Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America
National Poverty Data
39.8 million people live below the official federal poverty level, which was $22,025 for a family of four in 2008. This number is up from 37.3 million in 20071.
The number of people in poverty has not exceeded the 2008 figure of 39.8 million people since 1960. It is expected to rise as the new census numbers account for 2008--which was just the beginning of the economic downturn.
The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008.
Almost half of all Americans will have experienced poverty for a year or more at some point in their lives by the time they reach age 60.2
Catholic Charities agencies serve one in every 10 people living in poverty.
Income and Employment
The federal minimum wage is $6.55 per hour effective July 24, 2008; and $7.25 per hour effective July 24, 2009.
Real median household income declined by 3.6 percent in 2008.
As of September 4, 2009 the unemployment rate rose to 9.7 percent. Learn more
Location
Poverty rates are highest in central cities and rural areas. Inside metropolitan areas the poverty rate and the number of people in poverty were 12.9 percent and 32.6 million, both up from 2007. The poverty rate for those outside metropolitan areas is 15.1 percent.
The South has the highest rate of people in poverty,14.3 percent. Mississippi and Louisiana have the first and second highest rates. Find your state's rank.1
Racial Inequality
The poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites is 8.6 percent, while the rate for Hispanics is 23.2 percent, the rate for Asians is 11.8 percent, and the rate for African Americans is 24.5 percent. 1 Learn more about Race and Poverty
Age
The number of people 65 and older remained at 3.6 million in 2008.1
Children experience a higher rate of poverty, 19 percent, than the rest of the population. This number is higher than in 2007. Children represent 35.3 percent of people in poverty but only 24.6 percent of the total population.1
Sources: 1. US Census Bureau, 2. Mark Rank. One Nation Underprivileged. NY: Oxford Press, 2005, 93, Bureau of Labor Statistics, US Department of Labor |