Income Money and Poverty Status - Poverty Status Of Minorities

Every year the U.S. Census Bureau establishes poverty thresholds that determine the distribution of different welfare benefits. In 2004 the poverty threshold ranged TABLE 5.2 Income and earnings summary by selected characteristics, 2003 and 2004 Adapted from Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Cheryl Hill Lee, "Table 1. Income and Earnings Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2003 and 2004," in Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004, Current Population Reports P60-229, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2005, http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf (accessed January 23, 2006)from $9,060 for a person age sixty-five or over who lived alone, to $39,048 for a family with nine or more members. A family of four was considered poor if it had an income below the poverty threshold of $19,307. (See Table 5.3.) In 2004 thirty-seven million people, or 12.7% of the population, were in poverty. Both the number of people in poverty and the poverty rate steadily rose from 2000 to 2004. (See Figure 5.4.)

TABLE 5.2
Income and earnings summary by selected characteristics, 2003 and 2004
[Income in 2004 dollars. Households and people as of March of the following year.]
Characteristic	2003		2004		Percentagechange in real median income (2004 less 2003)
	Number (thousands)	Median income (dollars)	Number (thousands)	Median income (dollars)
		Value		Value	Estimate
*Federal surveys now give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who reported Asian and no other race (the race-alone or single-race concept) or as those who reported Asian regardless of whether they also reported another race (the race-alone-or-in-combination concept). This table shows data using the first approach (race alone). The use of the single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data.
Note: "—" represents zero or rounds to zero.
SOURCE: Adapted from Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Cheryl Hill Lee, "Table 1. Income and Earnings Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2003 and 2004," in Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004, Current Population Reports P60-229, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2005, http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf (accessed January 23, 2006)
Households
All households	112,000	44,482	113,146	44,389	−0.2
Type of household
Family households	76,217	55,442	77,010	55,327	−0.2
Married-couple	57,719	64,082	58,109	63,813	−0.4
Female householder, no husband present	13,781	30,095	14,009	29,826	−0.9
Male householder, no wife present	4,717	43,087	4,893	44,923	4.3
Nonfamily households	35,783	26,433	36,136	26,176	−1.0
Female householder	19,647	21,886	19,792	21,797	−0.4
Male householder	16,136	32,786	16,344	31,967	−2.5
Race* and Hispanic origin
White	91,962	46,857	92,702	46,697	−0.3
White, not Hispanic	81,148	49,061	81,445	48,977	−0.2
Black	13,629	30,442	13,792	30,134	−1.0
Asian	4,040	57,196	4,140	57,518	0.6
Hispanic origin (any race)	11,693	33,884	12,181	34,241	1.1
Age of householder
Under 65 years	88,951	51,519	90,012	50,923	−1.2
15 to 24 years	6,610	27,780	6,686	27,586	−0.7
25 to 34 years	19,159	45,982	19,255	45,485	−1.1
35 to 44 years	23,222	56,523	23,226	56,785	0.5
45 to 54 years	23,137	61,861	23,370	61,111	−1.2
55 to 64 years	16,824	50,538	17,476	50,400	−0.3
65 years and older	23,048	24,426	23,135	24,509	0.3
Nativity of the householder
Native	97,840	45,539	98,681	45,319	−0.5
Foreign born	14,159	38,507	14,466	39,421	2.4
Naturalized citizen	6,567	47,287	6,731	46,233	−2.2
Not a citizen	7,592	33,688	7,735	34,497	2.4
Region
Northeast	21,017	47,998	21,137	47,994	—
Midwest	25,643	45,934	25,911	44,657	−2.8
South	40,742	40,893	41,159	40,773	−0.3
West	24,598	48,078	24,939	47,680	−0.8
Earnings of full-time, year-round workers
Men with earnings	58,772	41,761	60,093	40,798	−2.3
Women with earnings	41,908	31,550	42,307	31,223	−1.0
Per capita income
Total*	288,280	23,902	291,155	23,848	−0.2
White	232,254	25,288	234,077	25,203	−0.3
White, not Hispanic	194,877	27,494	195,301	27,414	−0.3
Black	36,121	16,199	36,546	16,035	−1.0
Asian	11,869	25,265	12,311	26,217	3.8
Hispanic origin (any race)	40,425	13,855	41,839	14,106	1.8

