Despite being known as one of the more developed provinces in Region 4A or CALABARZON, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) show that the number of poor families in Batangas saw a significant increase in 2023.
According to data from the PSA released in January 2025, the number of poor families in Batangas grew by 7,200—from 32,300 in 2021 to 39,500 in 2023.
The poverty incidence rate in Batangas also rose from 4.3 percent in 2021 to 4.9 percent in 2023.
In comparison to its neighboring provinces, the number of poor families in Cavite, Laguna, and Quezon went down. This may indicate that residents of Batangas are not benefitting from the province’s supposed industrial and tourism growth.
The PSA data also showed that the subsistence incidence in Batangas—or the percentage of families whose income is insufficient to meet even basic food needs—also increased. From 1.0 percent in 2021, it climbed to 1.4 percent in 2023, the second highest in the region.
As for the poverty threshold, a family in Batangas now needs to earn ₱15,457 per month to meet their basic food and non-food needs. This is higher than the ₱12,845 required in 2021.
The data from PSA can be accessed here: https://rsso04a.psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/attachment-dir/SR-2023-Full%20Year-Poverty-Statistics-CALABARZON.pdf
