Poverty in the United States


Millions of Poor People Live in the United States

34 million people live in poverty in the United States1

Nine states and the District of Columbia showed the largest percentage of children under 4 years of age living below the poverty level
Arkansas 31%
West Virginia 30.5%
Louisiana 30.2%
New Mexico 28.8%
District of Columbia 28.5%
Mississippi 28%
Alabama 26.3%
Oklahoma 26%
Tennessee 25.6%
Arizona 25.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2000 Supplementary Survey

In the United States poor people are more likely to be victims of violent crime, 1999

Family income of victims Victimization rate (crimes per
1,000 people aged 12 and older)
Less than $7,500 59.5
$7,500-$14,999 45.6
$15,000-$24,999 36.1
$25,000-$34,999 39.1
$35,000-$49,999 30.8
$50,000-$74,999 33.7
$75,000 and above 24.1

Source: U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics 1999, table 14.

Using comparable figures and recognizing that poverty is experienced in different ways in different places, the United States child poverty rate is 26.3%, second only to Russia (whose rate is 28.6% of children living below the poverty line). In contrast, the Czech Republic and Scandinavia have levels of less than 5% for childhood poverty.2

Between 1979 and 1997, U.S. real GDP per capita grew 38%, but the income of a family with median earnings grew only 9%. The incomes of the top 1% of families grew 140%, three times the average. The income of the top 1% of families was 10 times that of the median family in 1979—and 23 times in 1997.3

According to census figures for 2000, almost one in three poor families with children is not headed by a married couple. Unmarried couples make up an even higher share of the chronically poor.4


The Faces of Poverty: Children Are Among the Poorest

Children ages 21 and below comprise roughly one-third of the U.S. population (86 million or 31.2 percent).5

1 in six children in the United States lives in poverty (nearly 12 million or 17.5%).6

1 in 5 children under the age of 4 (19.7%) lives in poverty.

39% of all American children live in or near poverty, in families with incomes up to twice the poverty line ($35,300).

Almost 1 in 3 black children (30.9%) lived in poverty in 2000.7

Over 1 in 4 Hispanic children (28%) lived in poverty in 2000.8

The number of children living in single-parent households rose from 12.8 million in 1990 to 16.8 milion in 2000. About two-fifths (40 percent) of children in female headed families were poor in 2000, compared to 8 percent of children in married-couple families.9

Children born to single mothers are twice as likely to drop out of high school, twice as likely to have a child before age 20, and one and one-half times as likely to be "idle"—out of school and out of work—in their late teens and early 20s.10

In 2000, 8 percent of black children in married-couple families lived in poverty, compared with 49 percent of black children in female-householder families.11

In 2000, 21 percent of Hispanic children in married-couple families lived in poverty, compared with 48 percent in female-householder families.12


The Faces of Poverty: Immigrant Children

Immigrant children are twice as likely to be poor as native-born children.13

1 in 5 children under the age of 18 in the U.S. was estimated to have at least one foreign born parent.14

1 in 4 poor children had at least one foreign-born parent.15

While, on average, foreign-born parents of poor children have lower levels of education, their rates of labor force participation exceed those of native-born parents.

Since 1970, Hispanic students have had the highest dropout rates, well over a quarter (27.8) of Hispanic young adults. In 2000, the dropout rate was significantly higher among foreign-born Hispanics, 44.2 percent, compared to 14.6 percent of first-generation and 15.9 percent of second-generation Hispanics.16


The Faces of Poverty: The Elderly

General
In 2000, the older population (persons 65 years or older) numbered 35 million, a 12 percent increase since 1990.17

By the year 2030, the older population will more than double to about 70 million.18

Almost 1 out of every 10 elderly Americans lives in poverty.19

About 3.4 million older persons lived below the poverty level in 2000.20

Although the poverty rate for persons 65+ continued at a historically low rate of 10.2 percent, 2.2 million (or 6.7%) older persons were classified as "near poor" (income between poverty level and 125 percent of this level).21

The median income of older persons in 2000 was $19,168 for males and $10,899 for females.22

Members of minority groups are projected to represent 25 percent of the older population in 2030, up from 16 percent in 2000.23

1 of every 12 (8.9%) elderly Whites was poor in 2000, compared to: 22.3% of elderly African-Americans and 18.8% of elderly Hispanics.24

The More Vulnerable Among the Elderly
Older women had a higher poverty rate (12.2%) than older men (7.5%) in 2000. Older persons living alone or with nonrelatives were much more likely to be poor (20.8%) than were older persons living with families (5.1%).25

