October 5, 2007
Community Action Advisory Board Issues “State of the Poor” Report
Document Highlights Challenges Facing Fairfax County’s Low-Income Population

The Fairfax County Community Action Advisory Board (CAAB) has published its new “State of the Poor” report for 2007.  Drawing from a variety of data sources, CAAB’s report looks at the county’s low-income population from a number of perspectives, including poverty, self-sufficiency, employment, health and housing, among others.  The report cites Census data stating that five percent of Fairfax County’s population – or about 51,544 people – were living in poverty in 2005.   The report defines poverty as a family of four earning less than $20,650 per year in 2007.

Highlights of the housing portion of the report include:

1. The average monthly rent in Fairfax County increased by 56 percent between 1996 and 2006.
2. Nearly half of all renters - or 45.4 percent - spent more than 30 percent of their household income on rent.  This percentage has doubled since 2000.
3. In 2007, there were an estimated 1,813 homeless persons living in Fairfax County.
4. In Fiscal Year 2006 there were 3,274 requests for emergency rental assistance. 

To read the full report, please see http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dfs/caab/PDF/state_of_the_poor.pdf