Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. CENSUS BUREAU Washington, DC 20233
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P60-214
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Poverty in the A United States: 2000
Issued September 2001
Poverty in the United States: 2000
P60-214
Current Population Reports
By Joseph Dalaker
Consumer Income
Current Population Reports Consumer Income
USCENSUSBUREAU
Demographic Programs
USCENSUSBUREAU Helping You Make Informed Decisions
U.S. Department of Commerce Economics and Statistics Administration U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This report was prepared under the direction of Charles T. Nelson, Assistant Division Chief for Income, Poverty, and Health Statistics. Bernadette D. Proctor, Erika Steinmetz, and Amanda Kohler provided statistical assistance. David Nguyen, Demographic Surveys Division, processed the March 2001 Current Population Survey file. Caroline Carbaugh, Chief of the Survey Processing Branch, Stacy Lyons, Mary Thrift Bush, and Kirk Davis programmed the detailed tables and produced the publication tables. Tim J. Marshall, under the supervision of Greg Weyland, Demographic Surveys Division, prepared specifications for the computer-assisted interviewing instrument used to conduct the March income supplement. Andrew M. Stevenson, Technologies Management Office, programmed the instrument. Additional people within the Census Bureau also made significant contributions to the preparation of this report. Kathleen S. Short, John Iceland, Shailesh Bhandari, Richard Levy, and Larry Long reviewed the contents. Sampling review was conducted by Alfred G. Meier and Jana Shepherd of Demographic Statistical Methods Division. U.S. Census Bureau field representatives and telephone interviewers collected the data. Without their dedication, the preparation of this report or any other report from the Current Population Survey would be impossible. Barbara M. Abbott, Jan Sweeney, Gloria Davis, and Barbara H. Blount of the Administrative and Customer Services Division, Walter C. Odom, Chief, provided publications and printing management, graphics design and composition, and editorial review for print and electronic media. General direction and production management were provided by Michael G. Garland, Assistant Chief, and Gary J. Lauffer, Chief, Publications Services Branch.
Poverty in the United States: 2000
Issued September 2001 P60-214
Current Population Reports Consumer Income
U.S. Department of Commerce Donald L. Evans, Secretary Economics and Statistics Administration Kathleen B. Cooper, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs U.S. CENSUS BUREAU William G. Barron, Jr., Acting Director
SUGGESTED CITATION Dalaker, Joseph U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Series P60-214, Poverty in the United States: 2000, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2001.
ECONOMICS AND STATISTICS ADMINISTRATION
Economics and Statistics Administration Kathleen B. Cooper, Under Secretary for Economic Affairs
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU William G. Barron, Jr., Acting Director William G. Barron, Jr., Deputy Director John H. Thompson, Principal Associate Director for Programs Nancy M. Gordon, Associate Director for Demographic Programs Daniel H. Weinberg, Chief, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division
For sale by Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC 20402.
CONTENTS
TEXT Poverty in the United States: 2000 . . . . . . . Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Highlights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poverty in the United States . . . . . . . . . How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race and Hispanic Origin . . . . . . . . . . Nativity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Families and Unrelated Individuals . . . . Work Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Residence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . State Poverty Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . Interpreting State Poverty Data . . . . . . ‘‘Depth of Poverty’’ Measures . . . . . . . Example: ‘‘Depth of Poverty’’ Measures Ratio of Income to Poverty Level . . . . Income Deficit . . . . . . . . . . . . . Experimental Poverty Measures Standardized Poverty Rates .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Notes, Additional Data, and Users’ Comments CPS Sample Expansion . . . . . . . . . . . . CPS Data Collection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates . . Additional Data and Contacts . . . . . . . . Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1 1 1 1 5 6 6 6 7 8 8 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 14 15 16 16 16 16 17 17
TEXT TABLES A. B. C. D. E. F. G. H.
People and Families in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 1999 and 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Number of Poor and Poverty Rate by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1998, 1999, and 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent Composition of People in Families by Number of Full-Time and Part-Time Workers: 1993 and 2000 . . . . . . . . Percent of People in Poverty by State: 1998, 1999, and 2000 . . . Ratio of Family Income to Poverty Threshold for People by Selected Characteristics: 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Income Deficit or Surplus of Families and Unrelated Individuals by Poverty Status: 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selected Experimental Poverty Measures: 1990 to 2000. . . . . . Experimental Poverty Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2000
. .
2
. .
7
. . . .
9 11
. .
13
. .
13 15 16
. . . .
iii
FIGURES 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.
Number of Poor and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2000 . . . . . . . . . . Poverty Rates by Age: 1959 to 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000 . . . . . Poverty Rates of People in Families by Presence of Workers: 1993 to 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Percent of People in Families by Number of Workers: 1993 to 2000 Poverty Rates of People in Families by Family Type and Presence of Workers: 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . States With Significant Changes in 2-Year Average Poverty Rates: 1998-99 and 1999-2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . .
3 4 4
.
8 9
.
9
.
12
.
APPENDIX. Time Series Poverty Estimates A-1. A-2. A-3. A-4.
iv
Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: 1959 to 2000 . . . . . People and Families in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 1993 and 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18 23 27 28
Poverty in the United States: 2000 INTRODUCTION Poverty data offer an important way to evaluate the nation’s economic well-being. Because poor people in the United States are too diverse to be characterized along any one dimension, this report illustrates how poverty rates vary by selected characteristics—age, race and Hispanic origin,1 nativity, family composition, work experience, and geography. These data reveal how many people were poor and how the poverty population has changed. A description of how the Census Bureau measures poverty may be found on page 5. The estimates in this report are based on the March 2001 Current Population Survey, conducted by the Census Bureau. Respondents provide answers to the best of their ability, but as with all surveys, the estimates may differ from the actual values. For further information about the source and accuracy of the estimates, go to www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty00/pov00src.pdf. Confidence intervals for poverty rate estimates are provided in Table A. The uncertainty in the estimates should be taken into consideration when using them. HIGHLIGHTS • The poverty rate in 2000 dropped to 11.3 percent, down half a percentage point from 1999. This rate was not statistically different from the record low of 11.1 percent set in 1973. About 31.1 million people were poor in 2000, 1.1 million fewer than in 1999. • The decrease in poverty between 1999 and 2000 was not concentrated in any one region of the United States, although the poverty rate did fall significantly for those living in metropolitan areas but outside of central cities (7.8 percent in 2000, down from 8.3 percent in 1999). • Several groups set record-low poverty rates in 2000, while others tied their record-lows: • Blacks (22.1 percent) and female-householder families (24.7 percent) had their lowest measured poverty rates in 2000.
1 Hispanics may be of any race. About 14.2 percent of Whites, 3.0 percent of Blacks, 1.9 percent of Asians and Pacific Islanders, and 11.0 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives were of Hispanic origin.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
• People 65 years old and over (10.2 percent), Asians and Pacific Islanders (10.8 percent), Hispanics (21.2 percent), White non-Hispanics (7.5 percent), married-couple families (4.7 percent), and people living in the South (12.5 percent) had poverty rates in 2000 that were not statistically different from their measured lows. • The poverty rate for people under 18 years old dropped to 16.2 percent in 2000 (down from 16.9 percent in 1999)—their lowest poverty rate since 1979. • The poverty rate declined more for 18- to 24-year-olds than for any other age group. • Poverty rates fell for Blacks (from 23.6 percent to 22.1 percent) and Hispanics (from 22.8 percent to 21.2 percent) between 1999 and 2000.2 • While Blacks remained disproportionately poor, the difference in poverty rates between Blacks and White nonHispanics narrowed since the most recent poverty rate peak. In 1993, the Black poverty rate was 23.2 percentage points higher than that for White non-Hispanics; by 2000 this difference had fallen to 14.6 percentage points. • Compared with the most recent poverty rate peak in 1993, a greater percentage of people in 2000 lived in families with at least one worker, and the poverty rate for people in these families fell since 1993; however, poor family members in 2000 were more likely to be living with at least one worker. POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES The poverty rate in 2000 dropped to 11.3 percent, down half a percentage point from 1999 (11.8 percent) and was not statistically distinguishable from the recordlow 11.1 percent set in 1973.3 About 1.1 million fewer people were poor in 2000 than in 1999. Many groups with poverty rate declines between 1999 and 2000 historically have had high poverty rates. Most of the net decline in the overall poverty rate occurred among children and people 18 to 24 years old. Other groups with 2 In both 1999 and 2000, the poverty rates for Blacks and Hispanics were not statistically different from each other. 3 The 2000 poverty rate (11.3 percent) was also not significantly different from the poverty rate in 1979 (11.7 percent), but was lower than the rate for every year since, thus making the 2000 poverty rate the lowest in 21 years.
1
Table A. People and Families in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 1999 and 2000 (Numbers in thousands. For an explanation of confidence intervals (C.I.), see ‘‘Standard errors and their use’’ at www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty00/pov00src.pdf) 2000 below poverty Characteristic
Change1 1999 to 2000
1999 below poverty
Number
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Number
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Number
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
31,139
880
11.3
0.3
32,258
893
11.8
0.3
*–1,119
931
*–0.5
0.3
PEOPLE Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Family Status In families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder . . . . . . . . . . . Related children under 18 . Related children under 6 . In unrelated subfamilies . . . . . Reference person . . . . . . . Children under 18 . . . . . . . Unrelated individual . . . . . . . . Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
22,088 6,226 11,086 3,931 520 198 314 8,530 3,458 5,073
755 227 451 283 59 36 82 276 161 202
9.6 8.6 15.7 16.9 39.4 37.5 41.8 18.9 16.0 21.6
0.3 0.3 0.7 1.3 5.2 7.9 12.3 0.6 0.8 0.9
23,396 6,676 11,510 4,170 558 216 336 8,305 3,398 4,907
775 237 457 290 61 38 86 271 160 197
10.2 9.3 16.3 18.0 39.1 37.9 41.0 19.1 16.3 21.7
0.3 0.3 0.7 1.3 4.9 7.6 11.7 0.7 0.8 0.9
*–1,308 *–450 –424 –240 –37 –18 –22 226 60 166
803 265 477 299 63 39 87 288 169 209
*–0.6 *–0.7 –0.7 –1.2 0.3 –0.4 0.8 –0.2 –0.3 –0.1
0.4 0.4 0.7 1.4 5.3 8.1 12.6 0.7 0.8 1.0
Race2 and Hispanic Origin White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander. . Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
21,291 14,572 7,901 1,226 7,155
742 622 416 178 398
9.4 7.5 22.1 10.8 21.2
0.3 0.3 1.2 1.6 1.2
21,922 14,875 8,360 1,163 7,439
752 628 423 173 401
9.8 7.7 23.6 10.7 22.8
0.3 0.3 1.2 1.6 1.2
–631 –303 *–459 63 –283
852 714 441 184 334
–0.3 –0.2 *–1.5 0.1 *–1.5
0.4 0.4 1.2 1.6 1.0
Age Under 18 years . . . 18 to 64 years. . . . 18 to 24 years . . 25 to 34 years . . 35 to 44 years . . 45 to 54 years . . 55 to 59 years . . 60 to 64 years . . 65 years and over .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
11,633 16,146 3,893 3,892 3,678 2,441 1,175 1,066 3,360
461 648 192 199 192 158 110 105 179
16.2 9.4 14.4 10.4 8.2 6.4 8.8 10.2 10.2
0.6 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.0 0.5
12,109 16,982 4,603 3,968 3,733 2,466 1,179 1,033 3,167
467 663 207 201 194 158 110 104 174
16.9 10.0 17.3 10.5 8.3 6.7 9.2 9.8 9.7
0.7 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.9 1.0 0.5
–476 *–836 *–710 –75 –55 –25 –4 33 *192
487 688 211 209 204 166 117 110 186
*–0.7 *–0.6 *–2.9 –0.1 –0.1 –0.3 –0.4 0.4 0.5
0.7 0.4 0.8 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.9 1.0 0.6
Native. . . . . . . . . . . Foreign born . . . . . . Naturalized citizen Not a citizen . . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
26,442 4,697 1,107 3,590
816 411 201 360
10.7 15.7 9.7 19.4
0.3 1.4 1.8 1.9
27,507 4,751 968 3,783
831 413 188 368
11.2 16.8 9.1 21.3
0.3 1.5 1.8 2.1
* –1,065 –54 139 –193
864 433 204 382
*–0.5 –1.1 0.6 –1.9
0.4 1.5 1.9 2.1
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
5,433 5,971 12,205 7,530
357 411 595 474
10.3 9.5 12.5 11.9
0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8
5,678 6,210 12,538 7,833
364 419 602 482
10.9 9.8 13.1 12.6
0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8
–244 –239 –333 –303
378 436 628 502
–0.6 –0.3 –0.5 –0.6
0.7 0.7 0.7 0.8
Inside metropolitan areas. . Inside central cities . . . . Outside central cities . . . Outside metropolitan areas
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
24,296 12,967 11,329 6,843
788 589 553 530
10.8 16.1 7.8 13.4
0.4 0.7 0.4 1.1
24,816 13,123 11,693 7,442
796 592 561 553
11.2 16.4 8.3 14.3
0.4 0.7 0.4 1.1
–520 –156 –364 *–599
831 620 584 568
*–0.4 –0.2 *–0.4 –0.9
0.4 0.8 0.4 1.1
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nativity
Region Northeast Midwest . South . . . West. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Residence
FAMILIES 6,226
227
8.6
0.3
6,676
237
9.3
0.3
*–450
265
*–0.7
0.4
. . . . .
. . . . .
4,153 2,820 1,686 235 1,431
179 145 109 39 100
6.9 5.3 19.1 8.8 18.5
0.3 0.3 1.3 1.5 1.4
4,377 2,942 1,898 258 1,525
184 148 117 41 104
7.3 5.5 21.9 10.3 20.2
0.3 0.3 1.4 1.7 1.4
*–224 –121 *–212 –23 –94
215 173 128 46 97
*–0.4 –0.2 *–2.8 –1.5 *–1.7
0.4 0.3 1.5 1.8 1.3
Married-couple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . Black. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander . . . . Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female householder, no husband present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . Black. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander . . . . Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
2,638 2,163 1,447 260 169 742
140 125 100 41 33 71
4.7 4.4 3.3 6.1 7.7 14.1
0.3 0.3 0.2 1.0 1.5 1.4
2,673 2,161 1,457 294 162 728
140 125 100 44 33 71
4.8 4.4 3.3 7.1 8.1 14.2
0.3 0.3 0.2 1.1 1.6 1.4
–35 2 –10 –35 7 14
160 148 120 49 38 67
–0.1 – – –1.1 –0.4 –
0.3 0.3 0.3 1.2 1.8 1.3
. . . . . .
3,099 1,656 1,127 1,303 60 597
151 109 89 95 20 64
24.7 20.0 16.9 34.6 19.9 34.2
1.3 1.4 1.4 2.8 7.1 4.0
3,531 1,883 1,255 1,499 76 686
163 115 94 102 23 69
27.8 22.5 18.6 39.3 23.1 38.8
1.4 1.5 1.5 3.0 7.4 4.3
*–432 *–227 *–127 *–196 –17 *–89
181 133 107 114 25 63
*–3.1 *–2.5 *–1.8 *–4.7 –-3.1 *–4.6
1.6 1.7 1.7 3.3 8.3 4.0
White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
Type of Family
– Represents zero. * Statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. 1 As a result of rounding, some differences may appear to be slightly higher or lower than the differences of the reported rates. 2 Data for American Indians and Alaska Natives are not shown separately. 3 Hispanics may be of any race. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2000 and 2001.
