poverty rate

20 Stories

During the Pandemic, Child Poverty Rate Plummeted

More than 5M people emerged from poverty thanks to enhanced child tax credit

(Newser) - In 1993, the US child poverty rate came in at almost 28%, but last year, it fell to just 5.2%—a "stunning stat" that equates to a more than 80% drop over those three decades, per Axios . According to Census Bureau data released Tuesday, the 2021 figure also...

Child Poverty Rate Surges After Tax Credit Runs Out

'All of that progress that we made could now be lost,' analyst says

(Newser) - The number of children in America living in poverty jumped dramatically after just one month without the expanded child tax credit payments, according to a new study. Advocates fear the lapse in payments could unravel what they say were landmark achievements in poverty reduction, the AP reports. Columbia University's...

Study: Millions Fell Into Poverty as Federal Relief Ran Out

Columbia researchers say number of US poor has grown by 8M since May

(Newser) - The world's poor have been hit the hardest by the pandemic—and in the US, that group includes 6 million to 8 million more people than it did a few months ago, according to two studies released this week. Columbia University researchers found that the number of poor people...

This City Has Lowest Rate of Poverty in US

Sheboygan, Wisc., is atop the top 10

(Newser) - An individual making less than $12,060 this year—$24,600 for a family of four—technically lives below the poverty line. About 14% of Americans fit that definition. Some cities have been hit harder than others, and 24/7 Wall St. looked at 382 US metro areas to compile its...

Middle-Class Income Sees Fastest Growth Ever: Report

Poverty rate fell too, though some say it's not enough to warrant a celebration just yet

(Newser) - For seven long years, the US has been struggling to break out of a sluggish economy after the Great Recession, Bloomberg notes. Some "remarkable progress" on that front came Tuesday, per the White House blog : A US Census Bureau report says median household income (adjusted for inflation) for 2015...

Most US Poor Now in the 'Burbs
New Home to Most Poor Americans: the 'Burbs
in case you missed it
May 25, 2013 8:02 AM CDT

New Home to Most Poor Americans: the 'Burbs

Suburban poverty has skyrocketed, study finds

(Newser) - The face of American poverty is now a suburban one, according to new research from the Brookings Institution. Researchers found that the number of people living in poverty in the suburbs soared 64% between 2000 and 2010, more than twice the rate of urban areas—meaning that now more poor...

Economy Has Hit Bottom, Census Suggests
 Economy Has 
 Hit Bottom, 
 Census Suggests 
economic roundup
Sep 20, 2012 7:48 AM CDT

Economy Has Hit Bottom, Census Suggests

On the bright side, there's nowhere to go but up, census suggests

(Newser) - Are you a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty type? Because that will have a lot to do with how you read the American Community Survey, a compilation of 2011 Census data and unofficial figures from the first quarter of 2012 giving us a glimpse at the US economy. With that much...

US Poverty Rate Still at Record Highs

But figures still better than analysts' predictions

(Newser) - The Census Bureau says the number of Americans in poverty stood at 15% in 2011 as the number of poor remained at record highs. About 46.2 million people, or nearly 1 in 6, were in poverty. The figures were better than the expectations of analysts who had predicted an...

US Poverty Rate to Hit Highest Since 1960s

Economists think it'll hit 15.7% this year

(Newser) - The ranks of America's poor are on track to climb to levels unseen in nearly half a century, erasing gains from the war on poverty in the 1960s amid a weak economy and fraying government safety net. The AP surveyed more than a dozen economists, think tanks, and academics,...

Nearly Half of Americans Are Poor, Low-Income
Nearly Half of Americans
Are Poor, Low-Income
CENSUS SAYS
Dec 15, 2011 10:26 AM CST

Nearly Half of Americans Are Poor, Low-Income

New metric includes living costs

(Newser) - Nearly 1 in 2 Americans are living either below the poverty level or within a stone's throw of it, according to a new Census metric designed to give a more complete view of poverty. According to the latest data, 49.1 million Americans are below the poverty line, and...

