Last Member Drive of 2025!

Your year-end tax-deductible gift powers our local newsroom. Help raise $1 million in essential funding for LAist by December 31.
$560,760 of $1,000,000 goal
A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

KPCC Archive

Poverty in California by neighborhood: one in three households struggle to make ends meet

A new report from United Ways of California maps poverty in the state neighborhood by neighborhood.
A new report from United Ways of California maps poverty in the state neighborhood by neighborhood.
(
United Ways of California
)

Truth matters. Community matters. Your support makes both possible. LAist is one of the few places where news remains independent and free from political and corporate influence. Stand up for truth and for LAist. Make your year-end tax-deductible gift now.

Listen 1:03
Poverty in California by neighborhood: one in three households struggle to make ends meet

To measure poverty, federal officials rely on the consumer price index. But that’s based largely on the cost of food, which doesn’t vary as widely as other expenses from place to place.

A new report from charitable organization United Ways of California corrects for that - analyzing how much families really spend across the state on things like housing, transportation and health care.

Los Angeles County has among the highest shares of struggling neighborhoods, where families have a hard time paying for basic necessities. That’s more than 80 percent of households in Southeast L.A. Two-thirds of them pay an outsized percentage of their income on housing.

Read the full report:

 

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.

Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive before year-end will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.

If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.

Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible year-end gift today

A row of graphics payment types: Visa, MasterCard, Apple Pay and PayPal, and  below a lock with Secure Payment text to the right