2
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
significant poverty rate decreases were Blacks, Hispanics, and families with a female householder and no husband present. These groups have historically had high poverty rates (see Appendix Tables A-1 to A-3). The decrease in poverty between 1999 and 2000 did not appear concentrated in any one region of the United States, although the suburbs of metropolitan areas did show a poverty rate decrease.4 Table A presents the number of poor and poverty rates in 1999 and 2000 for many demographic groups, and shows which groups had significant changes. The drop in the poverty rate between 1999 and 2000 belongs to a larger story of economic recovery since the last recession.5 Figure 1 shows the number of poor and poverty rate over time, beginning with 1959 (the first year for which poverty data are available), and labels which years had recessions. Poverty rates have tended to peak just after a recession.6 After the most recent recession, the
4 In this report ‘‘suburb’’ is defined as within a metropolitan area but outside of a central city. 5 According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc., the most recent recession began in July 1990 and ended in March 1991. 6 The poverty rate is a lagging indicator, since it responds after changes in the overall economy have taken place. The lag, in part, comes from the poverty measure’s computation—it uses income from the entire calendar year.
poverty rate peaked in 1993 (15.1 percent), although that was not an all-time high.7 Figures 2 and 3 show historical poverty rates by age and by race and Hispanic origin. Between 1993 and 2000, each group depicted had statistically significant declines in their poverty rates. Notably, those groups with higher poverty rates had their rates fall further than those with lower poverty rates. In particular, the poverty rate differentials between Blacks and White non-Hispanics, and between Hispanics and White nonHispanics both fell (see ‘‘Race and Hispanic Origin’’ on page 6). Complete comparisons of 2000 estimates with 1993 are presented in Appendix Table A-4. The year 2000 also brought historically low poverty rates for some groups. Blacks and female-householder families set record lows, while those aged 65 and over, White non-Hispanics, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Hispanics, married-couple families, and people living in the South had poverty rates not statistically different from their historic lows. 7 The poverty rate in 1993 did not change significantly from 1992.
Figure 1.
Number of Poor and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2000 45
Numbers in millions, rates in percent
Recession
40 Number in poverty
35
31.1 million
30 25 20 15 Poverty rate
10
11.3 percent
5 0 1959
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
1989
1994
2000
Note: The data points represent the midpoints of the respective years. The latest recession began in July 1990 and ended in March 1991. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1960-2001.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
3
Figure 2.
Poverty Rates by Age: 1959 to 2000 Percent
Recession
40 35
65 years and over
30 25 20
Under 18 years
16.2 percent
15 10.2 percent
10
9.4 percent
18 to 64 years
5 0 1959
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
1989
1994
2000
Note: The data points represent the midpoints of the respective years. The latest recession began in July 1990 and ended in March 1991. Data for people 18 to 64 and 65 and older are not available from 1960 to 1965. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1960-2001.
Figure 3.
Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000 Percent
Recession
60 55 Black 50 45 40 35 30 25
22.1 percent
Hispanic
20
21.2 percent
Asian and Pacific Islander
15
10.8 percent
White
10
9.4 percent
White non-Hispanic
5 0 1959
1964
1969
1974
1979
1984
7.5 percent
1989
1994
2000
Note: The data points represent the midpoints of the respective years. The latest recession began in July 1990 and ended in March 1991. Data for Blacks are not available from 1960 to 1965. Data for the other race and Hispanic origin groups are shown from the first year available. Hispanics may be of any race. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1960-2001.
4
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty Following the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Statistical Directive 14, the Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is poor (see the matrix below). Poverty Thresholds in 2000 by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years (Dollars) Related children under 18 years Size of family unit None
One
One person (unrelated individual): Under 65 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8,959 8,259
Two people: Householder under 65 years . . . . Householder 65 years and over .
11,531 10,409
11,869 11,824
Three people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Four people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Five people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Six people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seven people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eight people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nine people or more . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13,470 17,761 21,419 24,636 28,347 31,704 38,138
13,861 18,052 21,731 24,734 28,524 31,984 38,322
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight or more
13,874 17,463 21,065 24,224 27,914 31,408 37,813
17,524 20,550 23,736 27,489 30,904 37,385
20,236 23,009 26,696 30,188 36,682
22,579 25,772 29,279 35,716
24,758 28,334 34,841
28,093 34,625
33,291
Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
If a family’s total income is less than that family’s threshold, then that family, and every individual in it, is considered poor. The official poverty thresholds do not vary geographically, but they are updated annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The official poverty definition counts money income before taxes and does not include capital gains and noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps). Example: Suppose Family A consists of five people: two children, their mother, father, and great-aunt. Family A’s poverty threshold in 2000 was $21,065. Suppose also that each member had the following incomes in 2000: Mother Father Great-aunt First child Second child Total:
$10,000 5,000 10,000 0 0 $25,000
Since their total family income, $25,000, was greater than their threshold ($21,065), the family would not be considered ‘‘poor’’ according to the official poverty measure. While the thresholds in some sense represent families’ needs, the official poverty measure should be interpreted as a statistical yardstick rather than as a
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
complete description of what people and families need to live. Moreover, while we use the official measure to report poverty data, most aid programs use different dollar amounts as eligibility criteria. Poverty rates and the number of poor are one important way of examining people’s well-being; however, this report also presents other more detailed measures. For further discussion about poverty measurement, see the sections ‘‘Depth of Poverty Measures’’ and ‘‘Experimental Poverty Measures.’’ For a history of the official poverty measure see Fisher, Gordon, ‘‘The Development of the Orshansky Thresholds and Their Subsequent History as the Official U.S. Poverty Measure’’ at www.census.gov/hhes/ poverty/povmeas/papers/orshansky.html. Weighted average thresholds: Some data users want a summary of the 48 thresholds to get a general sense of the ‘‘poverty line.’’ These average thresholds provide that summary but they are not used to compute poverty data. One person Two people Three people Four people Five people Six people Seven people Eight people Nine people or more
$ 8,794 11,239 13,738 17,603 20,819 23,528 26,754 29,701 35,060
5
Age For the third consecutive year, people under age 18 experienced a poverty rate decrease, from 16.9 percent in 1999 to 16.2 percent in 2000—the lowest the child poverty rate has been since 1979. Although children in married-couple families showed no change in poverty (8.2 percent were poor in 2000), the poverty rate fell for children living in families with a female householder and no husband present, from 41.9 percent in 1999 to 39.8 percent in 2000, which was still about five times the rate for their counterparts in married-couple families.8 Despite the decrease in child poverty, people under age 18 continued to have a higher poverty rate than other age groups. People age 18 to 64 had a poverty rate of 9.4 percent in 2000, down 0.6 percentage points from their 1999 rate (10.0 percent). People age 65 and over had a poverty rate of 10.2 percent in 2000, statistically unchanged from their historical low reached in 1999, although the number of poor elderly increased slightly from 3.2 million to 3.4 million between the 2 years.9 People 18 to 24 years old had nearly a 3 percentagepoint drop in their poverty rate—from 17.3 percent in 1999 to 14.4 percent in 2000. This drop was larger than that for any other age group. Race and Hispanic Origin Blacks and Hispanics experienced poverty rate decreases between 1999 and 2000. For Blacks, their 2000 poverty rate of 22.1 percent (down from 23.6 percent in 1999) was the lowest measured since 1959, the earliest year for which poverty data are available. About a halfmillion fewer Blacks were poor in 2000 than in 1999 (7.9 million compared with 8.4 million). Figure 3 shows poverty rates by race over time. Since 1993, the year the poverty rate peaked after the 1990-91 recession, the Black poverty rate dropped from about onethird (33.1 percent) to less than one-fourth (22.1 percent). Over the same time span, the difference between the Black poverty rate and the White non-Hispanic poverty rate narrowed. The Black poverty rate was 23.2 percentage points higher than that for White non-Hispanics in 1993; by 2000 this difference declined to 14.6 percentage points—still substantially higher even while the Black poverty rate was at its historic low. The Hispanic poverty rate dropped from 22.8 percent in 1999 to 21.2 percent in 2000—a record low that was not statistically different from the low rates during 1972-74
8 Poverty rates for children by family type include only children who are related to the householder, but are not themselves the householder or spouse (they are labeled ‘‘related children’’ in the tables). The overall child poverty rate includes all people under age 18 regardless of their family relationship. 9 The poverty rate for people 65 years and over in 2000 was not significantly different from the rate for those aged 18 to 64.
6
and 1977-79.10 The number of poor Hispanics did not change significantly between 1999 and 2000 (7.2 million in 2000). The difference between Hispanic and White nonHispanic poverty rates fell between 1993 and 2000—from 20.7 percentage points to 13.7 percentage points. Neither poverty rates nor the number of poor among White non-Hispanics or Asians and Pacific Islanders changed between 1999 and 2000. The White non-Hispanic poverty rate in 2000 equaled its all-time low (7.5 percent), which did not differ from rates registered during the 1973 to 1975 period, and again in 1999. Asians and Pacific Islanders had a poverty rate of 10.8 percent in 2000—also equal to its record low.11 As in previous years, most of the poor in 2000 were White (68 percent) and 47 percent were White non-Hispanic. The Current Population Survey, the source of these data, samples about 50,000 households nationwide and is not large enough to produce reliable annual estimates for American Indians and Alaska Natives. However, Table B displays 3-year averages of their poverty rate and number of poor for 1998-2000, along with similar data for other racial and ethnic groups. The 3-year average poverty rate for American Indians and Alaska Natives (25.9 percent) was not significantly different from that for Blacks or Hispanics, but was higher than for the other race groups. Looking at differences in 2-year averages between 1999-2000 and 1998-99 in Table B, American Indians and Alaska Natives did not have any significant change in their poverty rate over the 3-year period. Blacks and Hispanics had a significant decrease in their poverty rate. Nativity The foreign-born population, which includes both naturalized citizens and noncitizens, experienced no significant change in its poverty rate or number of poor between 1999 and 2000 (15.7 percent and 4.7 million in 2000). Among naturalized citizens, 1.1 million were poor in 2000, for a poverty rate of 9.7 percent; both figures were statistically unchanged from 1999. Among noncitizens, 3.6 million or 19.4 percent were poor in 2000, statistically unchanged from 1999. The native population,12 however, had significant decreases in both its poverty rate (from 11.2 percent in 1999 to 10.7 percent in 2000) and number of poor (from 10
Poverty data for Hispanics are available from 1972 onward. Poverty rates for White non-Hispanics are available from 1973 onward. Poverty data for Asians and Pacific Islanders are available from 1987 onward. 12 Natives are defined as people born in the United States, Puerto Rico, or an outlying area of the United States, and those born in a foreign country but who had at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. All others are foreign-born regardless of date of entry into the United States or citizenship status. The Current Population Survey, the source of these data, does not extend to Puerto Rico or to the outlying areas of the United States, and thus those living there are excluded from the official poverty statistics. 11
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Table B. Number of Poor and Poverty Rate by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1998, 1999, and 2000 (Number in thousands. For an explanation of confidence intervals (C.I.), see www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty00/pov00src.pdf) 3-year average 1998-2000
Average 1999-2000
Average 1998-99
Difference in 2-year moving averages1
Characteristic Value
90-percent C.I. (±)
Value
90-percent C.I. (±)
Value
90-percent C.I. (±)
Value
90-percent C.I. (±)
11.9 9.9 7.8 23.9 25.9 11.3 23.1
0.2 0.2 0.2 0.9 3.3 1.2 1.0
11.5 9.6 7.6 22.9 27.1 10.7 22.0
0.3 0.3 0.3 1.0 3.8 1.3 1.1
12.3 10.1 7.9 24.8 26.1 11.6 24.2
0.3 0.3 0.3 1.0 3.8 1.4 1.2
*–0.7 *–0.6 –0.3 *–2.0 1.0 –0.9 *–2.2
0.4 0.4 0.3 1.3 4.9 1.8 1.4
32,624 22,222 15,082 8,451 701 1,250 7,555
656 529 442 311 103 130 320
31,698 21,607 14,723 8,131 766 1,194 7,297
755 614 514 357 121 149 362
33,367 22,688 15,337 8,726 692 1,261 7,754
772 628 524 366 115 153 370
*–1,669 *–1,081 –614 *–595 75 –67 –457
988 807 674 468 152 195 471
PERCENT All races . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Indian and Alaska Native. . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander. . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NUMBER All races.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . American Indian and Alaska Native. . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander. . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
*Statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. 1
As a result of rounding, some differences may appear to be slightly higher or lower than the difference of the reported rates. Hispanics may be of any race.
2
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1999, 2000, and 2001.
27.5 million in 1999 to 26.4 million in 2000). While the 2000 poverty rate for natives (10.7 percent) was lower than the foreign-born poverty rate (15.7 percent), the poverty rate for naturalized citizens (9.7 percent) was not significantly different from the poverty rate for natives. Since noncitizens composed the majority (18.5 million) of the 29.9 million foreign-born individuals, the foreign-born poverty rate was therefore higher (15.7 percent compared with 11.3 percent for all people). During the recent economic expansion between 1993 and 2000, noncitizens had the most dramatic decrease in their poverty rate (from 28.7 percent in 1993 to 19.4 percent in 2000), followed by natives (14.4 percent in 1993 to 10.7 percent in 2000). Naturalized citizens did not have any significant change in their poverty rate between 1993 and 2000 (10.1 percent in 1993, similar to 9.7 percent in 2000). Families and Unrelated Individuals The number of poor families fell by nearly half a million between 1999 and 2000, bringing the family poverty rate down from 9.3 percent in 1999 to 8.6 percent in 2000—a 26-year low. The number of poor families was 6.2 million in 2000, down from 6.7 million in 1999. Between 1999 and 2000, families with a female householder and no husband present attained historically low poverty rates, while married-couple families equaled their historic low set in 1999. Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
The poverty rate for families with a female householder and no husband present dropped from a previous low of 27.8 percent in 1999 to its new record low of 24.7 percent in 2000. From 1959 (the first year these data are available) to 1998, their poverty rate had never fallen significantly below 30 percent. In 2000, 3.1 million female-householder families were poor, down from 3.5 million in 1999. This record-low poverty rate for female-householder families warrants particular attention because female-householder families have grown as a share of all families—in 1959, they made up 10 percent of all families, but by 2000 their share had grown to 17 percent of all families. Recent poverty rate declines for female-householder families stand out more dramatically when disaggregated by race and Hispanic origin. From 1967 (the first year of available data) to 1999, Black female-householder families never experienced a poverty rate significantly below 40 percent—until 1989, their rate had not gone significantly below 50 percent—but in 2000 their rate dropped to 34.6 percent. Similarly, Hispanic female-householder families did not have a poverty rate significantly below 50 percent until 1998, but by 2000 their rate had fallen to 34.2 percent.13 While White non-Hispanic femalehouseholder families historically have fared better (before 13 The poverty rates in 2000 for Black and Hispanic femalehouseholder families were not significantly different from each other.
