Definition: Estimated percentage of children ages 0-17 living in families with resources below their California Poverty Measure (CPM) threshold (e.g., in the first quarter of 2023, among California children in families, 13.8% lived in poverty, according to the CPM).
Data Source: Public Policy Institute of California & Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality, California Poverty Measure (Aug. 2024).
Footnote: Data for 2021 Q4 and later are one-year estimates beginning from a reference quarter—e.g., 2023 Q1 refers to the first quarter (January–March) of 2023. Data for 2017–2019 and earlier are three-year estimates. Data for 2021 Q4 and later reflect legislative districts as of the 2022 election cycle. Due to changes in methodology and legislative district boundaries, caution should be taken when comparing 2021 Q4 and later estimates with data for 2017–2019 and earlier years; for detailed methodological information, see the technical appendices. The California Poverty Measure (CPM) is an approach to gauging poverty in California that accounts for geographic differences in the cost of living, factors in tax credits and in-kind assistance that augment family resources, and subtracts medical, commuting, and child care expenses. In CPM estimates, a family consists of a householder residing with their spouse, children, and other relatives, along with their unmarried partner, unmarried partner's children, foster children, and other unrelated children. The notation S refers to data that have been suppressed because the sample size was lower than 2,000. N/A means that data are not available.