San Diego's poverty rate 15.7 percent

The percentage of City of San Diego residents living below the poverty line slipped slightly last year to 15.7 percent from 2013's 15.8 percent, according to United States Census Bureau data released today (September 17). The Center on Policy Initiatives pulled San Diego data out of the Census numbers.

Countywide, El Cajon has the highest poverty rate at 22.8 percent, followed by Escondido at 21.6 percent. But 28.5 percent of Escondido children live below the poverty line, versus 28.0 percent for El Cajon. In the City of San Diego, 20.4 percent of children live below the poverty line.

The poverty rate for whites in the City of San Diego is 9.3 percent, compared with 24.8 percent for Hispanics, 22.9 percent for African-Americans, and 13.3 percent for Asians.

Most City of San Diego households have less purchasing power than before the recession began, says the center. Median combined household income in the city last was $67,800, nearly $3000 lower than 2007 when adjusted for inflation.

Kyra Greene, the center's research and policy analyst, says, "The San Diego region added more than 40,000 jobs in the past year, but too many of those jobs are paying poverty wages."

An alarming 41.5 percent of those below the poverty line are working.