7
1999 their poverty rates were between 20 and 25 percent), their rate also set a record-low of 16.9 percent in 2000. (For family poverty rates by race over time, go to www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/histpov/hstpov4.html.) Work Experience Because poverty status is computed on the family level, if one family member works, the poverty status of every family member is affected. (See ‘‘How the Census Bureau Measures Poverty’’ on page 5.) Hence, Figure 4 shows poverty rates from 1993 to 2000 for people categorized by whether any family member worked. Figure 5 shows what percentages of people lived in families with at least one worker. As was shown in Figure 1, in the current business cycle, the poverty rate peaked in 1993; 1993 is therefore used for comparison. The poverty rate fell for people living in families with no workers. However, as more people have gotten jobs, people with no working family members made up a smaller fraction of the population in 2000 than they did in 1993 (9.4 percent compared with 12.2 percent). The poverty rate also fell for people in families with at least one worker, though not as precipitously. However, this decline deserves attention, because the share of the population with a working family member has grown since 1993.
Despite these poverty rate declines, having a job, even a full-time job, does not guarantee an escape from poverty. In 2000, a greater percentage of the poor had one full-time worker in the family than in 1993 (44.5 percent compared with 36.0 percent—see Table C). Thus, even though people with working family members were less likely to be poor in 2000 compared with 1993, the poor were more likely to have a working family member. Figure 6 illustrates how widely poverty rates vary when those living with workers and those living without workers are further categorized by family type. The former had lower poverty rates than the latter in all family types. However, for both, those who lived with workers and those who did not, people in female-householder families had a poverty rate at least four-and-a-half times greater than their counterparts in married-couple families. People in female-householder families with no workers had the highest poverty rate—two-thirds were poor. Region None of the four regions registered a significant change in poverty rate or number of poor between 1999 and 2000. The poverty rates in 2000 were 10.3 percent for the Northeast, 9.5 percent for the Midwest, 12.5 percent for
Figure 4.
Poverty Rates of People in Families by Presence of Workers: 1993 to 2000 50
Percent
42.9 percent People in families with no workers
40
30
28.7 percent
20
10
People in families with at least 1 worker
9.6 percent
7.6 percent 0 1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1994-2001.
8
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Figure 5.
Figure 6.
Percent of People in Families by Number of Workers: 1993 to 2000
Poverty Rates of People in Families by Family Type and Presence of Workers: 2000 (Percent)
Total With no workers With 1 or more workers 69.8
2 or more workers
61.3 62.0 61.5 62.1 62.1 61.8 62.6 62.4
28.7
27.9 21.4 14.6
26.5 26.4 27.2 27.1 27.3 28.1 27.9 28.2
12.2 11.6 11.2 10.8 10.5 10.1
9.6
1 worker
All families 9.4
9.4
0 workers
1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Table C. Percent Composition of People in Families by Number of Full-Time and Part-Time Workers: 1993 and 2000 All people in families
Poor people in families
1993
2000
1993
2000
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With no full-time workers. . . . . With one full-time worker. . . . . With two or more full-time workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100.0 18.3 40.9
100.0 14.7 41.1
100.0 55.0 36.0
100.0 46.1 44.5
40.7
44.2
9.0
9.4
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . With no part-time workers . . . . With one or more part-time workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
100.0 65.7
100.0 68.5
100.0 72.4
100.0 71.5
34.3
31.5
27.6
28.5
Note: Because of rounding, some percentages may not appear to sum to 100.0 percent. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1994 and 2001.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
5.7
4.8
Married-couple families
Female householder families
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2001.
Note: Because of rounding, some percentages may not appear to sum to 100.0 percent. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1994-2001.
Characteristic
7.6
the South, and 11.9 percent for the West.14 The poverty rate for the South remained at its historic low. Since 1994, the South’s poverty rate has not been significantly different from that for the West. Before then, the South had the highest poverty rate among the four regions. Residence The poverty rate decreased for ‘‘suburbs’’ (metropolitan areas outside central cities), from 8.3 percent in 1999 to 7.8 percent in 2000. For people living inside central cities, the poverty rate was 16.1 percent in 2000, statistically unchanged from 1999. Taking suburbs and central cities together, the poverty rate for people in metropolitan areas was 10.8 percent in 2000, down from 11.2 percent in 1999. Among those living outside metropolitan areas, the number of poor dropped to 6.8 million in 2000, down from 7.4 million in 1999. That decline did not translate to a lower poverty rate—13.4 percent were poor in 2000, statistically unchanged from 1999. 14 The poverty rates for the Northeast and Midwest were not significantly different from each other, but each were significantly lower than the rates for the South and West.
9
State Poverty Data Table D contains poverty rates for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the United States using 3-year averages covering 1998 to 2000 to improve the statistical reliability of the estimates. (See the text box ‘‘Interpreting State Poverty Data’’ on this page.) These 3-year average poverty rates ranged from 7.3 percent in Maryland to 19.3 percent in New Mexico. Although New Mexico appeared to have the highest poverty rate, its poverty rate was not statistically different from those in Louisiana or the District of Columbia, but was higher than the remaining 48 states. While the poverty rate for Maryland appeared to be the lowest, its rate was not statistically different from those in 16 other states. To compare change in poverty rates at the state level, the Census Bureau recommends 2-year moving averages (1999-2000 and 1998-99). Based on this approach, Figure 7 shows that ten states plus the District of Columbia had statistically significant decreases in their poverty rates, and none showed an increase. The states were Arizona, California, Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, North Dakota, Oregon, and Pennsylvania.
Example: ‘‘Depth of Poverty’’ Measures Suppose Family A has five people—two children and three adults—and has an income of $25,000. Ratio of income = to poverty
Family A’s income
$25,000
Family A’s poverty threshold $21,065
= 1.19
Since Family A’s income-to-poverty ratio was at least as great as one, Family A is not poor. However, since its ratio was also less than 1.25, it would be considered ‘‘near poor,’’ and its five members would be tallied in Table E as ‘‘Under 1.25.’’ All people in the same family have the same ratio. Since Family A’s income was greater than its threshold, its income surplus—the number of dollars above its poverty threshold—was $3,935 ($25,000-$21,065). income to poverty compares a family’s income with its poverty threshold, and expresses that comparison as a fraction. The income deficit tells how many dollars a family’s income is below its poverty threshold. These measures illustrate how the composition of the poor population varies by the severity of poverty.
‘‘DEPTH OF POVERTY’’ MEASURES
Ratio of Income to Poverty Level
While categorizing people as ‘‘poor’’ and ‘‘nonpoor’’ is one summary of economic position, in reality economic situations fall under a much broader spectrum. Two ‘‘depth of poverty’’ measures more fully reflect the distribution of people’s economic well-being. The ratio of
The percentage of people whose family income was less than half their poverty threshold dropped significantly, from 4.6 percent in 1999 to 4.4 percent in 2000, although the number of people below 50 percent of poverty remained statistically unchanged at 12.2 million in 2000. As in 1999, these people made up 39 percent of the poor population. The ‘‘near poor’’ (those with family incomes at least as great as their threshold but less than 1.25 times their threshold) had no change in their number or in their share of the total population—12.3 million and 4.5 percent in 2000. While some demographic groups make up similar shares of the population at varying degrees of poverty, others are unevenly distributed. Table E presents the number of people and percent below multiples of their poverty threshold—those below 50 percent of poverty (‘‘Under 0.50’’), those in poverty (‘‘Under 1.00’’) and those below 125 percent of poverty (‘‘Under 1.25’’). Among people aged 65 and over, 2.2 percent were below 50 percent of their poverty threshold, compared with 4.4 percent for all people. However, among those below 125 percent of poverty, the elderly rate (16.9 percent) was higher than that for all people (15.8 percent). These differences indicate that people aged 65 and over were more highly concentrated just above the poverty level than they were among the extremely poor.
Interpreting State Poverty Data State level estimates are not as reliable as national level estimates. These state poverty rate estimates are intended to provide a sense of the ranges within which the poverty rates probably exist. Do not compare poverty rate estimates across states because their variability is too high. The 3-year average poverty rate for Maryland, for example, was not significantly different from that of 16 other states. Why show averages? Why not show the latest year alone? Averaging poverty rates over several years improves the estimates’ reliability. An estimate’s reliability is measured by a 90-percent confidence interval: the smaller the confidence interval, the more reliable the estimate. For instance, using year 2000 data alone, Alabama had a confidence interval of ±2.8 percentage points around its poverty rate, but using a 3-year average the confidence interval decreased to ±2.1. For more information on confidence intervals, see the CPS Source and Accuracy Statement at www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty00/pov00src.pdf.
10
Income Deficit The income deficit for families in poverty (the difference in dollars between a family’s income and its poverty Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Table D. Percent of People in Poverty by State: 1998, 1999, and 2000 3-year average 1998-2000
Average 1999-2000
Difference in 2-year moving averages
Average 1998-99
State Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Connecticut. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . District of Columbia. . . . . . . . . . . . Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.9 14.6 8.3 13.6 15.8 14.0 8.5 7.6 9.8 17.3 12.1
0.2 2.1 1.6 1.8 2.1 0.8 1.6 1.8 2.0 2.6 1.0
11.5 14.6 7.8 12.0 16.4 13.3 8.1 6.7 9.5 14.8 11.5
0.3 2.4 1.9 2.1 2.5 0.9 1.9 2.0 2.3 2.8 1.2
12.3 14.8 8.5 14.3 14.7 14.6 8.7 8.3 10.3 18.6 12.8
0.3 2.5 1.9 2.2 2.4 1.0 1.9 2.2 2.3 3.1 1.2
*–0.7 –0.2 –0.7 *–2.2 1.6 *–1.2 –0.6 –1.6 –0.8 *–3.7 *–1.2
0.2 2.0 1.6 1.8 2.1 0.8 1.6 1.8 1.9 2.6 1.0
Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Illinois. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kentucky . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Maine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
12.6 10.5 13.3 10.5 8.2 7.9 10.4 12.5 18.6 9.8
1.7 2.1 1.9 1.1 1.6 1.7 1.9 2.0 2.2 2.0
12.1 10.3 13.5 10.8 7.6 7.3 10.8 11.9 18.3 9.5
2.0 2.4 2.2 1.3 1.9 1.9 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.3
13.2 10.9 13.5 10.0 8.0 8.3 10.9 12.8 19.1 10.5
2.1 2.4 2.3 1.2 1.9 2.0 2.2 2.3 2.6 2.4
–1.1 –0.6 – 0.8 –0.5 –1.0 – –0.9 –0.8 –1.0
1.7 2.0 1.8 1.1 1.7 1.6 1.8 1.9 2.2 1.9
Maryland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Massachusetts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Michigan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Minnesota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Missouri . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Montana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nevada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7.3 10.2 10.2 7.8 15.5 9.7 16.0 10.6 10.0 7.4
1.7 1.3 1.1 1.6 2.1 1.8 2.1 1.9 1.8 1.8
7.4 10.9 9.9 6.6 14.5 9.7 15.8 9.8 9.7 6.3
2.0 1.6 1.3 1.7 2.4 2.1 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.9
7.2 10.2 10.3 8.8 16.9 10.7 16.1 11.6 10.9 8.8
1.9 1.6 1.3 1.9 2.6 2.2 2.5 2.3 2.2 2.2
0.2 0.7 –0.4 *–2.2 *–2.4 –1.0 –0.3 –1.8 –1.2 *–2.5
1.6 1.3 1.1 1.6 2.0 1.7 2.1 1.8 1.7 1.7
New Jersey. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . New York. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ohio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oklahoma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Oregon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pennsylvania . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rhode Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
8.1 19.3 14.7 13.2 12.7 11.1 14.1 12.8 9.9 10.0
1.1 2.3 1.0 1.5 2.1 1.2 2.0 2.1 1.0 2.1
7.9 18.7 13.8 12.9 11.5 11.1 14.0 11.6 9.2 9.2
1.2 2.6 1.1 1.7 2.3 1.3 2.3 2.3 1.2 2.4
8.2 20.5 15.4 13.8 14.1 11.6 13.4 13.8 10.3 10.7
1.3 2.7 1.1 1.7 2.5 1.4 2.3 2.5 1.2 2.5
–0.3 –1.8 *–1.6 –0.9 *–2.6 –0.5 0.6 *–2.1 *–1.2 –1.5
1.0 2.2 0.9 1.4 2.0 1.1 2.0 2.0 1.0 2.0
South Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South Dakota . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tennessee. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Texas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Vermont . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Washington . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West Virginia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wisconsin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.9 9.3 13.3 14.9 8.1 10.1 8.1 9.4 15.8 8.8 11.0
2.1 1.7 2.0 1.1 1.5 2.0 1.6 1.8 2.1 1.7 1.9
11.0 8.6 13.3 14.9 7.6 10.2 7.8 9.6 14.8 8.9 11.2
2.3 2.0 2.4 1.2 1.7 2.4 1.8 2.2 2.4 2.0 2.3
12.7 9.3 12.7 15.0 7.3 9.8 8.4 9.2 16.8 8.7 11.1
2.4 2.0 2.3 1.3 1.7 2.3 1.9 2.1 2.5 1.9 2.2
–1.7 –0.7 0.6 –0.2 0.3 0.4 –0.6 0.4 –2.0 0.2 0.1
2.0 1.8 2.0 1.0 1.5 2.0 1.5 1.8 2.0 1.7 1.8
– Represents zero. * Statistically significant at the 90–percent confidence level. Note: For an explanation of confidence intervals (C.I.), see ‘‘Standard errors and their use’’ at www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty00/pov00src.pdf. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1999, 2000, and 2001.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
11
12 AK
Figure 7.
States With Significant Changes in 2-Year Average Poverty Rates: 1998-99 and 1999-2000
WA
ME
MT
ND
-2.6
OR
VT
MN
-2.1
ID
-2.2 SD
WI
CT
-1.2
NE
OH
UT
CA
IL
NJ
MD
IN
CO
DE
WV
KS
-3.7 NC
TN
AZ
DC
VA
MO
KY
-2.2
RI
PA
IA
-1.2
MA
-1.6 MI
WY
NV
NH
-2.5
NY
OK NM
AR
SC
MS
AL
GA
Percentage Point Change
U.S. Census Bureau
Poverty in the United States: 2000
-2.4 TX
No change Decrease
LA
FL
-1.2
HI Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1999, 2000, and 2001.
