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Nation's Household Income Stable in 2000, Poverty Rate Virtually
Equals Record Low, Census Bureau Reports
The nation's poverty rate dropped from 11.8 percent in 1999 to 11.3
percent in 2000 -- virtually matching the record low set in 1973 -- while
real median household income ($42,148 in 2000) did not change from the
1999 level, which was the highest ever recorded. These findings are
according to two reports released today by the Commerce Department's
Census Bureau.
"The drop in the poverty rate belongs to a larger story of economic
recovery since the last recession," said Daniel Weinberg, chief of the
Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division.
"Poverty rates tend to peak soon after a recession. For instance,
following the most recent recession in 1990-91, the poverty rate peaked in
1993. However, since that time, recovery has been wide-ranging as each
racial, ethnic and age group has experienced declines in their poverty
rates."
The reports, Money Income in the United States: 2000 [pdf] and Poverty in the
United States: 2000 [pdf], are available on the Internet. The data are
from the annual income supplement to the Current Population Survey and are
not from Census 2000.
Poverty
According to the poverty report, the poverty rate in 2000 was 11.3
percent, down from 11.8 percent in 1999. About 1.1 million fewer people
were poor in 2000 than in 1999 -- 31.1 million versus 32.3 million. The
poverty rate in 2000 was the lowest in 21 years -- not statistically
different from the rate in 1979 or the record low of 11.1 percent set in
1973. In addition, the number of poor families fell by nearly half a
million over the period, to 6.2 million in 2000.
Groups Matching or Surpassing in 2000 Their All-Time Low Poverty Rate
Significant
2000 poverty decrease,
Characteristic rate Status 1999-2000?
Blacks 22.1 percent new all-time low Yes
White, non-Hispanics 7.5 percent matches all-time low No
Asians and Pacific
Islanders 10.8 percent matches all-time low No
Hispanics 21.2 percent matches all-time low Yes
All people 11.3 percent matches all-time low Yes
Averaging 1998-2000, the poverty rate for American Indians and Alaska
Natives was 25.9 percent. Averages were used because the American Indian
and Alaska Native population is relatively small and multiyear averages
provide more reliable estimates. Because of increased interest in poverty
data for all races, the Census Bureau last year began publishing such data
about American Indians and Alaska Natives.
The poverty rate for people under 18 years old (16.2 percent) dropped
for the third consecutive year, reaching the lowest rate since 1979.
Despite the decrease in their poverty rate, people under 18 had a higher
poverty rate than those in any other age group.
The poverty rate declined more for 18- to 24-year-olds than for any
other age group -- a 3 percentage-point drop from 17.3 percent in 1999 to
14.4 percent in 2000.
Averaging 1998 to 2000, New Mexico statistically matched Louisiana and
the District of Columbia for the highest poverty rate. Seventeen states
had the lowest poverty rates.
Based on comparisons of 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, 10 states (Arizona,
California, Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York,
North Dakota, Oregon and Pennsylvania) and the District of Columbia showed
decreases in their poverty rates.
The average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2000 was $17,603
in annual income; for a family of three, it was $13,738.
A new report, Experimental Poverty Measures: 1999, will be
released on the Internet in early October.
Income
Groups Matching or Setting New All-Time High Median Household Income in 2000
2000 median Significant
household Increase,
Characteristic income Status 1999-2000?
Blacks $30,439 new all-time high Yes
Hispanics $33,447 new all-time high Yes
Non-Hispanic Whites $45,904 matches all-time high No
Asians and Pacific
Islanders $55,521 matches all-time high No
All households $42,148 matches all-time high No
A three-year average (1998-2000) median household income estimate for
American Indians and Alaska Natives was $31,799. As with the poverty data,
the averages were used because the American Indian and Alaska Native
population is relatively small and multiyear averages provide more
reliable estimates.
Family households maintained by women with no husband present
experienced a 4.0 percent increase in real income between 1999 and 2000,
to $28,116. Other types of households experienced no significant change in
their median household income.
The only region to experience an increase in real median household
income between 1999 and 2000 was the Northeast, where it rose 3.9 percent,
from $43,394 to $45,106.
A 1.9 percent growth in real income for suburban households, to $50,262,
drove a 1.7 percent increase for all metropolitan households, to $44,984.
Meanwhile, the median income of households outside metropolitan areas
dropped by 3.8 percent, to $32,837.
The median income of foreign-born households with a householder who was
not a U.S. citizen increased by 9.8 percent in real terms between 1999 and
2000 to $35,413.
For the first time in four years, men who worked full-time, year-round
experienced a decline in their real median earnings, falling from $37,701
to $37,339 -- a 1.0 percent drop. Women with similar work experience had
no significant change in median earnings ($27,355). The resulting ratio of
female-to-male earnings (0.73) for such workers returned to a level
comparable to its all-time high recorded in 1996 (0.74).
Real per capita income rose by 1.4 percent, from $21,893 to $22,199, in
real terms, for the overall population but remained statistically
unchanged for each of the racial groups and Hispanics.
Averaging 1998 to 2000, the real median household income for Maryland,
although not statistically different from the median incomes for Alaska,
New Jersey, Connecticut and Minnesota, was higher than that for the
remaining 45 states and the District of Columbia.
Conversely, the median household income for West Virginia, although not
statistically different from the median for Arkansas, was lower than the
incomes of the remaining 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Between 1998-1999 and 1999-2000, real median household income rose in
six states (California, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Missouri and New York) and
declined in three (Alabama, Louisiana and Washington).
The income report also presents alternative measures of income that take
into account the effects of taxes and noncash benefits.
These data are from the March 2001 Current Population Survey. As with
all survey data, they are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.
available free from Adobe.
