Community Assessment 2020-2025

Sacramento Employment and Training Agency 2020-2025
SOURCE: Source: U.S. Census Table B19126 2012 and 2017, ACS5-Year Est., & U.S. Census Table B19126 2007 3-Year Est.,
for Sacramento County
For comparison, the Living Wage Calculator for Sacramento County reports that the annual
income necessary to make a single-parent household with two children minimally self-sufficient
is $67,122, or $32.27 per hour if the parent is employed full-time. The graph above reflects a 2017
median annual salary of $29,831 for single mothers – a median income decline of over $1,000 in
ten years. For a two-parent household with two children and one parent working, the annual
income for minimal self-sufficiency is less at $56,014 or $26.93 per hour, if one parent is employed
full-time and the other parent provides childcare and other services for the family. The 2017
American Community Survey (ACS) reports that persons with incomes below the Federal Poverty
Level in Sacramento County account for 16.7% of the total population, or 246,203 persons living
in poverty. Female-headed households represent almost 72.5% of all single-parent households and
almost 82% of all single-parent households live in poverty. Among single-parent households with
children under 18, 32.9% were living below federal poverty guidelines. Among female-headed
households, the rate was 37% or 3.5 times the poverty rate for married-couple families (10.5%).
For female-headed households with children 5 and under, the poverty rate was 42.8%.
Internal Data
Historically, Sacramento County Head Start/Early Head Start participants with eligibility status of
100% Federal Poverty comprised 59%-62% (Head Start) and 63%-84% of enrolled participants.
COMMUNITY ASSESSMENT 2020-2025 17