United States -0.7
Table E. Ratio of Family Income to Poverty Threshold for People by Selected Characteristics: 2000 (Numbers in thousands. For an explanation of ‘‘Ratio of Income to Poverty,’’ see example on page 10) Under 0.50 Characteristic
Under 1.00
Under 1.25
Total
Number
Percent of total
Number
Percent of total
Number
Percent of total
Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Age
275,917
12,158
4.4
31,139
11.3
43,465
15.8
Under 18 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 to 54 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 to 59 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 to 64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Race1 and Hispanic Origin
71,932 26,962 37,440 44,780 38,040 13,338 10,446 32,979
4,693 1,760 1,793 1,404 971 456 353 727
6.5 6.5 4.8 3.1 2.6 3.4 3.4 2.2
11,633 3,893 3,892 3,678 2,441 1,175 1,066 3,360
16.2 14.4 10.4 8.2 6.4 8.8 10.2 10.2
15,671 5,259 5,320 5,159 3,433 1,586 1,451 5,587
21.8 19.5 14.2 11.5 9.0 11.9 13.9 16.9
White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Other races. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander. . . . . . . . . . Hispanic2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . FAMILY STATUS In families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Related children under 18 . . . . . . . . . . Related children under 6.. . . . . . . . . Unrelated individual. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
225,993 193,878 35,748 14,176 11,357 33,719
8,002 5,725 3,363 793 449 2,460
3.5 3.0 9.4 5.6 4.0 7.3
21,291 14,572 7,901 1,946 1,226 7,155
9.4 7.5 22.1 13.7 10.8 21.2
30,828 21,306 10,154 2,483 1,590 10,072
13.6 11.0 28.4 17.5 14.0 29.9
229,476 72,383 70,769 23,261 45,120 21,629 23,491
8,197 2,412 4,306 1,730 3,651 1,639 2,012
3.6 3.3 6.1 7.4 8.1 7.6 8.6
22,088 6,226 11,086 3,931 8,530 3,458 5,073
9.6 8.6 15.7 16.9 18.9 16.0 21.6
31,353 8,889 15,039 5,373 11,496 4,594 6,902
13.7 12.3 21.3 23.1 25.5 21.2 29.4
PEOPLE
1
Data for American Indians and Alaska Natives are not shown separately. Hispanics may be of any race. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2001. 2
Table F. Income Deficit or Surplus of Families and Unrelated Individuals by Poverty Status: 2000 (Numbers in thousands. For an explanation of ‘‘Income Deficit,’’ see page 10) Size of deficit or surplus
Total
Under $500
$500 to $999
$1,000 to $1,999
$2,000 to $2,999
$3,000 to $3,999
$4,000 to $4,999
$5,000 to $5,999
$6,000 to $6,999
$7,000 to $7,999
$8,000 or more
Average deficit
Deficit per capita
6,226 2,638
261 139
302 145
623 289
561 237
471 223
472 222
481 191
393 136
402 139
2,259 916
6,820 6,612
1,922 1,712
3,099 8,530 3,458 5,073
98 557 186 371
137 779 308 471
290 1,427 515 912
275 1,206 481 725
229 707 237 470
205 493 217 276
246 454 173 281
230 449 204 245
206 454 197 257
1,183 2,004 939 1,065
7,018 4,388 4,724 4,159
2,084 4,388 4,724 4,159
66,158 52,968
386 205
318 171
768 404
808 440
820 453
774 477
829 492
865 511
816 539
59,773 49,276
56,427 62,599
18,001 19,490
9,427 36,590 18,171 18,419
146 540 223 317
124 629 172 457
293 1,549 618 931
317 1,237 428 809
290 1,361 539 822
257 1,166 479 687
280 1,038 401 637
266 1,257 594 663
234 967 399 569
7,219 26,846 14,318 12,529
27,778 26,622 31,067 22,237
9,701 26,622 31,067 22,237
Characteristic
Deficit for Those Below Poverty All families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Married-couple families . . . . Families with female householders, no husband present . . . . . . . . Unrelated individual . . . . . . Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Surplus for Those Above Poverty All families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Married-couple families . . . . Families with female householders, no husband present . . . . . . . . Unrelated individual . . . . . . Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2001.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
13
threshold) averaged $6,820 in 2000 (see Table F), not significantly different from the 1999 figure of $6,912.15 The per capita income deficit among people in families was $1,922 in 2000, also not different from the 1999 figure of $1,972. Between 1999 and 2000, families with a female householder and no husband present experienced decreases in their average income deficit (from $7,309 to $7,018) and their income deficit per capita (from $2,223 to $2,084). Married-couple families in 2000 had a lower average deficit and deficit per capita than female-householder families: $6,612 and $1,712, respectively, in 2000: neither figure was significantly different from its 1999 value. Income deficit per capita is computed by dividing the average deficit by the average number of people per family. Because families with a female householder and no husband present were smaller than married-couple families, the greater per capita deficit for female-householder families reflects their smaller family size as well as their lower income. Poor unrelated individuals (people who do not live with relatives) had an average income deficit of $4,388 in 2000—$4,159 for women, which was significantly lower than the $4,724 for men. Because there were more female than male unrelated individuals aged 65 and over, and because unrelated individuals aged 65 and over had lower poverty thresholds, the lower average deficit for women reflects differences in age, not just income. In 2000, 261,000 poor families had incomes less than $500 below their poverty thresholds, while 386,000 had incomes within $500 above their respective poverty thresholds. Therefore, the overall poverty rate would likely change more if the thresholds were slightly higher than if the thresholds were slightly lower. EXPERIMENTAL POVERTY MEASURES Using different methods to measure poverty changes one’s perception of who is poor. To measure poverty, two important components must be considered: 1. How does one measure a family’s (or person’s) needs? 2. What resources should one count as income for meeting those needs? In 1995, a panel from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issued a report that recommended new ways to measure income, families’ needs, and other aspects related to measuring poverty.16 Because the official poverty measure does not show how taxes, noncash benefits, and work-related expenses affect people’s well-being, the NAS panel observed that the official measure does not show how policy changes in those areas affect the poor. In
15
All 1999 figures are expressed 2000 dollars. Citro, Constance F. and Robert T. Michael, Measuring Poverty: A New Approach. Washington, DC, National Academy Press, 1995. 16
14
addition, the panel noted that the official poverty measure does not take into account how the cost of basic goods (such as food and housing) has changed relative to other goods since the early 1960s, when the official poverty measure was developed. Moreover, it does not reflect that costs vary by geography. Nor do the official thresholds, according to the NAS panel, accurately account for increased expenses and economies of scale that occur as family size increases. Hence, the NAS panel suggested a way to construct a new poverty measure that addresses these issues. The Census Bureau has been conducting research to refine some of the panel’s measurement methods and to examine how adapting the NAS panel’s recommendations would affect the number of poor and the poverty rate.17 Four experimental measures are discussed below. The first measure most closely implements the NAS panel’s recommendations for setting poverty thresholds and scaling them by family size, adjusting them for geographic differences in housing costs, counting noncash benefits as income, and subtracting from income some work-related, health, and child care expenses. The second experimental measure is called DCM (Different Child Care Method).18 Since the CPS March Supplement, the source of the poverty data, does not ask how much families spend on child care, these expenses must be estimated. But while the NAS measure estimates whether a family incurs child care expenses, and if so, how much, the DCM measure assigns fixed amounts of child care expenses to working families with children under age 12, based on the number and age of children in the family. Both of these measures use data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to estimate child care expenses.19 Another measure is the DES, which uses a ‘‘Different Equivalence Scale’’ from the NAS measure to adjust for changes in expenses as family size increases. The NAS measure uses a two-parameter equivalence scale. The NAS measure’s first parameter adjusts poverty thresholds by family size to reflect that children, on average, consume less than adults; its second parameter reflects that as family size increases, some expenses like clothing increase 17 Short, Kathleen, Thesia Garner, David Johnson, and Patricia Doyle, Experimental Poverty Measures: 1990 to 1997. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Reports, Consumer Income, P60-205, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1999. See also Short, Kathleen, John Iceland, and Thesia I. Garner, ‘‘Experimental Poverty Measures: 1998.’’ U.S. Census Bureau Web report, September, 1999, www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/povmeas/exppov/ exppov.html. A new report, Short, Kathleen ‘‘Experimental Poverty Measures: 1999,’’ will be issued in October 2001. See also the Census Bureau’s poverty measurement Web site for additional studies: www.census.gov/hhes/www/povmeas.html. 18 This measure was called DCM1 in the report, Experimental Poverty Measures: 1990 to 1997 (P60-205). 19 For a more detailed description of these approaches to estimating child care expenses, see Short et al., Experimental Poverty Measures: 190 to 1997 (P60-205), pp.8 and C-11.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
additively, but other expenses like housing do not. The DES measure adds a third parameter, which allows the first child in a single-adult family to represent a greater increase in expenses than the first child in a two-adult family. The final experimental measure examined here does not adjust thresholds for geographic differences in costs of living; hence, this measure is called NGA (No Geographic Adjustment). As one would expect, when poverty measures are defined differently, they yield different poverty rates (Table G). Except for the NGA measure, poverty rate declines for the experimental measures were not different from the official measure between 1993 and 2000. However, the NAS and DCM measures did not have a significant decrease between 1999 and 2000, in contrast with the official measure. More noteworthy, however, when the poverty definition changes, not all population groups are affected uniformly. Table H shows how standardized poverty rates for population groups differ among the experimental measures, and how those rates compare with their official poverty rates. For an explanation of standardized poverty rates, see the ‘‘Standardized Poverty Rates’’ text box on this page. The experimental measures yielded higher poverty rates for people in married-couple families than did the official measure. In contrast, people in families with a female householder and no husband present had lower poverty rates under the experimental measures than under the official measure.
Table G. Selected Experimental Poverty Measures: 1990 to 2000 (Poverty rates are standardized to the 1997 poverty rate. For an explanation of standardized poverty rates, see text box)
Year Official 1990 . . . . . . . 1991 . . . . . . . 1992 . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . 1995 . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . 2000 . . . . . . .
13.5 14.2 14.8 15.1 14.6 13.8 13.7 13.3 12.7 11.8 11.3
National Academy Different of Sci- child care ences method 13.7 14.5 15.1 15.8 14.6 13.8 13.6 13.3 12.5 11.7 11.5
13.6 14.3 15.0 15.7 14.5 13.8 13.7 13.3 12.5 11.9 11.7
Different equivalence scale
No geographic adjustment
13.6 14.4 15.1 15.8 14.6 13.8 13.6 13.3 12.4 11.8 11.4
13.8 14.6 15.2 15.8 14.6 13.9 13.5 13.3 12.3 11.7 11.3
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1991 to 2001, and ‘‘Selected Experimental Poverty Measures: 1990 to 1999’’ available at www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/povmeas/exppov/ suexppov.html.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Standardized Poverty Rates What are ‘‘standardized’’ poverty rates? Ordinarily, each of the four experimental measures would yield a different overall poverty rate, because they each define poverty differently. Standardizing the measures means their overall poverty rates were fixed to equal one another in some reference year.
Why standardize to 1997 poverty rates? The experimental poverty rates for the 2000 totals appear close but not exactly equal to one another. These experimental measures were adjusted so their overall poverty rates for 1997 equal the official poverty rate for 1997. This was done so that the figures here would be comparable with the standardized measures in the report, Experimental Poverty Measures: 1990 to 1997. If the measures were standardized to the current official poverty rate each year, then the measures would not be comparable over time.
Why standardize at all? It is often useful to compare poverty rates for the same population group across different measures. However, since each measure has a different way of counting income and measuring need, the measures ordinarily yield different overall poverty rates and total numbers of people in poverty. Thus, if two measures have different poverty rates for a population group, it is difficult to determine, just by looking at the numbers, to what extent the poverty rates differ because the overall poverty rates differ, or because the measures yield different poverty rates for that group relative to other groups. Since standardizing the measures fixes their overall poverty rates equal to one another and to the official rate, we can observe the relative differences in poverty rates among population groups. By observing the relative differences in poverty rates across measures, we learn how each measure changes our perception of who is poor. Making these relative comparisons easier comes at a price. First, as the standardized experimental poverty rates diverge over time from the official rate, it becomes more difficult to distinguish whether poverty rate differences for a population group are relative differences or whether they come from differences in the overall poverty rate. Second, just as not all people are equally poor—some people have much less income in relation to their threshold than others do—so too the composition of the poor population is not the same for all levels of poverty. When the experimental measures are lowered to yield identical overall poverty rates, some people close to the poverty line for each measure are excluded from the poverty population who otherwise would be included. Since the composition of the poor population varies by the severity of poverty, the standardized experimental measures reveal a slightly different composition of poor people than they would without standardization. To learn more about standardized poverty measures, see the report, Experimental Poverty Measures: 1990 to 1997, especially pp. 16-23.
15
Table H. Experimental Poverty Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2000 (Poverty rates are standardized to the 1997 official rate. For an explanation of standardized poverty rates, see text box on page 15)
Official
National Academy of Sciences
Different child care method
Different equivalence scale
No geographic adjustment
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11.3
11.5
11.7
11.4
11.3
People in families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . People in married-couple families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . People in families with a female householder, no husband present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.6 5.7
10.2 6.9
10.5 6.9
9.9 6.4
10.0 6.7
27.9
24.6
26.1
24.7
24.9
Race and Hispanic Origin White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hispanic1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9.4 22.1 21.2
10.0 19.5 21.8
10.2 20.2 22.3
10.0 19.6 21.4
9.9 19.4 19.9
Age Under 18 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 to 64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 years and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
16.2 9.4 10.2
14.3 9.7 14.5
15.1 9.8 14.1
14.0 9.8 14.6
14.2 9.5 14.6
Region Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10.3 9.5 12.5 11.9
11.6 9.0 11.6 13.5
11.8 9.3 11.8 13.7
11.7 9.0 11.7 13.4
9.5 9.7 13.0 11.9
Characteristic
1
Hispanics may be of any race.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 2001.
The poverty rates for Whites were slightly higher under the experimental measures than under the official measure, while poverty rates for Blacks were lower. The poverty rate for Hispanics was lower under the NGA measure and higher under the other measures. The Hispanic poverty rate was lowest under the NGA measure partly because Hispanics were highly concentrated in areas with high housing costs, such as California. Poverty rates by age under the experimental measures also differed from the official measure. The experimental measures showed lower poverty rates among children and higher poverty rates among the elderly. The geographically adjusted poverty measures (NAS, DCM, DES) yielded higher poverty rates in the Northeast and West, where housing costs are higher; similarly, poverty rates in the Midwest and South were lower when using these measures. The opposite occurred using the NGA measure. More information on experimental poverty measures can be found on the Census Bureau’s Poverty Measurement Research Web site at www.census.gov/hhes/www/ povmeas.html. The Census Bureau plans to continue to issue reports on experimental poverty measures, in order to help policy makers improve their understanding of how measurement issues affect the perception of who is poor.
this report, however, are based on a subsample consistent with the March 2000 CPS. The Census Bureau will release a report this winter discussing the impact of the sample expansion on income estimates. For further information, see www.bls.census.gov/cps/ads/data_dissem_letterng .htm.
NOTES, ADDITIONAL DATA, AND USERS’ COMMENTS
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates
CPS Sample Expansion The number of households interviewed using the March 2001 CPS was expanded from March 2000. Estimates in 16
CPS Data Collection The information in this report was collected in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and does not include residents of Puerto Rico. The estimates in this report are controlled to national population estimates by age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin, and are based on a sample of about 50,000 households nationwide. The population controls used to prepare the estimates are based on results of the 1990 census carried forward to 2000 (they are not based on Census 2000). Because the CPS is primarily a household survey, people without conventional housing who are not living in shelters are excluded from these poverty statistics. The CPS also excludes armed forces personnel living on military bases and people living in institutions. For further documentation about the CPS March supplement, see www.bls.census.gov/cps/ads/adsmain.htm.
