The US Census Bureau is testing a new way to measure poverty – and the new measurement indicates that California has the highest poverty rate in the nation.
Almost a quarter of Californians now live in poverty, according to the new Supplemental Poverty Measure, released Wednesday.
Under the new measure, California's poverty rate increases from 16.3 percent to 23.5 percent of the population. Not only is that the highest in the nation, but it represents the largest jump from the official rate. The increase is driven in part by California's high cost of living.
The numbers released by the Census Bureau are part of the newly developed measure, which was devised a year ago. It provides a fuller picture of poverty that the government believes can be used to assess safety-net programs by factoring in living expenses and taxpayer-provided benefits that the official formula leaves out. It looks at broader data, including housing costs, child care and medical expenses. It also adjusts for income earned from federal assistance, such as school lunch subsidies and the earned income tax credit.
The Census Bureau is testing the supplemental measure as a replacement for the current system, which hasn't changed since the early 1960s.
Nationally the rate increased from 15 percent to 15.8 percent under the new measure. Overall, the ranks of America's poor edged up last year to a high of 49.7 million, the Associated Press reported.
Based on the revised formula, the number of poor people exceeded the 49 million who were living below the poverty line in 2010.
That came as more people in the slowly improving economy picked up low-wage jobs last year but still struggled to pay living expenses. The revised poverty rate of 16.1 percent also is higher than the record 46.2 million, or 15 percent, that the government's official estimate reported in September.
You can view the full report below.
