The California Poverty Measure is a new index that improves upon conventional poverty measures. The CPM tracks the full range of necessary expenditures, adjusts for geographic differences in housing costs, and includes food stamps and other non-cash benefits as resources available to poor families. The CPM reveals which groups and counties have the highest poverty rates and whether California's safety net is successfully reducing poverty. The CPM is jointly produced by the Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality (CPI) and the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC).
Featured ReportPoverty Declines in California, but More than 1 in 3 Are Poor or Nearly Poor
The California Poverty Measure (CPM) statistics for 2017 are now available! Jointly produced by CPI and the Public Policy Institute of California, the CPM draws on administrative and survey data to deliver the state’s most comprehensive measure of poverty. The data show that the poverty rate declined from 19.4% in 2016 to 17.8% in 2017. The deep poverty rate, which refers to the proportion of the population with family resources less than half of the poverty threshold, comes in at 4.9% in 2017.
- Deep poverty facts (2016): 2.1 Million Californians in Deep Poverty
- Know the facts (2015): California’s Poverty Rate Goes Down, but 7.5 Million Remain Poor
- Read the brief (2014): Trends in California Poverty: 2011–2014
- View the methodology: The California Poverty Measure 2014: Technical Appendices
- Read the brief (2012): Poverty and Deep Poverty in California
- View the methodology: The California Poverty Measure: 2012 Technical Appendices
- Read the brief (2011): A Portrait of Poverty within California Counties and Demographic Groups
- Read the report (2011): The California Poverty Measure: A New Look at the Social Safety Net
- Read the press release: Stanford releases new poverty index (October 1, 2013)