Model-based state and county poverty estimates for income years 1993, 1995, and 1997 are available on the Internet at www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe.html. The
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Census Bureau calculated these model-based estimates by combining results from the CPS, food stamp records, tax records, and the 1990 decennial census. Poverty estimates are also available on that Web site for related children 5 to 17 years old by school district. The model-based state estimates have less uncertainty than those directly estimated from the CPS; the model-based estimates are also the only intercensal source of county and school district poverty estimates from the Census Bureau. State estimates for income year 1998 were released in August 2001. State, county, and school district estimates for 1999 will be released in fall 2002. Additional Data and Contacts Detailed tables, historical tables, press releases and briefings, and unpublished data are available electronically on the U.S. Census Bureau’s poverty Web site. The Web site may be accessed through the Census Bureau home page at www.census.gov or directly at www.census.gov/hhes/ www/poverty.html. CPS microdata are available for downloading through the FERRET system. FERRET may be accessed by clicking on ‘‘Access Tools’’ on the Census
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Bureau home page or by clicking the FERRET link on the poverty Web site. These CPS microdata have been reviewed to prevent disclosure of individuals’ identities. If you have trouble finding poverty data or have questions about them, you may contact the Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division information staff by e-mail at
[email protected] or by phone at 301-457-3242. Comments The Census Bureau welcomes the comments and advice of data and report users. If you have suggestions or comments, please write to: Charles T. Nelson Assistant Division Chief of Income, Poverty, and Health Statistics Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division U.S. Census Bureau Washington, DC 20233-8500 or by e-mail to
[email protected].
17
Appendix. Time Series Poverty Estimates Table A-1. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000 [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year]
All people
People in families Families with female householder, no husband present
All families Below poverty level
Year and characteristic
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Unrelated individuals
Total Number Percent
Below poverty level
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Total Number
Percent
ALL RACES 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
275,917 273,493 271,059 268,480 266,218
31,139 32,258 34,476 35,574 36,529
11.3 11.8 12.7 13.3 13.7
229,476 228,633 227,229 225,369 223,955
22,088 23,396 25,370 26,217 27,376
9.6 10.2 11.2 11.6 12.2
37,428 38,223 39,000 38,412 38,584
10,436 11,607 12,907 13,494 13,796
27.9 30.4 33.1 35.1 35.8
45,120 43,432 42,539 41,672 40,727
8,530 8,305 8,478 8,687 8,452
18.9 19.1 19.9 20.8 20.8
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
263,733 261,616 259,278 256,549 251,192
36,425 38,059 39,265 38,014 35,708
13.8 14.5 15.1 14.8 14.2
222,792 221,430 219,489 217,936 212,723
27,501 28,985 29,927 28,961 27,143
12.3 13.1 13.6 13.3 12.8
38,908 37,253 37,861 36,446 34,795
14,205 14,380 14,636 14,205 13,824
36.5 38.6 38.7 39.0 39.7
39,484 38,538 38,038 36,842 36,845
8,247 8,287 8,388 8,075 7,773
20.9 21.5 22.1 21.9 21.1
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
248,644 245,992 243,530 240,982 238,554
33,585 31,528 31,745 32,221 32,370
13.5 12.8 13.0 13.4 13.6
210,967 209,515 208,056 206,877 205,459
25,232 24,066 24,048 24,725 24,754
12.0 11.5 11.6 12.0 12.0
33,795 32,525 32,164 31,893 31,152
12,578 11,668 11,972 12,148 11,944
37.2 35.9 37.2 38.1 38.3
36,056 35,185 34,340 32,992 31,679
7,446 6,760 7,070 6,857 6,846
20.7 19.2 20.6 20.8 21.6
1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
236,594 233,816 231,700 229,412 227,157
33,064 33,700 35,303 34,398 31,822
14.0 14.4 15.2 15.0 14.0
203,963 202,288 201,338 200,385 198,541
25,729 26,458 27,933 27,349 24,850
12.6 13.1 13.9 13.6 12.5
30,878 30,844 30,049 28,834 28,587
11,600 11,831 12,072 11,701 11,051
37.6 38.4 40.2 40.6 38.7
31,351 30,268 29,158 27,908 27,714
6,725 6,609 6,740 6,458 6,490
21.5 21.8 23.1 23.1 23.4
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
225,027 222,903 215,656 213,867 212,303
29,272 26,072 24,497 24,720 24,975
13.0 11.7 11.4 11.6 11.8
196,963 195,860 191,071 190,757 190,844
22,601 19,964 19,062 19,505 19,632
11.5 10.2 10.0 10.2 10.3
27,565 26,927 26,032 25,404 24,204
10,120 9,400 9,269 9,205 9,029
36.7 34.9 35.6 36.2 37.3
27,133 26,170 24,585 23,110 21,459
6,227 5,743 5,435 5,216 5,344
22.9 21.9 22.1 22.6 24.9
1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
210,864 209,362 207,621 206,004 204,554
25,877 23,370 22,973 24,460 25,559
12.3 11.2 11.1 11.9 12.5
190,630 190,436 189,361 189,193 188,242
20,789 18,817 18,299 19,577 20,405
10.9 9.9 9.7 10.3 10.8
23,580 23,165 21,823 21,264 20,153
8,846 8,462 8,178 8,114 7,797
37.5 36.5 37.5 38.2 38.7
20,234 18,926 18,260 16,811 16,311
5,088 4,553 4,674 4,883 5,154
25.1 24.1 25.6 29.0 31.6
1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
202,183 199,517 197,628 195,672 193,388
25,420 24,147 25,389 27,769 28,510
12.6 12.1 12.8 14.2 14.7
186,692 184,891 183,825 182,558 181,117
20,330 19,175 20,695 22,771 23,809
10.9 10.4 11.3 12.5 13.1
19,673 17,995 18,048 17,788 17,240
7,503 6,879 6,990 6,898 6,861
38.1 38.2 38.7 38.8 39.8
15,491 14,626 13,803 13,114 12,271
5,090 4,972 4,694 4,998 4,701
32.9 34.0 34.0 38.1 38.3
1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1963 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
191,413 189,710 187,258 184,276 181,277 179,503 176,557
33,185 36,055 36,436 38,625 39,628 39,851 39,490
17.3 19.0 19.5 21.0 21.9 22.2 22.4
179,281 177,653 176,076 173,263 170,131 168,615 165,858
28,358 30,912 31,498 33,623 34,509 34,925 34,562
15.8 17.4 17.9 19.4 20.3 20.7 20.8
16,371 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
7,524 7,297 7,646 7,781 7,252 7,247 7,014
46.0 44.4 47.7 50.3 48.1 48.9 49.4
12,132 12,057 11,182 11,013 11,146 10,888 10,699
4,827 5,143 4,938 5,002 5,119 4,926 4,928
39.8 42.7 44.2 45.4 45.9 45.2 46.1
See footnotes at end of table.
18
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Table A-1. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000—Con. [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year]
All people
People in families Families with female householder, no husband present
All families Below poverty level
Year and characteristic
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Unrelated individuals
Total Number Percent
Below poverty level
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Total Number
Percent
WHITE 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
225,993 224,373 222,837 221,200 219,656
21,291 21,922 23,454 24,396 24,650
9.4 9.8 10.5 11.0 11.2
187,670 187,139 186,184 185,147 184,119
14,430 15,141 16,549 17,258 17,621
7.7 8.1 8.9 9.3 9.6
23,606 23,895 24,211 23,773 23,744
5,210 5,891 6,674 7,296 7,073
22.1 24.7 27.6 30.7 29.8
37,217 36,151 35,563 34,858 34,247
6,404 6,375 6,386 6,593 6,463
17.2 17.6 18.0 18.9 18.9
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
218,028 216,460 214,899 213,060 210,133
24,423 25,379 26,226 25,259 23,747
11.2 11.7 12.2 11.9 11.3
183,450 182,546 181,330 180,409 177,619
17,593 18,474 18,968 18,294 17,268
9.6 10.1 10.5 10.1 9.7
23,732 22,713 23,224 22,453 21,608
7,047 7,228 7,199 6,907 6,806
29.7 31.8 31.0 30.8 31.5
33,399 32,569 32,112 31,170 31,207
6,336 6,292 6,443 6,147 5,872
19.0 19.3 20.1 19.7 18.8
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
208,611 206,853 205,235 203,605 202,282
22,326 20,785 20,715 21,195 22,183
10.7 10.0 10.1 10.4 11.0
176,504 175,857 175,111 174,488 174,024
15,916 15,179 15,001 15,593 16,393
9.0 8.6 8.6 8.9 9.4
20,845 20,362 20,396 20,244 20,163
6,210 5,723 5,950 5,989 6,171
29.8 28.1 29.2 29.6 30.6
30,833 29,993 29,315 28,290 27,143
5,739 5,063 5,314 5,174 5,198
18.6 16.9 18.1 18.3 19.2
1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
200,918 198,941 197,496 195,919 194,504
22,860 22,955 23,984 23,517 21,553
11.4 11.5 12.1 12.0 11.1
172,863 171,839 171,407 170,748 169,868
17,125 17,299 18,377 18,015 16,127
9.9 10.1 10.7 10.6 9.5
20,105 19,727 19,256 18,374 18,795
5,990 5,866 6,017 5,686 5,600
29.8 29.7 31.2 30.9 29.8
27,067 26,094 25,206 24,300 23,913
5,299 5,181 5,189 5,041 5,061
19.6 19.9 20.6 20.7 21.2
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
192,912 191,742 186,450 185,254 184,165
19,699 17,214 16,259 16,416 16,713
10.2 9.0 8.7 8.9 9.1
168,756 168,461 165,193 165,385 165,571
14,587 12,495 12,050 12,364 12,500
8.6 7.4 7.3 7.5 7.5
17,642 17,349 16,877 16,721 15,941
4,940 4,375 4,371 4,474 4,463
28.0 25.2 25.9 26.8 28.0
23,370 22,587 21,257 19,869 18,594
4,760 4,452 4,209 4,051 4,213
20.4 19.7 19.8 20.4 22.7
1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
183,164 182,376 181,185 180,125 179,398
17,770 15,736 15,142 16,203 17,780
9.7 8.6 8.4 9.0 9.9
165,661 166,081 165,424 165,630 165,184
13,799 12,181 11,412 12,268 13,566
8.3 7.3 6.9 7.4 8.2
15,577 15,433 14,303 13,739 13,502
4,577 4,278 4,003 3,770 4,099
29.4 27.7 28.0 27.4 30.4
17,503 16,295 15,761 14,495 14,214
3,972 3,555 3,730 3,935 4,214
22.7 21.8 23.7 27.1 29.6
1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
177,376 175,349 173,732 172,038 170,247
17,484 16,659 17,395 18,983 19,290
9.9 9.5 10.0 11.0 11.3
163,875 162,779 161,777 160,720 159,561
13,323 12,623 13,546 14,851 15,430
8.1 7.8 8.4 9.2 9.7
13,226 12,285 12,190 12,131 12,261
3,761 3,577 3,551 3,453 3,646
28.4 29.1 29.1 28.5 29.7
13,500 12,570 11,955 11,318 10,686
4,161 4,036 3,849 4,132 3,860
30.8 32.1 32.2 36.5 36.1
1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1963 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
168,732 167,313 165,309 162,842 160,306 158,863 156,956
22,496 24,957 25,238 26,672 27,890 28,309 28,484
13.3 14.9 15.3 16.4 17.4 17.8 18.1
158,255 156,898 155,584 153,348 150,717 149,458 147,802
18,508 20,716 21,149 22,613 23,747 24,262 24,443
11.7 13.2 13.6 14.7 15.8 16.2 16.5
11,573 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4,092 3,911 4,051 4,089 4,062 4,296 4,232
35.4 33.4 35.6 37.9 37.6 39.0 40.2
10,477 10,415 9,725 9,494 9,589 9,405 9,154
3,988 4,241 4,089 4,059 4,143 4,047 4,041
38.1 40.7 42.0 42.7 43.2 43.0 44.1
See footnotes at end of table.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
19
Table A-1. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000—Con. [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year]
All people
People in families Families with female householder, no husband present
All families Below poverty level
Year and characteristic
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Unrelated individuals
Total Number Percent
Below poverty level
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Total Number
Percent
WHITE NON-HISPANIC 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
193,878 193,334 192,754 191,859 191,459
14,572 14,875 15,799 16,491 16,462
7.5 7.7 8.2 8.6 8.6
159,100 159,362 159,301 158,796 159,044
8,783 9,118 10,061 10,401 10,553
5.5 5.7 6.3 6.5 6.6
18,028 18,233 18,547 18,474 18,597
3,250 3,618 4,074 4,604 4,339
18.0 19.8 22.0 24.9 23.3
33,887 33,136 32,573 32,049 31,410
5,447 5,440 5,352 5,632 5,455
16.1 16.4 16.4 17.6 17.4
1995 1994 1993 1992r 1991r
.................. .................. .................. .................. ..................
190,951 192,543 190,843 189,001 189,116
16,267 18,110 18,882 18,202 17,741
8.5 9.4 9.9 9.6 9.4
159,402 161,254 160,062 159,102 158,850
10,599 12,118 12,756 12,277 11,998
6.6 7.5 8.0 7.7 7.6
18,340 18,186 18,508 18,016 17,609
4,183 4,743 4,724 4,640 4,710
22.8 26.1 25.5 25.8 26.7
30,586 30,157 29,681 28,775 29,215
5,303 5,500 5,570 5,350 5,261
17.3 18.2 18.8 18.6 18.0
1990 1989 1988r 1987r 1986
.................. .................. .................. .................. ..................
188,129 186,979 185,961 184,936 184,119
16,622 15,599 15,565 16,029 17,244
8.8 8.3 8.4 8.7 9.4
158,394 158,127 157,687 157,785 157,665
11,086 10,723 10,467 11,051 12,078
7.0 6.8 6.6 7.0 7.7
17,160 16,827 16,828 16,787 16,739
4,284 3,922 3,988 4,075 4,350
25.0 23.3 23.7 24.3 26.0
28,688 28,055 27,552 26,439 25,525
5,002 4,466 4,746 4,613 4,668
17.4 15.9 17.2 17.4 18.3
1985 1984 1983 1982 1981
.................. .................. .................. .................. ..................
183,455 182,469 181,393 181,903 180,909
17,839 18,300 19,538 19,362 17,987
9.7 10.0 10.8 10.6 9.9
157,106 156,930 156,719 157,818 157,330
12,706 13,234 14,437 14,271 12,903
8.1 8.4 9.2 9.0 8.2
16,749 16,742 16,369 15,830 16,323
4,136 4,193 4,448 4,161 4,222
24.7 25.0 27.2 26.3 25.9
25,544 24,671 23,894 23,329 22,950
4,789 4,659 4,746 4,701 4,769
18.7 18.9 19.9 20.2 20.8
1980 1979 1978 1977 1976
.................. .................. .................. .................. ..................
