There is also additional background information for this table group.

Contents for Table

Table 2. Percent of Persons in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2007

    Percent Below Poverty Level
  Before taxes
  Money income  
Population Total
(thousands)		 Excluding capital gains (current measure)
Definition 1		 Definition 1 less government transfers
Definition 2		 Definition 2 plus capital gains
Definition 3		 Definition 3 plus health insurance supplements to wage or salary income
Definition 4

Black alone or in combination
Total 39564 24.4 32.0 31.9 30.6

Age
Under 18 years 12380 33.7 37.9 37.9 35.8
  Related children 12227 33.6 37.8 37.7 35.7
      Under 6 years 4132 39.5 43.0 42.9 41.0
18 to 24 years 4337 27.3 32.9 32.7 31.6
25 to 44 years 10884 19.3 23.3 23.1 22.0
45 to 64 years 8747 16.6 24.2 24.0 23.4
65 years and over 3215 23.3 59.5 58.8 58.3
  65 to 74 years 1874 23.5 54.7 53.9 53.3
  75 years and over 1341 22.9 66.3 65.5 65.2

Family Relationship
In families 32427 23.6 30.4 30.3 28.9
  Married-couple families 15555 8.4 14.8 14.6 13.6
      With related children under 18 10180 9.8 12.9 12.9 11.4
  Female hhlder, no husband present 14396 39.6 46.9 46.8 44.9
      With related children under 18 11493 45.3 51.1 51.0 48.9
Unrelated individuals 7036 28.0 39.4 39.1 38.7
  Living alone 4768 26.6 41.8 41.3 40.9
      65 years and over 1190 33.4 76.3 75.5 75.1

Region
Northeast 6933 22.2 30.2 30.1 28.6
Midwest 7179 28.4 36.7 36.6 35.3
South 21514 24.9 32.3 32.1 30.9
West 3938 18.4 25.2 25.2 24.2

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 27184 20.2 29.4 29.2 28.3
18 to 24 years old 4337 27.3 32.9 32.7 31.6
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 1060 43.4 49.9 49.9 47.7
25 years old and over 22846 18.8 28.7 28.5 27.6
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 3848 37.4 59.2 58.9 57.6
  High school graduate, no college 7974 21.8 32.0 31.8 30.9
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 6510 13.7 20.5 20.3 19.3
  Bachelor's degree or more 4514 5.2 8.7 8.6 8.3

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 22688 19.2 24.7 24.6 23.7
  Worked at full-time jobs 14674 7.3 8.8 8.8 8.0
      50 to 52 weeks 12413 4.7 5.8 5.7 5.1
  Worked at part-time jobs 2276 27.7 36.9 36.8 35.4
  Did not work 5737 46.3 60.6 60.1 59.1

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 4704 54.4 73.0 72.8 70.7
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		2115 67.3 79.7 79.4 77.9
    SSI 2892 45.3 69.2 69.0 66.7
  Food stamps 7607 70.2 79.9 79.7 77.5
  Housing assistance 4475 67.4 78.2 78.1 76.0
  Energy assistance 1661 67.2 82.1 82.0 79.8
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 8731 54.1 61.3 61.3 57.9
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		2719 72.0 88.0 88.0 86.3

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		19475 6.3 9.0 8.9 7.0
  Medicare 4396 29.5 65.2 64.5 64.1
      Also Medicaid 1188 46.6 78.9 78.5 78.0
  Medicaid 9522 54.4 65.9 65.7 64.0
Not covered 7601 33.5 38.9 38.8 38.3

 

  Percent Below Poverty Level
After taxes
Definition 4 less Social Security payroll taxes
Definition 5		 Definition 5 less Federal income taxes
Definition 6		 Definition 6 plus Earned Income Tax Credit
Definition 7		 Definition 7 less state income taxes
Definition 8		 Definition 8 plus nonmeans- tested government cash transfers
Definition 9

