North County wealth study

North County is better off economically than the rest of San Diego County, according to a study released yesterday (December 7) by the Center on Policy Initiatives. It used data from the Census Bureau's 2015 American Community Survey.

Only 12.1 percent of North County residents last year lived below the poverty line, compared with 13.8 percent countywide and 15.6 percent in the City of San Diego. Vista had the highest North County poverty rate at 19.2 percent, up from 14.1 percent in 2007. (The Great Recession began in late 2007.) The lowest poverty rate was in Carlsbad: its 5.2 percent rate was actually lower than the 5.9 percent of 2007.

Other 2015 poverty rates in North County were Escondido, 15.7 percent; Oceanside, 14.2 percent; and San Marcos, 14.9 percent. African-Americans' poverty rate in North County was higher than the rate in the entire county: 19.2 percent, compared with 18.1 percent, respectively. Latinos had a 20 percent poverty rate in North County, higher than the county's 19.4 percent.

Median household income in 2015 was $101,703 in Encinitas and $96,346 in Carlsbad, compared with $54,284 in Escondido and $67,421 in Vista.

Income distribution was highly unbalanced, as it has been for years in the United States. One fifth of all North County households received 50 percent of the income. The lowest-earning one-fifth made 3.4 percent of the income.