Low-Income Residents – Austin, TX

Report: 2 in 5 Austinites are considered low-income, By Juan Castillo, April 12, 2012, Austin American-Statesman: “Hardly what you would call Austin slackers, Jerry Sanchez and his wife, Lisa, embrace the work ethic with sleeves rolled up and arms wide open. Jerry Sanchez, 41, works full time at his stepfather’s Estrada’s Cleaners in East Austin and does odd jobs – building decks, installing fences – for extra cash. Lisa Sanchez works as a day care teacher. Yet, despite all that sweat equity, the Sanchezes, who have five children, sometimes struggle financially. ‘Sometimes you’re frustrated. You’re not making ends meet; you’re playing catch up,’ Jerry Sanchez said. ‘It’s one thing after another.’ The Sanchezes are not alone. A report released Thursday by the Community Action Network shows that 2 in 5 Austin residents were low-income in 2010, meaning they earned less than 200 percent of the federal poverty level, which translates to about $44,000 a year for a family of four. The finding is contained in the network’s ‘Community Dashboard 2012’ report of 16 key socioeconomic indicators for Austin and Travis County…”