Why Pasadena Needs a Minimum Wage

Worsening economic circumstances for many Pasadenans
The 2008 – 2009 Great Recession took a toll on Pasadena households causing
incomes to fall, so that by 2013, adjusted for inflation, the average income was no
higher than in 2007. But the impact was more devastating for the poor. Between
2007 and 2013, the percentage of households with incomes below $25,000
jumped from 17.9% to 20.1%, while the percentage of households with incomes
over $100,000 increased from 30.1% to 35.9%. The percentage in the middle
range, between $25,000 and $100,000, fell from 52.1% to 44%.
As a result, from 2007 and 2013 the number of poor households with incomes
below $25,000 increased by 3,000. Over the same period, Pasadena added about
3,000 households with incomes over $100,000. In between, the number of
middle income group, $25,000 to $100,000, fell by 1,000 households.
Pasadena household incomes 2007, 2013
2007
% Number
2013
% Number
Households with 17.9 9,129 20.1 10,924
incomes below $25,000
Households with 52.1 26,617 44.0 23,942
incomes $25,000 -
$100,000
Households with 30.1 15,387 35.9 19,486
incomes over $100,000
Total 100 51,133 100 54,352
Source: American Community Survey
In 2005, before the recession caused by the housing bubble and Wall Street’s
reckless practices, 14.1% of Pasadena residents lived below the poverty line.
Three years later, at the peak of the recession, Pasadena’s poverty rate rose to
16.7%. But even after the recession ended, Pasadena’s economy did not recover,
especially for the poor. In 2013, 16.3% of its residents lived in poverty, higher
than the nation’s 15.8% poverty rate. Yet, during this same period, the percentage
of households with incomes over $200,000 increased from 6% to more than 10%.
Year % of Individuals Below Poverty Level
2005 14.1
2008 16.7
2013 16.3
Source: American Community Survey