Black alone or in combination
Total 32.1 31.7 29.3 29.3 23.3

Age
Under 18 years 37.8 36.5 32.1 31.9 29.3
  Related children 37.6 36.4 31.9 31.8 29.2
      Under 6 years 42.8 41.5 36.5 36.4 34.2
18 to 24 years 33.3 33.5 31.1 31.2 26.8
25 to 44 years 23.3 23.1 21.0 21.1 18.6
45 to 64 years 24.4 24.5 23.7 23.9 18.0
65 years and over 59.1 59.3 58.9 59.1 25.7
  65 to 74 years 54.4 54.4 54.1 54.3 25.8
  75 years and over 65.7 66.1 65.7 65.7 25.5

Family Relationship
In families 30.5 29.9 27.0 27.0 21.9
  Married-couple families 14.5 14.1 13.2 13.1 7.6
      With related children under 18 12.5 11.8 10.4 10.2 8.1
  Female hhlder, no husband present 47.2 46.2 41.0 41.0 36.4
      With related children under 18 51.1 49.8 43.4 43.3 40.0
Unrelated individuals 39.3 40.1 39.7 40.1 29.9
  Living alone 41.6 42.3 42.0 42.3 28.7
      65 years and over 75.7 75.8 75.8 76.1 35.5

Region
Northeast 30.1 29.5 27.6 27.0 21.7
Midwest 36.4 36.0 33.3 33.6 27.3
South 32.5 32.1 29.6 29.7 23.5
West 25.3 25.4 23.1 23.1 18.1

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 29.5 29.5 28.0 28.1 20.6
18 to 24 years old 33.3 33.5 31.1 31.2 26.8
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 49.0 49.3 45.5 45.5 40.8
25 years old and over 28.8 28.7 27.4 27.5 19.4
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 59.1 59.3 56.9 57.3 39.6
  High school graduate, no college 32.2 32.3 30.7 30.9 22.5
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 20.3 20.0 18.9 18.9 13.2
  Bachelor's degree or more 8.9 8.9 8.6 8.6 5.6

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 24.9 24.9 23.4 23.5 19.4
  Worked at full-time jobs 9.1 9.0 7.4 7.5 6.2
      50 to 52 weeks 5.9 5.8 4.5 4.4 3.5
  Worked at part-time jobs 37.0 37.7 34.4 35.3 29.1
  Did not work 60.6 60.5 59.7 59.8 49.5

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 73.2 72.6 69.6 69.8 63.6
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		81.3 80.5 75.5 75.3 71.2
    SSI 68.3 67.8 66.5 66.9 59.6
  Food stamps 80.4 79.1 72.6 72.1 65.9
  Housing assistance 78.4 77.0 72.4 71.6 64.1
  Energy assistance 82.1 80.8 74.8 74.3 66.9
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 61.3 59.5 52.0 51.6 46.8
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		89.0 88.1 83.8 83.7 78.0

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		7.7 7.5 6.0 6.0 3.9
  Medicare 64.7 64.9 64.3 64.4 33.3
      Also Medicaid 78.7 78.8 77.2 77.2 57.4
  Medicaid 66.8 65.5 60.6 60.3 53.5
Not covered 40.7 40.6 36.9 37.3 32.8

 

  Percent Below Poverty Level
After taxes
Definition 9 plus Medicare
Definition 10		 Definition 10 plus regular-price school lunches
Definition 11		 Definition 11 plus means-tested government cash transfers
Definition 12		 Definition 12 plus Medicaid
Definition 13		 Definition 13 plus other means-tested government noncash transfers
Definition 14

Black alone or in combination
Total 22.4 22.4 21.2 20.0 17.6

Age
Under 18 years 28.8 28.8 28.0 26.1 22.3
  Related children 28.6 28.6 27.8 25.9 22.0
      Under 6 years 34.0 34.0 33.2 30.8 27.5
18 to 24 years 26.4 26.4 25.1 23.6 21.3
25 to 44 years 18.2 18.2 17.1 16.0 14.2
45 to 64 years 16.9 16.9 15.4 14.7 13.3
65 years and over 22.3 22.3 20.1 19.5 17.6
  65 to 74 years 22.2 22.2 20.0 19.2 17.1
  75 years and over 22.3 22.3 20.3 20.0 18.3