FIGURE 5.1 Full-time, year-round workers with annual earnings of $35,000 or more, by detailed Hispanic origin, 2001 Roberto R. Ramirez and G. Patricia de la Cruz, "Figure 9. Full-Time, Year-Round Workers with Annual Earnings of $35,000 or More by Detailed Hispanic Origin: 2001," in The Hispanic Population in the United States: March 2002, Current Population Reports P20-545, U.S. Census Bureau, June 2003, http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-545.pdf (accessed December 9, 2005)

Between 2002 and 2004, 24.4% of African-Americans and 24.3% of Native Americans and Alaska Natives lived in poverty, giving those groups the highest poverty rates of any race or ethnic group. Hispanics had poverty rates almost as high, at 22.1%. Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders (13.2%) and Asian-Americans (10.6%) had relatively low rates of poverty, although both were still higher than the poverty rates of non-Hispanic whites (8.3%). (See Table 5.4.) According to Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Cheryl Hill Lee in Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004 (August 2005, http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf), while the overall poverty rate was up from 12.5% in 2003 to 12.7% in 2004, the poverty rate for African-Americans and Hispanics remained unchanged, and decreased for Asian-Americans.

The poverty rate varies among Hispanic subgroups. In 2001, 26.1% of Puerto Ricans lived below the poverty line, compared with 22.8% of Mexicans and 16.5% of Cubans. Central and South Americans had the lowest poverty rate (15.2%). (See Figure 5.5.)

Depth of Poverty

Although measuring the proportions of people in various groups who are above and below the poverty FIGURE 5.2 Family income by family type and race of householder, 2001 Jesse McKinnon, "Figure 8. Family Income by Family Type and Race of Householder: 2001," in The Black Population in the United States: March 2002, Current Population Reports P20-541, U.S. Census Bureau, April 2003, http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-541.pdf (accessed January 16, 2006) FIGURE 5.3 Family income by family type for selected groups, 2001* Terrance Reeves and Claudette Bennett, "Figure 5. Family Type by Family Income for Selected Groups: 2001," in The Asian and Pacific Islander Population in the United States: March 2002, Current Population Reports P20-540, U.S. Census Bureau, May 2003, http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-540.pdf (assessed December 9, 2005)TABLE 5.3 Poverty thresholds, by size of family and number of related children under 18 years, 2004 "Poverty Thresholds 2004," U.S. Census Bureau, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, August 30, 2005, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/threshld/thresh04.html (accessed January 23, 2006)threshold provides one measure of poverty, it does not account for levels of poverty. Some people below the poverty level are moderately poor, while others are extremely poor. Some households with incomes above the poverty threshold are just above it and barely scraping by. The ratio of income to poverty compares a family's income with its poverty threshold, providing one way to measure how poor a family actually is.

TABLE 5.3
Poverty thresholds, by size of family and number of related children under 18 years, 2004
Size of family unit	Weighed average thresholds	Related children under 18 years
		None	One	Two	Three	Four	Five	Six	Seven	Eight or more
SOURCE:"Poverty Thresholds 2004," U.S. Census Bureau, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, August 30, 2005, http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/threshld/thresh04.html (accessed January 23, 2006)
One person (unrelated individual)	9,645
Under 65 years	9,827	9,827
65 years and older	9,060	9,060
Two persons	12,334
Householder under 65 years	12,714	12,649	13,020
Householder 65 years and older	11,430	11,418	12,971
Three persons	15,067	14,776	15,205	15,219
Four persons	19,307	19,484	19,803	19,157	19,223
Five persons	22,831	23,497	23,838	23,108	22,543	22,199
Six persons	25,788	27,025	27,133	26,573	26,037	25,241	24,768
Seven persons	29,236	31,096	31,290	30,621	30,154	29,285	28,271	27,159
Eight persons	32,641	34,778	35,086	34,454	33,901	33,115	32,119	31,082	30,818
Nine persons or more	39,048	41,836	42,039	41,480	41,010	40,240	39,179	38,220	37,983	36,520

