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.
Oct 2025
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Food Security