Editorial) Students hurt by 'last hired, first fired' rule
"The result is that many schools would experience no layoffs, while high-poverty schools would have to shoulder a cycle of turnover and instability that would add to their challenges."
The San Francisco Chronicle, December 25, 2011: State community colleges propose rationing classes
"Many agree, including Steve Ngo, a City College of San Francisco trustee who calls it a civil rights issue. 'If students are not even getting basic English and math, they'll be stuck in poverty,' Ngo said. 'These recommendations focus course offerings on student needs.'"
The Daily News of Los Angeles, December 17, 2011: Valley schools lament fund loss
"The extra hundreds of thousands of dollars have allowed the cash-strapped schools to hire tutors, librarians, counselors and other staff who work to improve the academic success of not only low-income kids, but others at risk of failing."