Table 5.5 shows people under 0.50 over the poverty threshold (extreme poverty), people between 0.50 and 1.00 of the poverty threshold (below poverty, but above extreme poverty), and people between 1.00 and 1.25 of the poverty threshold (low income) by race and Hispanic origin. In 2004, 11.7% of African-Americans were under 0.50 of the poverty threshold, compared with 7.9% of Hispanics, 4.4% of Asian-Americans, and only 3.7% of

FIGURE 5.4 Number in poverty and poverty rate, 1959–2004 Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Cheryl Hill Lee, "Figure 3. Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2004," in Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004, Current Population Reports P60-229, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2005, http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf (accessed January 23, 2006)

TABLE 5.4 Number in poverty and poverty rates by race and Hispanic origin using 2- and 3-year averages, 2002–04 Adapted from Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Cheryl Hill Lee, "Table 4. Number in Poverty and Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin Using 2- and 3-Year Averages: 2002 to 2004," in Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004, Current Population Reports P60-229, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2005, http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf (accessed January 23, 2006)

TABLE 5.4
Number in poverty and poverty rates by race and Hispanic origin 2- and 3-year averages, 2002–04
Racea and Hispanic origin	3-year average 2002–2004	2-year average		Change in poverty
	Estimate	2002–2003	2003–2004	Estimate
		Estimate	Estimate
—Represents zero or rounds to zero.
aFederal surveys now give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who reported Asian and no other race (the race-alone or single-race concept) or as those who reported Asian regardless of whether they also reported another race (the race-alone-or-in-combination concept). This table shows data using the first approach (race alone). The use of the single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. About 2.6 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2000.
bDetails may not sum to totals because of rounding.
SOURCE: Adapted from Carmen DeNavas-Walt, Bernadette D. Proctor, and Cheryl Hill Lee, "Table 4. Number in Poverty and Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin Using 2- and 3-Year Averages: 2002 to 2004," in Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2004, Current Population Reports P60-229, U.S. Census Bureau, August 2005, http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-229.pdf (accessed January 23, 2006)
Percentage
All races	12.4	12.3	12.6	0.3
White	10.5	10.3	10.6	0.3
White,not Hispanic	8.3	8.1	8.4	0.3
Black	24.4	24.3	24.6	0.3
American Indian and Alaska Native	24.3	23.9	24.4	0.5
Asian	10.6	10.9	10.8	−0.1
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	13.2	14.4	12.9	−1.5
Hispanic origin (any race)	22.1	22.1	22.2	—
Number
All races	35,809	35,216	36,429	1,214
White	24,346	23,869	24,786	917
White,not Hispanic	16,113	15,735	16,386	651
Black	8,794	8,691	8,891	199
American Indian and Alaska Native	554	540	557	17
Asian	1,257	1,281	1,305	24
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander	92	106	84	−22
Hispanic origin (any race)	8,913	8,803	9,092	289

FIGURE 5.5 People living below the poverty level, by detailed Hispanic origin, 2001 Roberto R. Ramirez and G. Patricia de la Cruz, "Figure 10. People Living below the Poverty Level by Detailed Hispanic Origin: 2001," in The Hispanic Population in the United States: March 2002, Current Population Reports P20-545, U.S. Census Bureau, June 2003, http://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/p20-545.pdf (accessed December 9, 2005)non-Hispanic whites. A far greater proportion of African-Americans live in extreme poverty than people from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.