Poverty
2 articles
When Work Isn't Enough: What Census Data Reveals About Silicon Valley's Working Poor
In 57 census tracts across Santa Clara County, more than 60% of working-age adults are employed. These same tracts have poverty rates above 10%. This pattern, high employment alongside meaningful poverty, appears in neighborhoods home to 256,773 people. The correlation between employment rate and poverty rate across all 408 county tracts? r = -0.063, essentially zero. Since employment doesn't predict poverty in Silicon Valley, we should think about what Census wage and income data can show us.
The Food Desert Myth: Zero Geographic Barriers, Clear Economic Disparities
When a county has excellent geographic access to grocery stores (0.57 miles average), yet SNAP participation varies 3.7× across neighborhoods, what drives food insecurity? Analysis of 408 census tracts reveals the barrier isn't distance: it's affordability.