Family Relationship
In families 21.2 21.2 20.1 18.7 16.3
  Married-couple families 7.2 7.2 6.6 5.9 5.2
      With related children under 18 7.7 7.7 7.3 6.6 5.7
  Female hhlder, no husband present 35.4 35.4 33.8 31.6 27.2
      With related children under 18 39.1 39.1 37.9 35.3 30.0
Unrelated individuals 28.1 28.1 26.5 25.6 23.3
  Living alone 27.0 27.0 25.0 24.2 21.4
      65 years and over 32.1 32.1 29.5 29.0 25.2

Region
Northeast 20.8 20.8 19.8 18.6 16.0
Midwest 26.4 26.4 24.8 22.8 19.6
South 22.6 22.6 21.4 20.4 18.2
West 17.4 17.4 16.2 15.0 13.5

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 19.5 19.5 18.2 17.2 15.4
18 to 24 years old 26.4 26.4 25.1 23.6 21.3
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 39.6 39.6 37.2 34.4 29.5
25 years old and over 18.3 18.3 16.8 16.0 14.3
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 36.9 36.9 33.4 32.0 27.9
  High school graduate, no college 21.3 21.3 19.9 18.9 17.1
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 12.5 12.5 11.6 10.8 9.8
  Bachelor's degree or more 5.3 5.3 4.9 4.7 4.5

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 18.7 18.7 17.5 16.5 14.8
  Worked at full-time jobs 6.0 6.0 5.8 5.4 4.6
      50 to 52 weeks 3.4 3.4 3.3 3.0 2.4
  Worked at part-time jobs 28.0 28.0 26.3 24.8 21.6
  Did not work 47.5 47.5 43.9 41.8 38.4

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 60.2 60.2 50.7 47.6 40.1
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		68.7 68.7 62.9 59.4 48.6
    SSI 54.8 54.8 42.3 39.1 33.0
  Food stamps 64.3 64.3 61.4 56.5 45.9
  Housing assistance 62.1 62.1 59.0 54.5 40.4
  Energy assistance 64.4 64.4 60.6 56.7 44.7
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 45.9 45.9 44.2 41.1 34.1
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		75.4 75.4 67.5 63.8 52.1

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		3.9 3.9 3.7 3.6 3.2
  Medicare 28.5 28.5 24.9 24.4 21.4
      Also Medicaid 49.1 49.1 37.9 36.6 28.4
  Medicaid 51.8 51.8 48.0 43.8 37.0
Not covered 31.9 31.9 31.1 30.2 27.5

 

  Percent Below Poverty Level
After taxes
Definition 14 plus net imputed return on equity in own home
Definition 15		 Definition 14 less medical programs
Definition 16		 Money Income after Taxes Without EIC
Definition 17		 Money Income after Taxes With EIC
Definition 18

Black alone or in combination
Total 16.9 18.4 25.2 22.8

Age
Under 18 years 22.0 23.0 34.4 29.7
  Related children 21.8 22.8 34.2 29.5
      Under 6 years 27.4 28.4 39.8 34.9
18 to 24 years 20.9 22.6 29.4 27.0
25 to 44 years 13.8 14.9 20.0 18.1
45 to 64 years 12.4 13.9 17.3 16.6
65 years and over 14.8 19.2 23.4 23.3
  65 to 74 years 15.1 19.1 23.8 23.6
  75 years and over 14.4 19.5 23.0 22.9

Family Relationship
In families 15.9 17.0 24.4 21.5
  Married-couple families 5.0 6.0 8.6 7.3
      With related children under 18 5.7 6.3 9.9 8.1
  Female hhlder, no husband present 26.5 27.9 40.8 36.0
      With related children under 18 29.5 30.9 46.3 40.5
Unrelated individuals 21.4 24.6 29.0 28.9
  Living alone 18.8 21.9 27.4 27.3
      65 years and over 19.0 25.4 33.4 33.4

Region
Northeast 15.4 16.6 22.8 20.9
Midwest 19.4 20.8 29.1 26.8
South 17.4 18.9 25.7 23.1
West 12.4 14.7 19.7 17.4