179,798 178,814 174,731 173,563 173,235
16,365 14,419 13,755 13,802 14,025
9.1 8.1 7.9 8.0 8.1
156,633 156,567 154,321 154,449 155,324
11,568 10,009 9,798 9,977 10,066
7.4 6.4 6.3 6.5 6.5
15,358 15,410 15,132 14,888 14,261
3,699 3,371 3,390 3,429 3,516
24.1 21.9 22.4 23.0 24.7
22,455 21,638 20,410 19,114 17,912
4,474 4,179 3,957 3,825 3,959
19.9 19.3 19.4 20.0 22.1
1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172,417 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171,463 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170,488
14,883 13,217 12,864
8.6 155,539 7.7 155,764 7.5 155,330
11,137 9,854 9,262
7.2 6.3 6.0
13,809 13,763 12,731
3,570 3,379 3,185
25.9 24.6 25.0
16,879 15,699 15,158
3,746 3,364 3,602
22.2 21.4 23.8
BLACK 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
35,748 35,373 34,877 34,458 34,110
7,901 8,360 9,091 9,116 9,694
22.1 23.6 26.1 26.5 28.4
29,495 29,488 29,333 28,962 28,933
6,147 6,688 7,259 7,386 7,993
20.8 22.7 24.7 25.5 27.6
12,184 12,644 13,156 13,218 13,193
4,720 5,179 5,629 5,654 6,123
38.7 41.0 42.8 42.8 46.4
6,098 5,619 5,390 5,316 4,989
1,708 1,552 1,752 1,645 1,606
28.0 27.6 32.5 31.0 32.2
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33,740 33,353 32,910 32,411 31,313
9,872 10,196 10,877 10,827 10,242
29.3 30.6 33.1 33.4 32.7
28,777 28,499 28,106 27,790 26,565
8,189 8,447 9,242 9,134 8,504
28.5 29.6 32.9 32.9 32.0
13,604 12,926 13,132 12,591 11,960
6,553 6,489 6,955 6,799 6,557
48.2 50.2 53.0 54.0 54.8
4,756 4,649 4,608 4,410 4,505
1,551 1,617 1,541 1,569 1,590
32.6 34.8 33.4 35.6 35.3
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
30,806 30,332 29,849 29,362 28,871
9,837 9,302 9,356 9,520 8,983
31.9 30.7 31.3 32.4 31.1
26,296 25,931 25,484 25,128 24,910
8,160 7,704 7,650 7,848 7,410
31.0 29.7 30.0 31.2 29.7
11,866 11,190 10,794 10,701 10,175
6,005 5,530 5,601 5,789 5,473
50.6 49.4 51.9 54.1 53.8
4,244 4,180 4,095 3,977 3,714
1,491 1,471 1,509 1,471 1,431
35.1 35.2 36.8 37.0 38.5
See footnotes at end of table.
20
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Table A-1. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000—Con. [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year]
All people
People in families Families with female householder, no husband present
All families Below poverty level
Year and characteristic
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Unrelated individuals
Total Number Percent
Below poverty level
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Total Number
Percent
BLACK—Con. 1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28,485 28,087 27,678 27,216 26,834
8,926 9,490 9,882 9,697 9,173
31.3 33.8 35.7 35.6 34.2
24,620 24,387 24,138 23,948 23,423
7,504 8,104 8,376 8,355 7,780
30.5 33.2 34.7 34.9 33.2
10,041 10,384 10,059 9,699 9,214
5,342 5,666 5,736 5,698 5,222
53.2 54.6 57.0 58.8 56.7
3,641 3,501 3,287 3,051 3,277
1,264 1,255 1,338 1,229 1,296
34.7 35.8 40.7 40.3 39.6
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
26,408 25,944 24,956 24,710 24,399
8,579 8,050 7,625 7,726 7,595
32.5 31.0 30.6 31.3 31.1
23,084 22,666 22,027 21,850 21,840
7,190 6,800 6,493 6,667 6,576
31.1 30.0 29.5 30.5 30.1
9,338 9,065 8,689 8,315 7,926
4,984 4,816 4,712 4,595 4,415
53.4 53.1 54.2 55.3 55.7
3,208 3,127 2,929 2,860 2,559
1,314 1,168 1,132 1,059 1,019
41.0 37.3 38.6 37.0 39.8
1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
24,089 23,699 23,512 23,144 22,784
7,545 7,182 7,388 7,710 7,396
31.3 30.3 31.4 33.3 32.5
21,687 21,341 21,328 21,116 20,900
6,533 6,255 6,560 6,841 6,530
30.1 29.3 30.8 32.4 31.2
7,679 7,483 7,188 7,125 6,398
4,168 4,116 4,064 4,139 3,587
54.3 55.0 56.5 58.1 56.1
2,402 2,359 2,183 2,028 1,884
1,011 927 828 870 866
42.1 39.3 37.9 42.9 46.0
1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
22,515 22,011 21,944 21,590 21,206 18,013
7,548 7,095 7,616 8,486 8,867 9,927
33.5 32.2 34.7 39.3 41.8 55.1
20,724 20,192 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
6,683 6,245 6,839 7,677 8,090 9,112
32.2 30.9 33.7 38.4 40.9 54.9
6,225 5,537 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
3,656 3,225 3,312 3,362 3,160 2,416
58.7 58.2 58.9 61.6 65.3 70.6
1,791 1,819 (NA) (NA) (NA) 1,430
865 850 777 809 777 815
48.3 46.7 46.3 49.3 54.4 57.0
2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33,719 32,669 31,515 30,637 29,614
7,155 7,439 8,070 8,308 8,697
21.2 22.8 25.6 27.1 29.4
29,981 29,198 28,055 27,467 26,340
6,026 6,349 6,814 7,198 7,515
20.1 21.7 24.3 26.2 28.5
6,032 6,113 6,074 5,718 5,641
2,204 2,488 2,837 2,911 3,020
36.5 40.7 46.7 50.9 53.5
3,520 3,207 3,218 2,976 2,985
1,012 991 1,097 1,017 1,066
28.7 30.9 34.1 34.2 35.7
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
28,344 27,442 26,559 25,646 22,070
8,574 8,416 8,126 7,592 6,339
30.3 30.7 30.6 29.6 28.7
25,165 24,390 23,439 22,695 19,658
7,341 7,357 6,876 6,455 5,541
29.2 30.2 29.3 28.4 28.2
5,785 5,328 5,333 4,806 4,326
3,053 2,920 2,837 2,474 2,282
52.8 54.8 53.2 51.5 52.7
2,947 2,798 2,717 2,577 2,146
1,092 926 972 881 667
37.0 33.1 35.8 34.2 31.1
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
21,405 20,746 20,064 19,395 18,758
6,006 5,430 5,357 5,422 5,117
28.1 26.2 26.7 28.0 27.3
18,912 18,488 18,102 17,342 16,880
5,091 4,659 4,700 4,761 4,469
26.9 25.2 26.0 27.5 26.5
3,993 3,763 3,734 3,678 3,631
2,115 1,902 2,052 2,045 1,921
53.0 50.6 55.0 55.6 52.9
2,254 2,045 1,864 1,933 1,685
774 634 597 598 553
34.3 31.0 32.0 31.0 32.8
1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
18,075 16,916 16,544 14,385 14,021
5,236 4,806 4,633 4,301 3,713
29.0 28.4 28.0 29.9 26.5
16,276 15,293 15,075 13,242 12,922
4,605 4,192 4,113 3,865 3,349
28.3 27.4 27.3 29.2 25.9
3,561 3,139 3,032 2,664 2,622
1,983 1,764 1,670 1,601 1,465
55.7 56.2 55.1 60.1 55.9
1,602 1,481 1,364 1,018 1,005
532 545 457 358 313
33.2 36.8 33.5 35.1 31.1
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
13,600 13,371 12,079 12,046 11,269
3,491 2,921 2,607 2,700 2,783
25.7 21.8 21.6 22.4 24.7
12,547 12,291 11,193 11,249 10,552
3,143 2,599 2,343 2,463 2,516
25.1 21.1 20.9 21.9 23.8
2,421 2,058 1,817 1,901 1,766
1,319 1,053 1,024 1,077 1,000
54.5 51.2 56.4 56.7 56.6
970 991 886 797 716
312 286 264 237 266
32.2 28.8 29.8 29.8 37.2
HISPANIC1
See footnotes at end of table.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
21
Table A-1. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000—Con. [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year]
All people
People in families Families with female householder, no husband present
All families Below poverty level
Year and characteristic
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Unrelated individuals
Total Number Percent
Below poverty level
Below poverty level Total Number Percent
Total Number
Percent
1
HISPANIC —Con. 1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11,117 11,201 10,795 10,588
2,991 2,575 2,366 2,414
26.9 23.0 21.9 22.8
10,472 10,584 10,269 10,099
2,755 2,374 2,209 2,252
26.3 22.4 21.5 22.3
1,842 1,723 1,534 1,370
1,053 915 881 733
57.2 53.1 57.4 53.5
645 617 526 488
236 201 157 162
36.6 32.6 29.9 33.2
2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11,357 10,916 10,873 10,482 10,054
1,226 1,163 1,360 1,468 1,454
10.8 10.7 12.5 14.0 14.5
9,948 9,618 9,576 9,312 8,900
946 919 1,087 1,116 1,172
9.5 9.6 11.4 12.0 13.2
1,049 1,097 1,123 932 1,018
204 253 373 313 300
19.5 23.0 33.2 33.6 29.5
1,375 1,267 1,266 1,134 1,120
271 238 257 327 255
19.7 18.8 20.3 28.9 22.8
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9,644 6,654 7,434 7,779 7,192
1,411 974 1,134 985 996
14.6 14.6 15.3 12.7 13.8
8,582 5,915 6,609 6,922 6,367
1,112 776 898 787 773
13.0 13.1 13.6 11.4 12.1
919 582 725 729 721
266 137 126 183 177
28.9 23.6 17.4 25.0 24.6
1,013 696 791 828 785
260 179 228 193 209
25.6 25.7 28.8 23.3 26.6
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7,014 6,673 6,447 6,322
858 939 1,117 1,021
12.2 14.1 17.3 16.1
6,300 5,917 5,767 5,785
712 779 942 875
11.3 13.2 16.3 15.1
638 614 650 584
132 212 263 187
20.7 34.6 40.5 32.0
668 712 651 516
124 144 160 138
18.5 20.2 24.5 26.8
ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER
r For 1992, figures are based on 1990 census population controls. For 1991, figures are revised to correct for nine omitted weights from the original March 1992 CPS file. For 1988 and 1987, figures are based on new processing procedures and are also revised to reflect corrections to the files after publication of the 1988 advance report, Money Income and Poverty Status in the United States: 1988, P-60, No. 166.
NA Not available. Hispanics may be of any race. Note: Prior to 1979, people in unrelated subfamilies were included in people in families. Beginning in 1979, people in unrelated subfamilies are included in all people but are excluded from people in families. 1
22
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Table A-2. Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000 [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year] Under 18 years All people Year and characteristic
18 to 64 years
65 years and over
Related children in families
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
71,932 71,731 71,338 71,069 70,650
11,633 12,109 13,467 14,113 14,463
16.2 16.9 18.9 19.9 20.5
70,769 70,480 70,253 69,844 69,411
11,086 11,510 12,845 13,422 13,764
15.7 16.3 18.3 19.2 19.8
171,006 169,141 167,326 165,329 163,691
16,146 16,982 17,623 18,084 18,638
9.4 10.0 10.5 10.9 11.4
32,979 32,621 32,394 32,082 31,877
3,360 3,167 3,386 3,376 3,428
10.2 9.7 10.5 10.5 10.8
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
70,566 70,020 69,292 68,440 65,918
14,665 15,289 15,727 15,294 14,341
20.8 21.8 22.7 22.3 21.8
69,425 68,819 68,040 67,256 64,800
13,999 14,610 14,961 14,521 13,658
20.2 21.2 22.0 21.6 21.1
161,508 160,329 159,208 157,680 154,684
18,442 19,107 19,781 18,793 17,586
11.4 11.9 12.4 11.9 11.4
31,658 31,267 30,779 30,430 30,590
3,318 3,663 3,755 3,928 3,781
10.5 11.7 12.2 12.9 12.4
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65,049 64,144 63,747 63,294 62,948
13,431 12,590 12,455 12,843 12,876
20.6 19.6 19.5 20.3 20.5
63,908 63,225 62,906 62,423 62,009
12,715 12,001 11,935 12,275 12,257
19.9 19.0 19.0 19.7 19.8
153,502 152,282 150,761 149,201 147,631
16,496 15,575 15,809 15,815 16,017
10.7 10.2 10.5 10.6 10.8
30,093 29,566 29,022 28,487 27,975
3,658 3,363 3,481 3,563 3,477
12.2 11.4 12.0 12.5 12.4
1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62,876 62,447 62,334 62,345 62,449
13,010 13,420 13,911 13,647 12,505
20.7 21.5 22.3 21.9 20.0
62,019 61,681 61,578 61,565 61,756
12,483 12,929 13,427 13,139 12,068
20.1 21.0 21.8 21.3 19.5
146,396 144,551 143,052 141,328 139,477
16,598 16,952 17,767 17,000 15,464
11.3 11.7 12.4 12.0 11.1
27,322 26,818 26,313 25,738 25,231
3,456 3,330 3,625 3,751 3,853
12.6 12.4 13.8 14.6 15.3
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
62,914 63,375 62,311 63,137 64,028
11,543 10,377 9,931 10,288 10,273
18.3 16.4 15.9 16.2 16.0
62,168 62,646 61,987 62,823 63,729
11,114 9,993 9,722 10,028 10,081
17.9 16.0 15.7 16.0 15.8
137,428 135,333 130,169 128,262 126,175
13,858 12,014 11,332 11,316 11,389
10.1 8.9 8.7 8.8 9.0
24,686 24,194 23,175 22,468 22,100
3,871 3,682 3,233 3,177 3,313
15.7 15.2 14.0 14.1 15.0
1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
65,079 66,134 66,959 67,930 68,816
11,104 10,156 9,642 10,284 10,551
17.1 15.4 14.4 15.1 15.3
64,750 65,802 66,626 67,592 68,474
10,882 9,967 9,453 10,082 10,344
16.8 15.1 14.2 14.9 15.1
124,122 122,101 120,060 117,957 115,911
11,456 10,132 9,977 10,438 10,735
9.2 8.3 8.3 8.8 9.3
21,662 21,127 20,602 20,117 19,827
3,317 3,085 3,354 3,738 4,273
15.3 14.6 16.3 18.6 21.6
1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69,159 69,090 70,385 70,408 70,218
10,440 9,691 10,954 11,656 12,389
15.1 14.0 15.6 16.6 17.6
68,815 68,746 70,035 70,058 69,869
10,235 9,501 10,739 11,427 12,146
14.9 13.8 15.3 16.3 17.4
113,554 111,528 108,684 107,024 105,241
10,187 9,669 9,803 10,725 11,007
9.0 8.7 9.0 10.0 10.5
19,470 18,899 18,559 18,240 17,929
4,793 4,787 4,632 5,388 5,114
24.6 25.3 25.0 29.5 28.5
1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1963 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69,986 69,711 69,181 67,722 66,121 65,601 64,315
14,676 16,051 16,005 16,963 16,909 17,634 17,552
21.0 23.0 23.1 25.0 25.6 26.9 27.3
69,638 69,364 68,837 67,385 65,792 65,275 63,995
14,388 15,736 15,691 16,630 16,577 17,288 17,208
20.7 22.7 22.8 24.7 25.2 26.5 26.9
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 96,685
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 16,457
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 17.0
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 15,557
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 5,481
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 35.2
56,408 56,232 56,016 55,863 55,606
7,328 7,568 8,443 8,990 9,044
13.0 13.5 15.1 16.1 16.3
