Why is the Los Angeles poverty rate eclipsing the national, and Californian, averages?

Poverty noticeably higher in L.A. county

About 18% of all residents in Los Angeles live below the poverty line, a percentage that's greater than in the rest of California or the United States.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - This data comes from the U.S. Census Bureau, and includes numbers on both families and individuals for the last 12 months.

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More shocking, 25% of all children in L.A. county live below the poverty line. In the rest of California that number is 22%, and in the rest of the U.S. it is just 21%.

This data was collected over five years, and was released in the 2009-2013 American Community Survey 5-year Estimates.

This may have some connection to the number of foreign-born people living in L.A. county. In California, those who come into the U.S. later are more likely to be impoverished, 32% of this group lives below the poverty line. But the number is actually lower in L.A., where the Census Bureau reported that only 20% of the foreign-born community is in poverty.

"It's not like this is new," said Christopher Thornberg, a member of Beacon Economics during an interview with an L.A. based radio station.

"This is an ongoing situation. As to why, well it's because of the fact that we are home to many low-skill immigrants, many who are undocumented, people who are, if you will, living on the economic margins of society."

In L.A. county, 53% of those who are foreign-born do not have citizenship. Of this same group of people it is estimated that 34% are not participating in the labor force. But those who are not natives and enter into California by 2010 or later have a higher rate. Of these, almost 52% are not in the workforce.

The number of households under the poverty line increased if the household had a female leader, with children under the age of five and no husband present. In this group, 39% fell below the poverty line.

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