Texas
State Government
Governor
Greg Abbott (R)
State Senate
12
Democrats,
19
Republicans
State House
64
Democrats,
86
Republicans
Economic well-being - Texas
Extreme poverty rate
0.08
Food insecurity
0.176
Minimum wage
7.25
Percent of working families under 200% of the poverty line
0.313
Poverty rate
13.4%
Unemployment rate
4.1
Number of Black or African American children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Number of Hispanic or Latino children living in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment
Percent of individuals who are uninsured
16.7
Poverty by demographic - Texas
Child poverty rate
0.18
Number of Asian and Pacific Islander children below 200% poverty
79000
Number of Black or African American children below 200% poverty
463000
Number of Hispanic or Latino children below 200% poverty
1915000
Senior poverty rate
12.3 %
Women in poverty
15,455,699
The Dallas Morning News, September 25, 2012: Dallas' Communities Foundation will give more than $2 million to help at-risk students
"The Communities Foundation of Texas has announced that seven nonprofits will get more than $2 million in grants to increase the pool of quality teachers and administrators working with at-risk middle school students across North Texas. In addition, $150,000 is being awarded to 16 nonprofits participating in the Community Foundation's D3 Institute, a yearlong program focused on low-income working families."
San Antonio Business Journal, September 04, 2012: Goodwill receives $100,000 grant for education match program
"Goodwill of San Antonio has received a $100,000 federal grant to boost its program that encourages low-income people to save for their education. The American Dream Individual Development Account program provides a $4 match for every $1 that a program participant saves for their education up to $4,000."
Dallas Business Journal, August 24, 2012: TI's Templeton helps lead United Way school event
"Roughly 100 United Way volunteers will join Texas Instruments chairman, president and CEO Rich Templeton Saturday in handing out free school supplies to pre-selected students from low-income, diverse areas of Dallas."
The Houston Chronicle, August 23, 2012: Spring Branch ISD partners with KIPP, YES charters
"The partnership between SBISD, KIPP and YES Prep, known as SKY, was conceived to offer students choices, to use district campuses with low populations and to reach low-income students. Students could apply through the lottery for the schools regardless of family income. Both schools have longer school days and more days of instruction, key components of KIPP and YES Prep, created to offer a rigorous alternative with an emphasis on going to college to low-income and underserved kids."
The Dallas Morning News, August 09, 2012: Frisco fifth-grader founds robot camp for underprivileged kids
"So he did what any entrepreneurial fifth-grader would do: He founded Robots 4 Everyone, a nonprofit that provides a free robotics camp for at-risk or low-income kids. The goal is to foster a love of science and provide an escape route from boredom and poverty."
The New York Times, July 22, 2012: Texas's Dropout Rate Shows Positive Signs
"The state is also in the midst of a huge demographic shift, with an increasing population of low-income and minority students. The demographic shift has played out on a small scale in Duncanville I.S.D., a district of about 13,000 students on the outskirts of Dallas and one that has not seen the same success with dropout problems as others in the state. There, in the last eight years, the number of economically disadvantaged students has jumped to 75 percent from 49 percent."