Poverty in the Valley
Silicon Valley is one of the most affluent areas in the United States, yet poverty runs deeper than one may think. In Santa Clara County, nearly 18.7% of our population cannot afford basic necessities each month without financial assistance (according to the Supplemental Poverty Measure). With the current income inequality, that number is quickly growing as more middle-class families are forced into poverty. Too many residents of Santa Clara struggle with the high costs of housing, transportation, and health care. Our community has a clear need for more jobs paying livable wages that enable people to build assets and savings for their children’s education, home ownership, and retirement. Children of families in poverty struggle in school, with many dropping out. Those who persist through high school often never make it through college. This is how the seeds are planted for the next generation of poverty.
With the growing income gap; that number is quickly growing as more middle-class families are forced into poverty. A significant number of residents in Santa Clara County must struggle with the high costs of food, housing, transportation, education, and health care.
ARTICLES
- Measuring the Impact: Food Insecurity Hits Schools Nationwide, Stretches Into Higher Education
- Growth Mindset: How Much Can It Counter Poverty’s Damage?
- Poverty: Past, Present, and Future: An Interactive Map
- Measuring the Impact of Poverty in Education
- Families Cannot Afford Summer Care
- Working Adults Admit to Still Going to Work, Even When They Are Sick
- “I’ve Been Homeless 3 Times. The Problem Isn’t Drugs or Metal Illness – it’s Poverrty.”
- A Progressive Agenda to Cut Poverty and Expand Opportunity
- 5 Things About California’s High Housing Costs
- Casa del Maestro Provides Subsidized Housing to Retain Teachers
- City of San Jose Council Approves New Rent Control
- Long Commutes Become the Norm Due to Expensive Bay Area Housing Costs
- Education Inequality in the Nation’s Tech Hub
- San Jose used to be the best place to grow up poor in America. Is it still?
- What will $635,000 buy you in the Bay Area?
RESEARCH AND DATA
- The Geography of Desperation in America
- No Kid Hungry: Facts On Childhood Hunger in America
- Roadmap: How Do We Tackle the Affordable Housing Crisis?
- Income Inequality and Key Trends Over the Last 25 Years
- Health Inequality – American’s in the US Can Expect to Live Shorter and Sicker Lives
- The State of Poverty in the U.S. - 2016
- Ending Child Poverty Now - Policy Recommendations to Reduce Poverty
- Catholic Charities USA Anti-poverty Page
- CCSCC Economic Opportunity Lab
- Census Bureau of Santa Clara County
- Geography of Poverty
- Inequality and Economic Security in Silicon Valley
- Insight Center for Community Economic Development
- Lab for Economic Opportunities (LEO) at the University of Notre Dame
- Public Policy Institute of California
- Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality Report
- UC Davis Center for Poverty Research
