Why is This Important?
Household income can impact access to health care, good nutrition, and quality housing. High income households often have access to better schools and live in safer neighborhoods, and children of high income households are more likely to complete college. Low income households may have diffi culty meeting basic needs, particularly in areas with very high cost of living. Children are especially vulnerable to poverty, as poor nutrition can stunt physical growth and cognitive development.
What is a Sustainable State?
A sustainable state is one where all community members share in the benefi ts of economic development and income growth and the number of households living in poverty continues to decline over time.
How Are We Doing?
Income distribution
• The median household income in San Mateo County in 2008 was $85,153, well above the California state median household income of $61,021. Since 2004, median household income in the county has increased about 24 percent (the Consumer Price Index has increased 12 percent over that same time period).
• In the past year, median household income declined in 16 cities within San Mateo County.
• In 2008, there were still wide disparities in household income between cities in San Mateo County. In Atherton, median household income was $228,836, while in Colma, median household income was $75,928.
• Over the last fi ve years, the number of households earning more than $100,000 has steadily increased while the number of households earning less than $50,000 has decreased substantially from 37 to 28 percent. It is unknown whether this pattern is due to income growth among all groups of households or because low income families are relocating out of the county.
Poverty
• In 2008, 6.6 percent of San Mateo County residents lived below the federal poverty threshold ($17,163 for a family of three). This percentage has been in decline since 2005.
• In 2008, 8 percent of San Mateo County residents under the age of 18 lived below the poverty level, compared with 6.1 percent of adults age 18 and over.
• Because of San Mateo County's high cost of living, comparisons with the federal poverty threshold can be misleading. In 2009, a family of three in San Mateo County needed annual household earnings of $82,218 to be self sufficient. Approximately 34 percent of households in the county earn below this self-sufficiency level.
