The Orange Dot Report 5.0 (2022) represents the continuation of our progress toward a more fully and equitable thriving region. Incorporating an updated description of the condition of families in our larger region, Orange Dot 5.0 marks the beginning of an annual update completed in partnership between Network2Work@PVCC and The Equity Center at the University of Virginia.
Orange Dot Report 5.0 (2022) Summary
In the larger Charlottesville community, 9,413 families (14%) do not make enough money to afford the essentials of life—food, shelter, clothing and utilities—and the added costs associated with working—childcare and transportation. This number represents the families making less than $35,000 in our region.
This is a significant improvement since the first Orange Dot Report in 2011. For the Charlottesville region, defined here as the city of Charlottesville and the surrounding counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa and Nelson, the comparable number of families struggling in the region in 2011 was 12,552, which was 21% of families. Over one out of five families. The 2022 number–9,413 families–is a 25% reduction in the number of struggling families in the region.
We recognize, however, that the cost of essentials has gone up over time. For example, these basic needs currently require over $45,000 a year for a single parent with a toddler in childcare. In this report, we continue to use the $35,000 income threshold as the break point for defining struggling families to remain consistent with the four prior reports, so these numbers should be understood as a minimum–at least 9,413 families are struggling.
While families facing economic insecurity live throughout our region, the likelihood that a family is struggling varies by race and by place. The struggle is not equally shared.
- Thirty-two percent of Black families make less than $35,000 a year, compared to 11% of white families, a persistent gap resulting from past and ongoing policies that suppress investment, opportunity, and wealth creation in Black communities.
- The percent of families struggling overall is highest in Buckingham County, at 28%, and lowest in Louisa County, at 8%.
- Within every locality except Fluvanna, there are neighborhoods where a quarter or more of families have less than family-sufficient incomes. The four neighborhoods with the highest percent of struggling families are in the city of Charlottesville.
Our community has seen progress since this work began in 2011, but there are still too many struggling families. For a region as prosperous as ours, however, ten thousand families is not too many to help.
Read the full report on the Charlottesville Regional Equity Atlas
Citation
Ridge Schuyler, Michele Claibourn, Lee LeBoeuf, Elizabeth Mitchell. October 2022. “Orange Dot Report 5.0: Family Self-Sufficiency in the Charlottesville Region.” Network2Work@PVCC, Piedmont Virginia Community College and The Equity Center, The UVA Karsh Institute of Democracy Center for the Redress of Inequity through Community-Engaged Scholarship. https://virginiaequitycenter.github.io/cville-equity-atlas/reports/orange-dot/
All Orange Dot Report Updates
Orange Dot Report
