Georgia
State Government
Governor
Brian Kemp (R)
State Senate
23
Democrats,
33
Republicans
State House
78
Democrats,
102
Republicans
Economic well-being - Georgia
Extreme poverty rate
0.1
Food insecurity
0.1
Minimum wage
7.3
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.3
Poverty rate
12.6%
Unemployment rate
3.4
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
12.0
Poverty by demographic - Georgia
Child poverty rate
0.2
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
29000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
415000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
225000
Senior poverty rate
12.1 %
Women in poverty
5,640,440
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, November 3, 2011: Georgia must return to leadership role
"It's a shocking development. Not only do low-income students typically fare worse than the average on such exams, but also the gap between Georgia students and low-income Florida students was still large nine years ago."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, October 20, 2011: State seeks $70M for schools
"Georgia officials are hoping for a $70 million federal cash prize aimed at improving school readiness for the state's 825,000 youngest children, especially the 54 percent identified as low income."
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, September 28, 2011: Nontraditional boost to help kids achieve (Subscription Required)
"Both are part of a growing group of Georgia teachers who don't have education degrees nor traditional teaching backgrounds but are now staffing some of the state's most poverty challenged schools."
Chattanooga Times Free Press, September 26, 2011: Georgia schools aim to lower truancy rate
"Ingle said teachers have started tying incentives to attendance, such as free ice cream once a month for those with perfect attendance. But the school also has gotten tougher on those who are absent. Physical education teachers are tasked with calling parents when students first start to show a pattern of absences."