California Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard by County

The Family Economic Self-Sufficiency Standard (Self-Sufficiency Standard) measures how much income is needed for a family of a certain composition living in a particular county to adequately meet its minimal basic needs. It is based on the costs families face on a daily basis – housing, food, child care, out-of-pocket medical expenses, transportation, and other necessary spending – and provides a complete picture of what it takes for families to make ends meet. In contrast, the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) , which was developed in the early 1960’s and is used to determine income eligibility for many public programs, is based on the outdated assumption that food represents one-third of a family’s budget. The FPL also fails to take into account housing and transportation costs, geography, and, most importantly, child care costs, which are increasingly more expensive. For a family of four—whether in a high cost market like San Francisco, CA or a more affordable market like Baton Rouge, LA—the poverty level is $21,200 in annual household earnings.

Calculated for 156 different family compositions in all 58 California Counties (and 35 other states), the Family Standard is based on credible, publicly available data sources, including:

• Housing costs: US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Fair Market Rents and National Low-Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC)
• Child care costs: California Department of Education (CDE)
• Food costs: US Department of Agriculture (USDA) low-cost food plan and ACCRA Cost of Living Index
• Health insurance costs: Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
• Transportation costs: U.S. Census and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

How much is enough to make ends meet in your county? Click below to find out.

Note: Upon accessing the Standard for a county, you can search the document, in a Windows OS, by using the command 'Ctrl + F' (e.g. one adult, one child). Adobe Acrobat users may also use the search button (binoculars icon).

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