One in ten children in Washington state experienced poverty in 2022, according to a recent analysis done by the Washington Community Alliance.
That is roughly a 192% increase from 2021.
The poverty statistics were determined with microdata files from the Census’s Annual Social and Economic Supplement of the Current Population Survey.
WCA attributes this spike to the expiration of pandemic support, the federal Child Tax Credit, and record inflation.
Nearly two-thirds of poor people in Washington during 2022 were in the CEDS category.
CEDS stands for children, elderly, disabled, and students. According to WCA, these populations are less likely to have access to labor income.
Despite this Washington is still one of the wealthiest states in the United States.
In recent years, the state legislature has steps toward closing this wealth gap.
Examples include the Working Families Tax Credit and the Paid Family & Medical Leave (PFML) program.
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