Child Poverty Drops in California, but Is Still the Nation’s Highest

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Due to the state's high cost of living, almost 23 million children in California live below the poverty threshold. Photo by Alison Yin/EdSource

By Carolyn Jones, EdSource

California’s booming economy has led to a slight drop in the child poverty rate, but the state still has the highest rate in the country when the cost of living is taken into account, according to new data released by Kidsdata and the Public Policy Institute of California.

An average of 22.8 percent — or 2 million — of California’s children lived below the poverty threshold in 2013-15, which is $30,000 a year for a family of four, according to the data released this month. The number is down from 24.4 percent in 2011-13.

Read the complete story at EdSource.

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