SAN FRANCISCO – (INT) – High rates of child poverty are being found even in California’s most prosperous regions.

Poverty varies widely across regions among children age 5 and younger, according to a report released Thursday by the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC). It is lowest—around 20 percent—in Northern California and highest—nearly 30 percent—in Los Angeles and the Central Coast.

Los Angeles County has both the lowest and highest estimated poverty rates in the state: only 4 percent in an area that includes Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Hermosa Beach and 68 percent in the south central Los Angeles.

Among the report’s key findings:
One-quarter of California’s young children—754,000—live in poverty.
Parents in higher-cost regions are more likely to be working

Poor families with young children in the Bay Area, Orange County, and San Diego County are more likely to have housing costs that exceed half of total family resources

Safety net programs reduce child poverty and have more impact in lower-cost regions

Story Date: March 10, 2017