Adjusted Poverty Rate
Definition
Percentage of people living at or below the poverty level adjusted for cost of living. For this measure, the California Poverty Measure is applied. The CPM is a joint research effort between the Public Policy Institute of California and the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality that, unlike the official poverty measure, takes into account the cost of living and resources from social safety net programs. Rates shown are an average from 2015-2107 data.
Significance
This metric measures whether wealth is broadly shared. The adjusted rate can help signal the need for strategic intervention to growing income disparity in a community.
Source: US Census, 2017 Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, Public Policy Institute of California
Trends
16.9% Poverty Rate 19.6% Child Poverty Rate
This rate equates to approximately 141,700 adults living at or below the poverty level as adjusted for the cost of living in Ventura County.
State-wide, Ventura ranks 30th out of 58 counties for highest adjusted poverty rate. Topping the list for highest rates are Santa Barbara at 22% and Los Angeles at 23%. San Luis Obispo and Kern counties are 17.2% and 17.9% respectively, while Santa Cruz and Orange place third and fourth highest in the state at 21.7% and 20.4%. Though Ventura County’s adjusted poverty rank is seemingly better than most comparable counties, in order to sustain a high quality of life strategic planning in housing, workforce development, and social services are necessary. These investments will ensure the gap in income disparity does not continue to widen, and that Ventura County remains hospitable to all classes of workers that contribute to a diverse and resilient economy.
