crs san joaquin valley report

Congressional Research Service

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The Library of Congress

CRS Report for Congress

Received through the CRS Web

Order Code RL33184

California’s San Joaquin Valley:A Region in Transition

December 12, 2005

Tadlock Cowan, CoordinatorAnalyst in Rural and Regional Development PolicyResources, Science, and Industry Division

California’s San Joaquin Valley: A Region in Transition

Summary

CRS was requested to undertake a study of the San Joaquin Valley (SJV) anda comparison with another U.S. region. The eight-county San Joaquin Valley, partof California’s Central Valley, is home to 5 of the 10 most agriculturally productivecounties in the United States. By a wide range of indicators, the SJV is also one of the most economically depressed regions of the United States. This report analyzesthe SJV’s counties and statistically documents the basis of current socioeconomicconditions. The report further explores the extent to which the SJV shares similaritieswith and differs from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) area and a 68-county Central Appalachian subregion which contains some of the mosteconomically distressed counties in Appalachia. The report also examines the roleof federal expenditures in the cities and counties of the SJV.During the past twenty-five years, population growth rates in the SJV weresignificantly higher than for California or the United States and their projectedgrowth rates over the next 20 years are also significantly higher. In 2000, the SJValso had substantially higher rates of poverty than California or the United States.Poverty rates were also significantly higher in the SJV than in the ARC region,although the rate is somewhat lower than that of the Central Appalachian subregion.Unemployment rates in the SJV were higher than in California or the United Statesand the ARC area. Per capita income and average family income were higher in theSJV than in Central Appalachia, but per capita income in the SJV was lower than inthe ARC region as a whole. SJV households also had higher rates of publicassistance income than did Central Appalachian households. Madera County rankedamong the 10 lowest per capita income Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) in theUnited States in 2003, and the other 5 MSAs in the San Joaquin were all in thebottom 20% of all U.S. MSAs. Other indicators of social well-being discussed in thereport showed that the SJV is a region of significant economic distress.Data from the U.S. Bureau of the Census’s

Consolidated Federal Funds Reports

for 2002 and 2003 showed that every SJV county received fewer federal funds thanthe national per capita average or for California. Most SJV counties receivedapproximately $1,240- $2,800 per capita less than the national per capita rate in2002. Madera County had $3,176 per capita less than the national per capita rate in2003. Two rural counties adjacent to the SJV, Mariposa and Tuolomne, receivedsignificantly higher per capita rates of federal funding in 2003 than the SJV. In 2002,the SJV received $1,559 less per capita in federal funds than the ARC region as awhole. The SJV also received $2,860 per capita less than the Tennessee ValleyAuthority region in 2003. Other federal funds data for 2000 also show that the percapita rate of federal spending was lower in the SJV than in the generally depressedCentral Appalachian subregion.In addition to examining socioeconomic conditions in the SJV, the reportprovides analysis of water supply and quality issues especially those concerningagriculture, air quality concerns, and rail and shipping issues.This report will not be updated.

Contributing Staff

Areas of ExpertiseName DivisionTelephone

Regional EconomicDevelopment,Agriculture, FederalExpenditures, andProject CoordinatorTadlock CowanRSI7-7600Economic, Social, andDemographicInformationGerald MayerDSP7-7815Air QualityJames McCarthyRSI7-7225Census of Agricultureand Electronic DataResourcesCarol CanadaKSG7-7619EducationDavid SmoleDSP7-0624Electronic PublishingAtilla AkgunShelly ButtsLaura ComayShelley HarlanKatie YanceyERPO7-8734Food StampsJoe RichardsonDSP7-7325GeographicalInformation SystemCartographyVirginia MasonGMD7-8520Health Indicators Pamela SmithDSP7-7048Highways Robert KirkRSI7-7769Medicare Paulette MorganDSP7-7317ObesityDonna PorterDSP7-7032Teen BirthsCarmen Solomon-FearsKSG7-7306TransportationInfrastructure andEconomic DevelopmentJohn FrittelliRSI7-7033Water Supply andInfrastructureBetsy CodyRSI7-7229Water QualityClaudia CopelandRSI7-7227

All Divisions are CRS except Geography and Maps, a Division of the Library of Congress.Abbreviations: RSI = Resources, Science and Industry; DSP = Domestic Social Policy; KSG= Knowledge Service Group; ERPO = Electronic Research Products; GMD = Geographyand Map Division