Percentage of residents living in poverty in 2007: 18.1%
(6.5% for White Non-Hispanic residents, 20.4% for Hispanic or Latino residents, 22.7% for other race residents)
http://www.city-data.com/city/Palmdale-California.html
I had a friend who got married and was so excited to buy their very first tiny, sweet little home wayyy out in the new Palmdale, 15-20 years ago. They started having kids, and so did their neighbors, and life was good, with kids running between the homes and everyone happy.
Then the neighborhood was categorized as a Section Whatever, where people would literally GIVE these little houses to poor people from over an hour away in South Central L.A. Suddenly, the little houses were worth far less than what the original buyers were still paying on them. Suddenly, there was crack everywhere and crime.
My friends were locked into such a H*ll with their three little children that they defaulted and walked away from a home that they could never sell.
Remember that it was the GOVERNMENT that caused that problem out there.