Ranks of Poorest Poor Swell to New High

One in 15 live below half the poverty level

(Newser) - We've got the top 1% , the 99% , and the 53% , but the poorest of the nation's poor has hit a new high: 6.7% of Americans now fall below half of the federal poverty line, reports the AP . That means about 20.5 million Americans, or one in...

Nearly 1 in 6 in US Lives in Poverty
 Nearly 1 in 6 in US 
 Lives in Poverty 
census says
Sep 13, 2011 11:41 AM CDT

Nearly 1 in 6 in US Lives in Poverty

In 2010, 15.1% lived below poverty line: US census data

(Newser) - Unsettling news from the US Census Bureau: Nearly one in six people lived in poverty last year. About 46.2 million people, or 15.1%, were below the poverty line, compared to 43.6 million, or 14.3%, in 2009, the AP reports. CNN adds that the poverty rate was...

Chasm Between Haves, Have-Nots Is a Societal Cancer
Chasm Between Haves,
Have-Nots Is a Societal Cancer
NICK KRISTOF
Jan 2, 2011 8:46 AM CST

Chasm Between Haves, Have-Nots Is a Societal Cancer

Money can't buy happiness, but the lack of it can cause profound problems

(Newser) - America's stunning inequality is not just economic, it is also an inequality of the soul, writes Nick Kristof in the New York Times . Citing the work of two British epidemiologists, Kristof argues that severe inequality "tears at the human psyche, creating anxiety, distrust, and an array of mental and...

US Poverty Rate Hits Record 14.3%

One in 7 fall within guidelines; highest since at least '65

(Newser) - The ranks of the working-age poor climbed to the highest level since the 1960s as the recession threw millions of people out of work last year, leaving one in seven Americans in poverty. The overall poverty rate climbed to 14.3%, or 43.6 million people, the Census Bureau said...

US Poverty Approaches 1960s Levels

Record increase expected with 2009 census results

(Newser) - The number of people in the US who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty. Census figures for 2009, the recession-ravaged first year of the...

US Poverty Rate Hits 11-Year High

First figures since recession reveal decline in incomes

(Newser) - The share of Americans living in poverty soared to 13.2% last year, its highest level since 1997, according to new census data. Median household income also fell, to $50,303 from $52,163 the previous year. Latinos have suffered the most from the recession. Their median income dropped by...

Ranks of Uninsured Grow; Poverty Rate Soars

(Newser) - The number of uninsured Americans rose to 46.3 million last year, up from 45.7 million in 2007, as the poverty rate hit an 11-year high, the Census Bureau announced today. The poverty rate was 13.2% for 2008, up from 12.5% in 2007, the largest annual jump...

Petitioners to CVS: Free the Condoms!

Cites particular concern in poor and minority areas

(Newser) - A labor coalition is sponsoring a petition calling on CVS to stop locking up condoms, the Kansas City Star reports. More than 200 groups across the country have signed the appeal to stop the practice, which the mega-chain says is an anti-shoplifting measure but critics say scares off would-be shoppers....

Ranks of Uninsured Drop by 1M
 Ranks of
 Uninsured
 Drop by 1M
Aug 26, 2008 1:11 PM CDT

Ranks of Uninsured Drop by 1M

Poverty rate unchanged, median incomes rise

(Newser) - There were a million fewer uninsured Americans last year, the first annual decrease under the Bush administration, according to Census Bureau data released today. Median household incomes also rose slightly for the third consecutive year, while the nation’s poverty rate held steady at just over 12%, AP reports. The...

US Poverty Rate Dips, but Uninsured Swell

Income inequality reaches all-time high

(Newser) - The US poverty rate has finally taken a downturn for the first time in 10 years, census figures show. The poverty rate was 12.3% in 2006, down from 12.6% the previous year, and annual household income rose to $48,200. But the news isn't all rosy: the number...

20 Stories