Del Norte tops state for rate of poverty

Del Norte had the highest rate of poverty among California counties last year, according to data recently released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

According to the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates report, 5,930 people were living in poverty in Del Norte — 23.6 percent of the population.

For all of California, 13.3 percent of people were considered poverty-stricken.

Of those nearly 6,000 people in Del Norte, 1,816 were children under the age of 18 and most of those had siblings.

There could be many reasons why Del Norte’s poverty rate was so high: how the Census Bureau defines poverty, a small population base, the jobs and wages available and the area’s demographics.

“It’s a pretty complex question,” said Gary Blatnick, director of the county Department of Health and Human Services. “We don’t know absolutely all of the factors that play into this number.”

Blatnick said he also wouldn’t be surprised if the number went up again for this year — or goes down as the economy stabilizes.

Even before the recession, Del Norte was dealing with poverty.

“Our community has had challenges around poverty ever since the decline of the timber and fishing industry,” Blatnick said.

He said he doesn’t think the issue is that people aren’t working, but that they don’t make enough money. Having children or other dependents also plays a factor, he added.

“Families are struggling with wages that are not enough to advance out of poverty,” Blatnick said.

Unemployment data shows that Del Norte has a lower rate than the state of California, he explained, so it would seem that the problem is not necessarily that people aren’t working, but rather that they aren’t making enough money.

In addition, there are a lot of elderly people living on Social Security and people who receive disability benefits.

The Census Bureau determines whether a person is living in poverty based on income before taxes and the number of people living in the household.

For example, if there are five people living in a household, three of which are children, the caregivers would have to make less than $25,694 a year to be considered living in poverty.

For someone over the age of 65 with no dependents, he or she would have to make less than $11,201.

There is also the issue of how small Del Norte’s population is compared to other counties.

Because the county only holds about 26,000 people, not including the prison population, 5,930 people living in poverty is a significant number.

In comparison, other counties with a similar poverty rate include Butte County with 44,569 people living in poverty, Fresno County with 197,265 people, Merced County with 52,005 and Tulare County with 90,369.

As the timber and fishing industries become less of an economic driver in Del Norte, the community has been trying to figure out the complex issue of poverty.

There are many efforts under way to boost economic development, Blatnick said, and it will take the community working together to solve a problem like poverty.

“Poverty is a significant issue for our community,” he said. “This is a reminder that we still have a lot of work to do.”