EMBARGOED UNTIL: MARCH 5, 1996 (TUESDAY) Public Information Office CB96-28 301-457-3030 301-457-4067 (TDD) Population Information Staff 301-457-2422STATE OF THE NATION REPORT SHOWS DROP IN POVERTY RATE, ACCORDING TO CENSUS BUREAU EMBARGOED UNTIL: MARCH 5, 1996 (TUESDAY) - A new report released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau shows, among other things, a decrease in the U.S. poverty rate. The new Census Bureau report entitled, "How We're Changing, Demographic State of the Nation: 1996" (P23-191), provides a profile of the nation's social and economic status. Listed below are some useful and important facts contained in the report.
- There were 23 million foreign-born persons in the United States in 1994, representing 9 percent of the population. That is the highest level in the last 50 years.
- The number of persons living below the official government poverty level dropped from 39.3 million in 1993 to 38.1 million in 1994. The poverty rate also decreased--from 15.1 to 14.5 percent.
- Americans are not as mobile as they were in the mid-1980s. Between March 1993 and March 1994, 43 million Americans (17 percent of those 1 year old and over) moved from one residence to another, below the 1984-1985 mobility rate of 20 percent.
- The number of divorced persons has quadrupled since 1970. There were 17 million divorced persons in 1994, compared with 4 million in 1970.
- About 40 million people (15 percent of the population) did not have health insurance in 1994. The proportion of poor persons without coverage (29 percent) was almost double that of the total population.
- One-parent families spent less on child care in 1993 than married-couple families, but they spent a larger proportion of their monthly income on child care, 12 percent versus 7 percent.
- In 1991, custodial mothers received more child support than custodial fathers ($3,011 versus $2,292); but they were still more likely to be poor. The poverty rate was 35 percent for custodial mothers and 13 percent for custodial fathers.
- Median household income ($32,264) was unchanged in 1994. Regionally, the median household income was lowest at $30,021 in the South; $34,926 in the Northeast; $34,452 in the West; and $32,505 in the Midwest (incomes in the Northeast and West were not significantly different).
- The median earnings of males 15 years old or over who worked year-round, full-time declined from $31,186 in 1993 to $30,854 in 1994. Median earnings for females 15 years old or over who worked year-round, full-time was $22,205 in 1994, unchanged from 1993.
- The homeownership rate remained unchanged. In 1994, 64 percent of occupied housing units were owner occupied, unchanged from the previous year. The 1994 homeownership rate ranged from a low of 15 percent for householders under 25 years old, to a high of about 80 percent for householders 60 to 74 years old.
The information in this demographic profile is also contained in reports from three Census Bureau surveys--the Current Population Survey, the Survey of Income and Program Participation, and the American Housing Survey.
-X-Editor's note: media representatives may obtain copies of the report from the Census Bureau's Public Information Office on 301-457-3030; fax: 301-457-3670; or e-mail: pio@census.gov; or contact Fax-On-Demand at 301-457-4178, Document No. 1130. Other orders should be directed to the bureau's FastFax: 1-900-555-2Fax (there is a nominal fee); Customer Services Branch on 301-763-INFO(4636); or fax: 301-457-3842.