55,463 55,274 55,126 54,870 54,599
6,873 7,123 7,935 8,441 8,488
12.4 12.9 14.4 15.4 15.5
140,462 139,261 138,061 136,783 135,586
11,361 11,945 12,456 12,838 12,940
8.1 8.6 9.0 9.4 9.5
29,123 28,880 28,759 28,553 28,464
2,602 2,409 2,555 2,569 2,667
8.9 8.3 8.9 9.0 9.4
ALL RACES
WHITE 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
See footnotes at end of table.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
23
Table A-2. Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000—Con. [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year] Under 18 years All people Year and characteristic
18 to 64 years
65 years and over
Related children in families
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
55,444 55,186 54,639 54,110 52,523
8,981 9,346 9,752 9,399 8,848
16.2 16.9 17.8 17.4 16.8
54,532 54,221 53,614 53,110 51,627
8,474 8,826 9,123 8,752 8,316
15.5 16.3 17.0 16.5 16.1
134,149 133,289 132,680 131,694 130,312
12,869 13,187 13,535 12,871 12,097
9.6 9.9 10.2 9.8 9.3
28,436 27,985 27,580 27,256 27,297
2,572 2,846 2,939 2,989 2,802
9.0 10.2 10.7 11.0 10.3
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51,929 51,400 51,203 51,012 51,111
8,232 7,599 7,435 7,788 8,209
15.9 14.8 14.5 15.3 16.1
51,028 50,704 50,590 50,360 50,356
7,696 7,164 7,095 7,398 7,714
15.1 14.1 14.0 14.7 15.3
129,784 128,974 128,031 126,991 125,998
11,387 10,647 10,687 10,703 11,285
8.8 8.3 8.3 8.4 9.0
26,898 26,479 26,001 25,602 25,173
2,707 2,539 2,593 2,704 2,689
10.1 9.6 10.0 10.6 10.7
1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51,031 50,814 50,726 50,920 51,140
8,253 8,472 8,862 8,678 7,785
16.2 16.7 17.5 17.0 15.2
50,358 50,192 50,183 50,305 50,553
7,838 8,086 8,534 8,282 7,429
15.6 16.1 17.0 16.5 14.7
125,258 123,922 123,014 121,766 120,574
11,909 11,904 12,347 11,971 10,790
9.5 9.6 10.0 9.8 8.9
24,629 24,206 23,754 23,234 22,791
2,698 2,579 2,776 2,870 2,978
11.0 10.7 11.7 12.4 13.1
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
51,653 52,262 51,669 52,563 53,428
7,181 6,193 5,831 6,097 6,189
13.9 11.8 11.3 11.6 11.6
51,002 51,687 51,409 52,299 53,167
6,817 5,909 5,674 5,943 6,034
13.4 11.4 11.0 11.4 11.3
118,935 117,583 113,832 112,374 110,717
9,478 8,110 7,897 7,893 7,890
8.0 6.9 6.9 7.0 7.1
22,325 21,898 20,950 20,316 20,020
3,042 2,911 2,530 2,426 2,633
13.6 13.3 12.1 11.9 13.2
1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
54,405 55,590 (NA) (NA) (NA)
6,927 6,223 (NA) (NA) (NA)
12.7 11.2 (NA) (NA) (NA)
54,126 55,320 56,211 57,181 58,119
6,748 6,079 5,462 5,784 6,341
12.5 11.0 9.7 10.1 10.9
109,105 107,579 (NA) (NA) (NA)
8,210 7,053 (NA) (NA) (NA)
7.5 6.6 (NA) (NA) (NA)
19,654 19,206 (NA) (NA) (NA)
2,634 2,460 2,698 3,072 3,605
13.4 12.8 14.4 16.8 19.9
1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
58,472 58,578 (NA) (NA) (NA)
6,138 5,667 6,373 6,729 7,204
10.5 9.7 10.7 11.3 12.1
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) 17,062 16,791 16,514
4,011 4,052 3,939 4,646 4,357
22.6 23.3 23.1 27.7 26.4
1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
8,595 11,229 11,386
14.4 20.0 20.6
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) 4,744
(NA) (NA) 33.1
2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
45,117 45,243 45,355 45,491 45,605
4,222 4,252 4,822 5,204 5,072
9.4 9.4 10.6 11.4 11.1
44,411 44,527 44,670 44,665 44,844
3,914 3,921 4,458 4,759 4,656
8.8 8.8 10.0 10.7 10.4
121,452 120,905 120,283 119,373 118,822
8,085 8,559 8,761 9,088 9,074
6.7 7.1 7.3 7.6 7.6
27,309 27,187 27,118 26,995 27,033
2,265 2,063 2,217 2,200 2,316
8.3 7.6 8.2 8.1 8.6
1995 1994 1993 1992r 1991r
.................. .................. .................. .................. ..................
45,689 46,668 46,096 45,590 45,236
5,115 5,823 6,255 6,017 5,918
11.2 12.5 13.6 13.2 13.1
44,973 45,874 45,322 44,833 44,506
4,745 5,404 5,819 5,558 5,497
10.6 11.8 12.8 12.4 12.4
118,228 119,192 118,475 117,386 117,672
8,908 9,732 9,964 9,461 9,244
7.5 8.2 8.4 8.1 7.9
27,034 26,684 26,272 26,025 26,208
2,243 2,556 2,663 2,724 2,580
8.3 9.6 10.1 10.5 9.8
1990 1989 1988r 1987r 1986
.................. .................. .................. .................. ..................
44,797 44,492 44,438 44,461 44,664
5,532 5,110 4,888 5,230 5,789
12.3 11.5 11.0 11.8 13.0
44,045 43,938 43,910 43,907 44,041
5,106 4,779 4,594 4,902 5,388
11.6 10.9 10.5 11.2 12.2
117,477 116,983 116,479 115,721 115,157
8,619 8,154 8,293 8,327 8,963
7.3 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.8
25,854 25,504 25,044 24,754 24,298
2,471 2,335 2,384 2,472 2,492
9.6 9.2 9.5 10.0 10.3
WHITE—Con.
WHITE NON-HISPANIC
See footnotes at end of table.
24
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Table A-2. Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000—Con. [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year] Under 18 years All people Year and characteristic
18 to 64 years
65 years and over
Related children in families
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
WHITE NONHISPANIC—Con. 1985 1984 1983 1982 1981
.................. .................. .................. .................. ..................
44,752 44,886 44,830 45,531 45,950
5,745 6,156 6,649 6,566 5,946
12.8 13.7 14.8 14.4 12.9
44,199 44,349 44,374 45,001 45,440
5,421 5,828 6,381 6,229 5,639
12.3 13.1 14.4 13.8 12.4
114,969 114,180 113,570 113,717 112,722
9,608 9,734 10,279 10,082 9,207
8.4 8.5 9.1 8.9 8.2
23,734 23,402 22,992 22,655 22,237
2,486 2,410 2,610 2,714 2,834
10.5 10.3 11.4 12.0 12.7
1980 1979 1978 1977 1976 1975 1974
.................. .................. .................. .................. .................. .................. ..................
46,578 46,967 46,819 47,689 48,824 49,670 50,759
5,510 4,730 4,506 4,714 4,799 5,342 4,820
11.8 10.1 9.6 9.9 9.8 10.8 9.5
45,989 46,448 46,606 47,459 48,601 49,421 50,520
5,174 4,476 4,383 4,582 4,664 5,185 4,697
11.3 9.6 9.4 9.7 9.6 10.5 9.3
111,460 110,509 107,481 106,063 104,846 103,496 101,894
7,990 6,930 6,837 6,772 6,720 7,039 6,051
7.2 6.3 6.4 6.4 6.4 6.8 5.9
21,760 21,339 20,431 19,812 19,565 19,251 18,810
2,865 2,759 2,412 2,316 2,506 2,503 2,346
13.2 12.9 11.8 11.7 12.8 13.0 12.5
2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11,406 11,357 11,317 11,367 11,338
3,526 3,759 4,151 4,225 4,519
30.9 33.1 36.7 37.2 39.9
11,241 11,132 11,176 11,193 11,155
3,454 3,644 4,073 4,116 4,411
30.7 32.7 36.4 36.8 39.5
21,553 21,261 20,836 20,399 20,155
3,752 3,975 4,223 4,191 4,515
17.4 18.7 20.3 20.5 22.4
2,789 2,754 2,723 2,691 2,616
623 626 718 700 661
22.3 22.7 26.4 26.0 25.3
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11,369 11,211 11,127 10,956 10,350
4,761 4,906 5,125 5,106 4,755
41.9 43.8 46.1 46.6 45.9
11,198 11,044 10,969 10,823 10,178
4,644 4,787 5,030 5,015 4,637
41.5 43.3 45.9 46.3 45.6
19,892 19,585 19,272 18,952 18,356
4,483 4,590 5,049 4,884 4,607
22.5 23.4 26.2 25.8 25.1
2,478 2,557 2,510 2,504 2,606
629 700 702 838 880
25.4 27.4 28.0 33.5 33.8
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10,162 10,012 9,865 9,730 9,629
4,550 4,375 4,296 4,385 4,148
44.8 43.7 43.5 45.1 43.1
9,980 9,847 9,681 9,546 9,467
4,412 4,257 4,148 4,234 4,037
44.2 43.2 42.8 44.4 42.7
18,097 17,833 17,548 17,245 16,911
4,427 4,164 4,275 4,361 4,113
24.5 23.3 24.4 25.3 24.3
2,547 2,487 2,436 2,387 2,331
860 763 785 774 722
33.8 30.7 32.2 32.4 31.0
1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9,545 9,480 9,417 9,400 9,374
4,157 4,413 4,398 4,472 4,237
43.6 46.6 46.7 47.6 45.2
9,405 9,356 9,245 9,269 9,291
4,057 4,320 4,273 4,388 4,170
43.1 46.2 46.2 47.3 44.9
16,667 16,369 16,065 15,692 15,358
4,052 4,368 4,694 4,415 4,117
24.3 26.7 29.2 28.1 26.8
2,273 2,238 2,197 2,124 2,102
717 710 791 811 820
31.5 31.7 36.0 38.2 39.0
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9,368 9,307 9,229 9,296 9,322
3,961 3,833 3,830 3,888 3,787
42.3 41.2 41.5 41.8 40.6
9,287 9,172 9,168 9,253 9,291
3,906 3,745 3,781 3,850 3,758
42.1 40.8 41.2 41.6 40.4
14,987 14,596 13,774 13,483 13,224
3,835 3,478 3,133 3,137 3,163
25.6 23.8 22.7 23.3 23.9
2,054 2,040 1,954 1,930 1,852
783 740 662 701 644
38.1 36.2 33.9 36.3 34.8
1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
9,421 9,439 (NA) (NA) (NA)
3,925 3,755 (NA) (NA) (NA)
41.7 39.8 (NA) (NA) (NA)
9,374 9,384 9,405 9,426 9,414
3,884 3,713 3,822 4,025 3,836
41.4 39.6 40.6 42.7 40.4
12,872 12,539 (NA) (NA) (NA)
2,968 2,836 (NA) (NA) (NA)
23.1 22.6 (NA) (NA) (NA)
1,795 1,721 1,672 1,603 1,584
652 591 620 640 623
36.3 34.3 37.1 39.9 39.3
1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
9,448 9,290 (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
3,922 3,677 4,188 4,558 4,774 5,022
41.5 39.6 43.1 47.4 50.6 65.6
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
1,422 1,373 1,374 1,341 1,311 (NA)
683 689 655 715 722 711
48.0 50.2 47.7 53.3 55.1 62.5
BLACK
See footnotes at end of table.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
25
Table A-2. Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2000—Con. [Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year] Under 18 years All people Year and characteristic
18 to 64 years
65 years and over
Related children in families
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
11,886 11,560 11,152 10,802 10,511
3,330 3,506 3,837 3,972 4,237
28.0 30.3 34.4 36.8 40.3
11,632 11,300 10,921 10,625 10,255
3,173 3,382 3,670 3,865 4,090
27.3 29.9 33.6 36.4 39.9
19,951 19,356 18,668 18,218 17,587
3,473 3,575 3,877 3,951 4,089
17.4 18.5 20.8 21.7 23.3
1,882 1,752 1,696 1,617 1,516
353 358 356 384 370
18.8 20.4 21.0 23.8 24.4
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
10,213 9,822 9,462 9,081 7,648
4,080 4,075 3,873 3,637 3,094
40.0 41.5 40.9 40.0 40.4
10,011 9,621 9,188 8,829 7,473
3,938 3,956 3,666 3,440 2,977
39.3 41.1 39.9 39.0 39.8
16,673 16,192 15,708 15,268 13,279
4,153 4,018 3,956 3,668 3,008
24.9 24.8 25.2 24.0 22.7
1,458 1,428 1,390 1,298 1,143
342 323 297 287 237
23.5 22.6 21.4 22.1 20.8
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
7,457 7,186 7,003 6,792 6,646
2,865 2,603 2,631 2,670 2,507
38.4 36.2 37.6 39.3 37.7
7,300 7,040 6,908 6,692 6,511
2,750 2,496 2,576 2,606 2,413
37.7 35.5 37.3 38.9 37.1
12,857 12,536 12,056 11,718 11,206
2,896 2,616 2,501 2,509 2,406
22.5 20.9 20.7 21.4 21.5
1,091 1,024 1,005 885 906
245 211 225 243 204
22.5 20.6 22.4 27.5 22.5
1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6,475 6,068 6,066 5,527 5,369
2,606 2,376 2,312 2,181 1,925
40.3 39.2 38.1 39.5 35.9
6,346 5,982 5,977 5,436 5,291
2,512 2,317 2,251 2,117 1,874
39.6 38.7 37.7 38.9 35.4
10,685 10,029 9,697 8,262 8,084
2,411 2,254 2,148 1,963 1,642
22.6 22.5 22.5 23.8 20.3
915 819 782 596 568
219 176 173 159 146
23.9 21.5 22.1 26.6 25.7
1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
5,276 5,483 5,012 5,028 4,771
1,749 1,535 1,384 1,422 1,443
33.2 28.0 27.6 28.3 30.2
5,211 5,426 4,972 5,000 4,736
1,718 1,505 1,354 1,402 1,424
33.0 27.7 27.2 28.0 30.1
7,740 7,314 6,527 6,500 6,034
1,563 1,232 1,098 1,164 1,212
20.2 16.8 16.8 17.9 20.1
582 574 539 518 464
179 154 125 113 128
30.8 26.8 23.2 21.9 27.7
1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
4,896 4,939 4,910
1,619 1,414 1,364
33.1 28.6 27.8
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA)
137 117 95
32.6 28.9 24.9
2000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3,154 3,057 3,137 3,096 2,924
459 361 564 628 571
14.5 11.8 18.0 20.3 19.5
3,125 3,026 3,099 3,061 2,899
447 348 542 608 553
14.3 11.5 17.5 19.9 19.1
7,370 7,059 6,951 6,680 6,484
682 717 698 752 821
9.2 10.2 10.0 11.3 12.7
832 800 785 705 647
86 85 97 87 63
10.3 10.6 12.4 12.3 9.7
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2,900 1,739 2,061 2,218 2,056
564 318 375 363 360
19.5 18.3 18.2 16.4 17.5
2,858 1,719 2,029 2,199 2,036
532 308 358 352 348
18.6 17.9 17.6 16.0 17.1
6,123 4,401 4,871 5,067 4,582
757 589 680 568 565
12.4 13.4 14.0 11.2 12.3
622 513 503 494 555
89 67 79 53 70
14.3 13.0 15.6 10.8 12.7
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
2,126 1,983 1,970 1,937
374 392 474 455
17.6 19.8 24.1 23.5
2,098 1,945 1,949 1,908
356 368 458 432
17.0 18.9 23.5 22.7
4,375 4,225 4,035 4,010
422 512 583 510
9.6 12.1 14.4 12.7
514 465 442 375
62 34 60 56
12.1 7.4 13.5 15.0
HISPANIC
1
ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER
r For 1992, figures are based on 1990 census population controls. For 1991, figures are revised to correct for nine omitted weights from the original March 1992 CPS file. For 1988 and 1987, figures are based on new processing procedures and are also revised to reflect corrections to the files after publication of the 1988 advance report, Money Income and Poverty Status in the United States: 1988, P-60, No. 166. NA Not available. 1 Hispanics may be of any race. Note: Prior to 1979, people in unrelated subfamilies were included in people in families. Beginning in 1979, people in unrelated subfamilies are included in all people but are excluded from people in families.