The highest poverty rates (38.3%) were experienced by older Hispanic women who lived alone or with nonrelatives.26

In 1997, more than half of the older population (54.5%) reported having at least one disability of some type (physical or nonphysical). Over a third (37.7%) reported at least one severe disability.27

In 1999, older consumers averaged $3,019 in out-of pocket health care expenditures, an increase of more than a third since 1990. Older Americans spent 11% of their total expenditures on health, more than twice the proportion spent by all consumers (5%).28


The Faces of Poverty: Children in Working Families

37% of poor children live in families where someone worked throughout the year 2000.29

The majority of the working poor, 64% are full-time workers.30

24% of children in low-income working families receive food stamps.31

Among poor children, those in married-couple families are more likely to qualify as working poor than those in single-mother families (60 percent versus 33 percent).32


Realities of Poverty: Threats to Child Health

With 1 out of 6 children living in poverty, children are going hungry and cannot be ready to learn. And as young adults, they will have a more difficult time earning a decent living.

Over 8 million children (or 11.6 percent of children under 18) had no health insurance in 2000.33

There is an important connection between health and education, and later in life, health and work.

Children living in families with income below the federal poverty were more likely to have public insurance (59.6%) and be uninsured (22.3%). Nearly 86 percent of uninsured children lived in families that had at least one parent who worked part-time or full-time, for all or part of the year.34

Slightly more than 30 percent of children had not been to the dentist in the last year and almost 60 percent had not received the two dental checkups in the last year, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.35

In 2000, approximately 13 percent of children under age 18 had not seen a physician in the past year. Older children were more likely to go without a physician visits compared to younger children. In all age groups, Hispanic children were nearly twice as likely as white children not to have a physician visit.36

Although the United States has greatly reduced its infant mortality rates since 1965, the nation ranked 28th among industrialized nations in 1998 (7.2%). In 2000, the rate was 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births. However, for black infants, the infant mortality rate was 2.5 times higher (14 deaths per 1,000 live births).37

24% of children in low-income working families have no health insurance.38

An estimated 3-4 million American children live within one mile of at least one hazardous waste site. Children who live near waste sites often have greater exposure to toxins and greater potential for health problems.39

Each year, more than 60,000 children are born at risk for neurodevelopmental problems associated with in utero mercury exposure.40

4.4% of children ages 1 to 5 have too much lead in their bodies.41 While the overall rates of childhood lead poisoning have decreased, in many older, low-income neighborhoods of color, more than one-third of preschool children are poisoned by lead. Lead poisoning remains a serious, entirely preventable threat to children's intelligence, behavior, and learning.


Notes

  1. U.S. Census Bureaus, Census 2000 Supplemental Survey.
  2. UNICEF, The State of the World's Children 2000, p. 76.
  3. Human Development Report 2002, The State and Progress of Human Development, p.20.
  4. The Urban Institute, "Should Government Promote Healthy Marriages?," by Robert Lerman, Short Takes on Welfare Policy, Number 5, May 2002.
  5. U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2000.
  6. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, March 2001.
  7. Ibid.
  8. Ibid.
  9. Current Population Survey, March 2001 and KidsCount 2002, p. 38.
  10. Sandefu and McLanahan, 1994, Growing Up With a Single Parent: What Hurts, What Helps, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, pp. 1-2.
  11. America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2002, p. 16.
  12. Ibid.
  13. National Center for Children in Poverty, "Immigrant Children in the United States are Growing in Number and Facing Substantial Economic Hardship."
  14. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, March 2001.
  15. Ibid.
  16. Maternal and Child Health Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Child Health USA, 2002.
  17. A Profile of Older Americans: 2001, Administration on Aging, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
  18. Ibid.
  19. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, March 2001.
  20. Ibid.
  21. Ibid.
  22. Ibid.
  23. Ibid.
  24. Ibid.
  25. Ibid.
  26. Ibid.
  27. Ibid.
  28. Ibid.
  29. U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, March 2001.
  30. U.S. Department of Labor, A Profile of the Working Poor, February 2001.
  31. 1999 KidsCount.
  32. Child Trends Data Bank, "Children in Working Poor Families," www.childrenstrendsdatabank.org.
  33. Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "Child Health USA 2002."
  34. Ibid.
  35. Ibid.
  36. Ibid.
  37. Ibid.
  38. 1999 KidsCount.
  39. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry web site, Office of Children's Health, www.atsdr.cdc.gov/child/ochchildhlth.html.
  40. National Academy of Sciences, July 2000.
  41. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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