Family Poverty

Rate of Family Poverty Declines for Fifth Straight Year

Poverty can have negative health impacts for both children and adults. For children, growing up in an impoverished household increases their risk for lower cognitive abilities, lower school achievement, and poorer development. Tracking poverty can assist with targeting interventions to mitigate these negative impacts. The poverty rate is also an important tool to determine eligibility for health and human services and programs, including health and supplemental food programs, which can lessen the negative impacts of poverty. This indicator provides detailed information about the percentage and makeup of San Bernardino County families that are living in poverty. A family is defined as a group of two or more people related by birth, marriage, or adoption residing in the same housing unit.

Family Poverty

How is San Bernardino County Doing?

TREND

Family poverty in San Bernardino County continued to decline into 2019, the latest data available. The percentage of families living in poverty declined from 11.7% in 2018 to 10.5% in 2019. Families whose head of household does not have a high school diploma had the highest rate of poverty (21.4%).

PERCENTAGE OF FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY CONTINUES TO DECLINE INTO 2019

Percentage of Families Living in Poverty by Educational Attainment in San Bernardino County, 2010-2019

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates (Table S1702)

RACE/ETHNICITY DETAIL

Black families have the highest rate of poverty (17.9%), while Asian families have the lowest rate (5.7%). Among Latino families, 12.0% are living in poverty. This substantial variation in family poverty contributes to an Equity Gap Score of 3.1. This score means that the group of families with the highest rate of poverty (Black families) is more than three times higher than the group of families with the lowest rate (Asian families).

Equity Gap Score

3.1

POVERTY RATES VARY BY ETHNICITY

Percentage of Families Living in Poverty by Race/Ethnicity in San Bernardino County, 2019

Note: Percentages based on race/ethnicity of householder. Data for Pacific Islander families was suppressed due to low sample size

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates (Table S1702)

SOCIOECONOMIC DETAIL

Looking at poverty by family structure, families led by single women (female-headed households where there is no spouse living in the house) have the highest rates of poverty. Nearly one-quarter (24.7%) of single women (with or without children) live in poverty and 35.4% of single mothers (female-headed households with children under 18 years of age) live in poverty. The rate is highest (39.4%) for single mothers with young children (children under age 5). In comparison, married-couple families (with or without children) have a lower poverty rate (5.9%). For those married-couple families with children under 18 years of age, the rate increases to 7.6%.

SINGLE MOTHERS WITH YOUNG CHILDREN HAVE THE HIGHEST INCIDENCE OF POVERTY

Poverty Level by Family Structure and Ages of Children in San Bernardino County, 2019

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates (Table DP03)

GEOGRAPHIC DETAIL

Residents in the City of San Bernardino had the highest rate of families living in poverty (17.2%), while Chino Hills had the lowest rate (2.6%). San Bernardino County’s rate of family poverty is higher than the state and national averages and it is the highest among the counties compared, except for Miami-Dade (12.0%).

POVERTY RATES VARY SUBSTANTIALLY BY CITY

Percentage of Families Living in Poverty by City in San Bernardino County, 2019

Note: Due to data source, only cities with populations of 65,000 or more are included.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 1-Year Estimates (Table S1702)

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY HAS HIGHER FAMILY POVERTY RATE THAN MOST REGIONS COMPARED

County Comparison of Percentage of Families Living Poverty, 2019

Low-income Family Eligibility for Free or Reduced-Price School Meals

Over the past few years, the percentage of children eligible to receive free or reduced-price school meals has held steady:

  • In 2019/20, 71.6% of K-12 public school students lived in families with incomes low enough to qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. This is about five percentage points higher than 65.8% in 2010/11.
  • A child is eligible if their family’s income is below 185% of the poverty level (e.g., $48,470 for a family of four in 2020).

NEARLY 3-IN-4 SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY FAMILIES WITH SCHOOL AGE CHILDREN HAVE LOW INCOME

Children Eligible for Free or Reduced-Price School Meals in San Bernardino County and California, 2011-2020