FACTS

Who are the poor?

There are kids going hungry right here in Orange County.

Childhood hunger

  • During the 2010/2011 school year, 228,121 students or 45% of Orange County’s total public school enrollment participated in the Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) program. For many of these children, free lunch at school will be the only good meal they have all day (The 18th Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, 2012).
  • In Orange County, 177,650 children (23.4%) face food insecurity, with about 41% unlikely to qualify for federal nutrition programs. 1 in 5 Orange County children might not get enough to eat today (Map the Meal Gap: Child Food Insecurity, 2011).
  • During the 2010/11 school year, 28,091 Orange County children were identified as homeless; this is a 7.9% increase from 2009/10 (The 18th Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, 2012).
  • 15.2 % of Orange County Children are living in poverty (The 18th Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, 2012).

There are more poverty and health issues in Orange County than you might think.

Uninsured

  • In Orange County, 12.2% of residents live below the poverty level (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 – 2011 American Community Survey).
  • In 2011, 17.3% of Orange County residents were uninsured (2013 Orange County Community Indicators).
  • 15.8% of all workers over the age of 16 earn below $25,000/year (US Census Bureau American Community Survey 2010).
  • 33.3% of Orange County children are either overweight or obese (UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, 2010).

Many older adults don’t have enough to make ends meet.

elderly

  • In 2011, approximately 8.8% of seniors were living below the poverty level, compared to 8.7% in 2009 (Orange County Community Indicators, 2013).
  • 44% of Orange County seniors do not have enough income to meet their basic needs (Orange County Office on Aging).
  • Nearly 170,000 older adults in Orange County reported not having anyone to help them when they experience difficulties (Council on Aging Orange County).
  • 8 out of 10 Latinos and 7 out of 10 Asian seniors are struggling to meet their basic needs (Orange County Office on Aging).
  • 31% of older adults have a disability, compared to 8.3% of the non-senior adult population (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey).
  • 25.1% of Orange County Residents age 64 years and over live alone (U.S. Census Bureau, 2011 American Community Survey).

The average person in the OC can barely afford a place to live.

Housing

  • An hourly wage of $24.88 is needed to afford a fair market rental for a one-bedroom apartment, or 124 hours a week for a minimum wage job (Orange County Community Indicators 2013).
  • Orange County is the second highest county throughout the United States to have less affordable housing (Orange County Community Indicators 2012).
  • 56% of Orange County renters were unable to afford a fair market 2-bedroom apartment rental (Orange County Workforce Indicators 2012/2013).
  • In 2012, fair market rent was $1,380 for a 1-bedroom, $1,652 for a 2-bedroom and $2,354 for a 3-bedroom (Orange County Workforce Indicators 2012/2013).

Orange County statistics: source – http://www.capoc.org/awareness/

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