Reports

Here's how Dallas leaders plan to deal with the third-worst child poverty rate among

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Mayor Mike Rawlings unveiled a new nonprofit, the Child Poverty Action Lab, aimed at addressing the problem of childhood poverty. Nearly one in three children live in poverty in Dallas.

Nearly one in three Dallas children — more than 115,000 kids — grow up in poverty. But some of the city's biggest public and private organizations want to cut that number in half within the next two decades.

During a meeting of his Task Force on Poverty on Tuesday, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings unveiled a new nonprofit, the Child Poverty Action Lab, created solely to address that issue.

The effort, born in part from the task force and Rawlings’ GrowSouth initiative, will take a similar approach to other collaborations pushed by the mayor in recent years to address homelessness, education issues and other problems. CPAL aims to combine the clout of leaders and CEOs from nine of the city’s major institutions and systems — including the City of Dallas, Dallas ISD, Parkland Health and Hospital System, and Dallas Area Rapid Transit — with various other partners working on different aspects of poverty across Dallas.

The new nonprofit hopes to gather these efforts so the groups can share data and guidance, and amplify the most successful projects that address childhood poverty’s causes and effects.

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CPAL in the News

2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment

The 2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment establishes a shared fact base on rental affordability, supply, and opportunity in the City of Dallas.

  • Dallas faces a 46,000-unit shortage of rental homes affordable to very low-income households earning ≤50% of Area Median Income (AMI). Since CPAL first published this report in 2023, the gap has grown by more than 12,000 units.
  • Between 2021 and 2023, the number of rental units priced below $1,000 per month was cut in half — a loss of over 50,000 units. Today, 90% of affordable units for low-income renters are unsubsidized and vulnerable to market pressures.
  • Half of all renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, including 75% of single parents with children and 65% of senior renters. Extremely low-income renters spend, on average, 78% of their income on housing, leaving little room for other necessities.
Reports

2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment

The 2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment establishes a shared fact base on rental affordability, supply, and opportunity in the City of Dallas.

  • Dallas faces a 46,000-unit shortage of rental homes affordable to very low-income households earning ≤50% of Area Median Income (AMI). Since CPAL first published this report in 2023, the gap has grown by more than 12,000 units.
  • Between 2021 and 2023, the number of rental units priced below $1,000 per month was cut in half — a loss of over 50,000 units. Today, 90% of affordable units for low-income renters are unsubsidized and vulnerable to market pressures.
  • Half of all renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, including 75% of single parents with children and 65% of senior renters. Extremely low-income renters spend, on average, 78% of their income on housing, leaving little room for other necessities.
CPAL in the News

2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment

The 2025 Rental Housing Needs Assessment establishes a shared fact base on rental affordability, supply, and opportunity in the City of Dallas.

  • Dallas faces a 46,000-unit shortage of rental homes affordable to very low-income households earning ≤50% of Area Median Income (AMI). Since CPAL first published this report in 2023, the gap has grown by more than 12,000 units.
  • Between 2021 and 2023, the number of rental units priced below $1,000 per month was cut in half — a loss of over 50,000 units. Today, 90% of affordable units for low-income renters are unsubsidized and vulnerable to market pressures.
  • Half of all renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing, including 75% of single parents with children and 65% of senior renters. Extremely low-income renters spend, on average, 78% of their income on housing, leaving little room for other necessities.