26
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
Table A-3. Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: 1959 to 2000 [Numbers in thousands. Families as of March of the following year] All families Year and characteristic
Married-couple families
Below poverty level
Male householder, no wife present
Below poverty level
Female householder, no husband present
Below poverty level
Below poverty level
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
Total
Number
Percent
.................... .................... .................... .................... ....................
72,383 72,031 71,551 70,884 70,241
6,226 6,676 7,186 7,324 7,708
8.6 9.3 10.0 10.3 11.0
55,606 55,315 54,778 54,321 53,604
2,638 2,673 2,879 2,821 3,010
4.7 4.8 5.3 5.2 5.6
4,252 4,028 3,977 3,911 3,847
489 472 476 508 531
11.5 11.7 12.0 13.0 13.8
12,526 12,687 12,796 12,652 12,790
3,099 3,531 3,831 3,995 4,167
24.7 27.8 29.9 31.6 32.6
1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1992r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1991r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
69,597 69,313 68,506 68,216 67,175
7,532 8,053 8,393 8,144 7,712
10.8 11.6 12.3 11.9 11.5
53,570 53,865 53,181 53,090 52,457
2,982 3,272 3,481 3,385 3,158
5.6 6.1 6.5 6.4 6.0
3,513 3,228 2,914 3,065 3,025
493 549 488 484 392
14.0 17.0 16.8 15.8 13.0
12,514 12,220 12,411 12,061 11,693
4,057 4,232 4,424 4,275 4,161
32.4 34.6 35.6 35.4 35.6
1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1988r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1987r . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66,322 66,090 65,837 65,204 64,491
7,098 6,784 6,874 7,005 7,023
10.7 10.3 10.4 10.7 10.9
52,147 52,137 52,100 51,675 51,537
2,981 2,931 2,897 3,011 3,123
5.7 5.6 5.6 5.8 6.1
2,907 2,884 2,847 2,833 2,510
349 348 336 340 287
12.0 12.1 11.8 12.0 11.4
11,268 10,890 10,890 10,696 10,445
3,768 3,504 3,642 3,654 3,613
33.4 32.2 33.4 34.2 34.6
1985 1984 1983 1982 1981
.................... .................... .................... .................... ....................
63,558 62,706 62,015 61,393 61,019
7,223 7,277 7,647 7,512 6,851
11.4 11.6 12.3 12.2 11.2
50,933 50,350 50,081 49,908 49,630
3,438 3,488 3,815 3,789 3,394
6.7 6.9 7.6 7.6 6.8
2,414 2,228 2,038 2,016 1,986
311 292 268 290 205
12.9 13.1 13.2 14.4 10.3
10,211 10,129 9,896 9,469 9,403
3,474 3,498 3,564 3,434 3,252
34.0 34.5 36.0 36.3 34.6
1980 1979 1978 1977 1976
.................... .................... .................... .................... ....................
60,309 59,550 57,804 57,215 56,710
6,217 5,461 5,280 5,311 5,311
10.3 9.2 9.1 9.3 9.4
49,294 49,112 47,692 47,385 47,497
3,032 2,640 2,474 2,524 2,606
6.2 5.4 5.2 5.3 5.5
1,933 1,733 1,654 1,594 1,500
213 176 152 177 162
11.0 10.2 9.2 11.1 10.8
9,082 8,705 8,458 8,236 7,713
2,972 2,645 2,654 2,610 2,543
32.7 30.4 31.4 31.7 33.0
1975 1974 1973 1972 1971
.................... .................... .................... .................... ....................
56,245 55,698 55,053 54,373 53,296
5,450 4,922 4,828 5,075 5,303
9.7 8.8 8.8 9.3 10.0
47,318 47,069 46,812 46,314 45,752
2,904 2,474 2,482 (NA) (NA)
6.1 5.3 5.3 (NA) (NA)
1,445 1,399 1,438 1,452 1,353
116 125 154 (NA) (NA)
8.0 8.9 10.7 (NA) (NA)
7,482 7,230 6,804 6,607 6,191
2,430 2,324 2,193 2,158 2,100
32.5 32.1 32.2 32.7 33.9
1970 1969 1968 1967 1966
.................... .................... .................... .................... ....................
52,227 51,586 50,511 49,835 48,921
5,260 5,008 5,047 5,667 5,784
10.1 9.7 10.0 11.4 11.8
44,739 44,436 43,842 43,292 42,553
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
1,487 1,559 1,228 1,210 1,197
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
6,001 5,591 5,441 5,333 5,171
1,952 1,827 1,755 1,774 1,721
32.5 32.7 32.3 33.3 33.1
1965 1964 1963 1962 1961 1960 1959
.................... .................... .................... .................... .................... .................... ....................
48,278 47,836 47,436 46,998 46,341 45,435 45,054
6,721 7,160 7,554 8,077 8,391 8,243 8,320
13.9 15.0 15.9 17.2 18.1 18.1 18.5
42,107 41,648 41,311 40,923 40,405 39,624 39,335
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
1,179 1,182 1,243 1,334 1,293 1,202 1,226
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
(NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA)
4,992 5,006 4,882 4,741 4,643 4,609 4,493
1,916 1,822 1,972 2,034 1,954 1,955 1,916
38.4 36.4 40.4 42.9 42.1 42.4 42.6
ALL RACES 2000 1999 1998 1997 1996
r For 1992, figures are based on 1990 census population controls. For 1991, figures are revised to correct for nine omitted weights from the original March 1992 CPS file. For 1988 and 1987, figures are based on new processing procedures and are also revised to reflect corrections to the files after publication of the 1988 advance report, Money Income and Poverty Status in the United States: 1988, P-60, No. 166.
NA Not available. Note: Before 1979, unrelated subfamilies were included in all families. Beginning in 1979, unrelated subfamilies are excluded from all families.
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
27
Table A-4. People and Families in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 1993 and 2000 [Numbers in thousands. For an explanation of confidence intervals (C.I.), see Standard errors and their use at www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/poverty00/pov00src.pdf] 2000 below poverty Characteristic
Change1 1993 to 2000
1993 below poverty
Number
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Number
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Number
90-pct. C.I. (±)
Percent
90-pct. C.I. (±)
31,139
880
11.3
0.3
39,260
933
15.1
0.4
*–8,122
1,281
*–3.9
0.5
PEOPLE Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Family Status In families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Householder . . . . . . . . . . . Related children under 18 . Related children under 6 . In unrelated subfamilies . . . . . Reference person . . . . . . . Children under 18 . . . . . . . Unrelated individual . . . . . . . . Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . . .
22,088 6,226 11,086 3,931 520 198 314 8,530 3,458 5,073
755 227 451 283 59 36 82 276 161 202
9.6 8.6 15.7 16.9 39.4 37.5 41.8 18.9 16.0 21.6
0.3 0.3 0.7 1.3 5.2 7.9 12.3 0.6 0.8 0.9
29,927 8,393 14,961 6,097 945 367 554 8,388 3,281 5,107
829 263 487 331 77 48 105 263 151 194
13.6 12.3 22.0 25.6 54.3 51.6 57.2 22.1 18.1 25.7
0.4 0.4 0.8 1.5 5.3 8.0 12.7 0.7 0.9 1.1
*–7,839 *–2,167 *–3,875 *–2,166 *–425 *–168 *–239 142 176 –34
1,122 347 663 434 97 59 133 382 220 280
*–4.0 *–3.7 *–6.3 *–8.7 *–14.9 *–14.1 –15.4 *–3.1 *–2.1 *–4.1
0.5 0.5 1.0 2.0 7.4 11.2 17.7 1.0 1.2 1.4
Race2 and Hispanic Origin White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
21,291 14,572 7,901 1,226 7,155
742 622 416 178 398
9.4 7.5 22.1 10.8 21.2
0.3 0.3 1.2 1.6 1.2
26,226 18,882 10,877 1,134 8,126
783 674 443 165 400
12.2 9.9 33.1 15.3 30.6
0.4 0.4 1.3 2.2 1.5
*–4,935 *–4,311 *–2,975 92 *–971
1,079 918 607 242 564
*–2.8 *–2.4 *–10.9 *–4.5 *–9.4
0.5 0.5 1.8 2.7 1.9
Age Under 18 years . . . 18 to 64 years. . . . 18 to 24 years . . 25 to 34 years . . 35 to 44 years . . 45 to 54 years . . 55 to 59 years . . 60 to 64 years . . 65 years and over .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . . .
11,633 16,146 3,893 3,892 3,678 2,441 1,175 1,066 3,360
461 648 192 199 192 158 110 105 179
16.2 9.4 14.4 10.4 8.2 6.4 8.8 10.2 10.2
0.6 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.4 0.4 0.8 1.0 0.5
15,727 19,783 4,854 5,804 4,415 2,522 1,057 1,129 3,755
495 681 204 230 202 155 100 105 181
22.7 12.4 19.1 13.8 10.6 8.5 9.9 11.3 12.2
0.7 0.4 0.8 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.9 1.0 0.6
*–4,095 *–3,637 *–961 *–1,912 *–737 –81 118 –63 *–395
676 941 281 303 280 220 150 148 253
*–6.5 *–3.0 *–4.6 *–3.4 *–2.4 *–2.1 –1.0 –1.1 *–2.0
1.0 0.6 1.1 0.8 0.6 0.7 1.3 1.5 0.8
Native. . . . . . . . . . . Foreign born . . . . . . Naturalized citizen Not a citizen . . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
26,442 4,697 1,107 3,590
816 411 201 360
10.7 15.7 9.7 19.4
0.3 1.4 1.8 1.9
34,086 5,179 707 4,472
875 413 155 385
14.4 23.0 10.1 28.7
0.4 1.8 2.2 2.5
*–7,644 –482 *400 *–882
1,198 582 253 526
*–3.7 *–7.3 –0.4 *–9.3
0.5 2.3 2.8 3.1
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
5,433 5,971 12,205 7,530
357 411 595 474
10.3 9.5 12.5 11.9
0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8
6,839 8,172 15,375 8,879
383 459 637 492
13.3 13.4 17.1 15.6
0.8 0.8 0.7 0.9
*–1,405 *–2,201 *–3,170 *–1,349
523 617 870 683
*–3.0 *–3.9 *–4.6 *–3.7
1.0 1.0 0.9 1.2
Inside metropolitan areas. . Inside central cities . . . . Outside central cities . . . Outside metropolitan areas
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
24,296 12,967 11,329 6,843
788 589 553 530
10.8 16.1 7.8 13.4
0.4 0.7 0.4 1.1
29,615 16,805 12,810 9,650
826 638 561 600
14.6 21.5 10.3 17.2
0.4 0.8 0.5 1.1
*–5,319 *–3,838 *–1,481 *–2,807
1,142 869 788 801
*–3.8 *–5.3 *–2.4 *–3.8
0.5 1.1 0.6 1.5
Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Nativity
Region Northeast Midwest . South . . . West. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
. . . .
Residence
FAMILIES 6,226
227
8.6
0.3
8,393
263
12.3
0.4
*–2,167
347
*–3.7
0.5
. . . . .
. . . . .
4,153 2,820 1,686 235 1,431
179 145 109 39 100
6.9 5.3 19.1 8.8 18.5
0.3 0.3 1.3 1.5 1.4
5,452 3,988 2,499 235 1,625
202 168 130 378 102
9.4 7.6 31.3 13.5 27.3
0.4 0.3 1.7 2.3 1.8
*–1,299 *–1,168 *–813 – *–194
270 222 169 54 143
*–2.5 *–2.3 *–12.1 *–4.7 *–8.8
0.5 0.4 2.2 2.7 2.3
Married-couple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . Black. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander . . . . Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Female householder, no husband present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . Black. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander . . . . Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . .
2,638 2,163 1,447 260 169 742
140 125 100 41 33 71
4.7 4.4 3.3 6.1 7.7 14.1
0.3 0.3 0.2 1.0 1.6 1.4
3,481 2,757 2,042 458 177 770
156 137 117 53 33 69
6.5 5.8 4.7 12.3 12.4 19.1
0.3 0.3 0.3 1.5 2.4 1.8
*–843 *–595 *–595 *–199 –8 –28
209 186 153 67 47 99
*–1.8 *–1.4 *–1.4 *–6.3 *–4.8 *–4.9
0.4 0.4 0.4 1.8 2.9 2.3
. . . . . .
3,099 1,656 1,127 1,303 60 597
151 109 89 95 20 64
24.7 20.0 16.9 34.6 19.9 34.2
1.3 1.4 1.4 2.8 7.1 4.0
4,424 2,376 1,699 1,908 43 772
179 127 105 112 16 69
35.6 29.2 25.0 49.9 18.6 51.6
1.6 1.7 1.7 3.3 7.4 5.4
*–1,325 *–720 *–571 *–605 17 *–175
235 166 137 146 26 94
*–10.9 *–9.2 *–8.1 *–15.2 1.3 *–17.4
2.1 2.2 2.2 4.4 10.3 6.8
White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Non-Hispanic . . . . . . . Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Asian and Pacific Islander Hispanic3 . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
. . . . .
Type of Family
– Represents zero. *Statistically significant at the 90-percent confidence level. 1 As a result of rounding, some differences may appear to be slightly higher or lower than the differences of the reported rates. 2 Data for American Indians and Alaska Natives are not shown separately. 3
Hispanics may be of any race.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, March 1994 and 2001.
28
Poverty in the United States: 2000 U.S. Census Bureau