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 14.6 16.3 21.0 19.7
18 to 24 years old 20.9 22.6 29.4 27.0
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 29.2 32.9 45.6 41.1
25 years old and over 13.4 15.1 19.4 18.3
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 25.5 29.5 38.2 36.3
  High school graduate, no college 16.2 17.8 22.8 21.4
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 8.9 10.4 14.0 12.7
  Bachelor's degree or more 4.4 4.8 5.5 5.3

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 14.2 15.5 20.1 18.6
  Worked at full-time jobs 4.4 4.8 8.0 6.6
      50 to 52 weeks 2.4 2.5 5.2 4.0
  Worked at part-time jobs 20.5 22.2 30.0 27.5
  Did not work 36.8 40.4 47.0 46.0

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 39.4 42.9 55.6 52.4
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		48.0 52.6 69.4 63.6
    SSI 32.3 35.5 45.8 44.7
  Food stamps 45.1 47.7 71.3 64.9
  Housing assistance 40.4 41.6 69.0 62.8
  Energy assistance 41.8 46.1 68.5 64.2
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 33.9 34.8 55.5 47.3
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		51.6 55.8 73.3 69.3

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		3.0 3.2 6.5 5.3
  Medicare 18.8 23.4 29.8 29.2
      Also Medicaid 26.2 30.9 47.0 45.5
  Medicaid 36.4 39.0 55.3 50.1
Not covered 26.4 28.4 35.4 32.1

 

  Number Below Poverty Level
Definition 1 Definition 2 Definition 3 Definition 4 Definition 5 Definition 6 Definition 7 Definition 8 Definition 9

Black alone or in combination
Total 9668 12676 12614 12116 12692 12539 11580 11592 9224

Age
Under 18 years 4178 4693 4687 4432 4678 4524 3973 3951 3633
  Related children 4106 4621 4615 4361 4601 4448 3904 3883 3565
      Under 6 years 1634 1777 1771 1696 1767 1715 1508 1503 1414
18 to 24 years 1185 1425 1420 1370 1445 1451 1351 1352 1165
25 to 44 years 2104 2531 2517 2396 2536 2514 2289 2302 2026
45 to 64 years 1454 2114 2101 2043 2132 2143 2072 2088 1574
65 years and over 748 1914 1889 1874 1901 1906 1895 1899 826
  65 to 74 years 441 1025 1011 999 1020 1020 1013 1018 484
  75 years and over 307 889 879 875 882 886 881 882 341

Family Relationship
In families 7668 9870 9834 9361 9892 9684 8755 8744 7090
  Married-couple families 1303 2295 2277 2114 2258 2195 2051 2042 1186
      With related children under 18 998 1315 1314 1160 1275 1202 1060 1039 821
  Female hhlder, no husband present 5702 6748 6741 6467 6788 6655 5905 5903 5239
      With related children under 18 5202 5873 5866 5623 5868 5725 4987 4971 4592
Unrelated individuals 1968 2773 2748 2724 2767 2823 2795 2819 2104
  Living alone 1266 1992 1969 1951 1983 2017 2004 2019 1370
      65 years and over 397 908 898 893 900 902 902 905 423

Region
Northeast 1541 2095 2089 1985 2088 2046 1916 1875 1503
Midwest 2037 2633 2628 2531 2611 2586 2389 2414 1962
South 5365 6954 6904 6649 6997 6907 6364 6392 5045
West 725 994 992 952 996 1000 911 911 713

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 5491 7983 7927 7684 8014 8015 7607 7641 5590
18 to 24 years old 1185 1425 1420 1370 1445 1451 1351 1352 1165
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 460 529 529 505 520 523 482 482 432
25 years old and over 4306 6558 6507 6314 6569 6564 6256 6289 4426
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 1439 2278 2267 2217 2274 2283 2189 2203 1523
  High school graduate, no college 1742 2554 2536 2464 2571 2577 2451 2464 1791
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 890 1333 1319 1256 1321 1302 1230 1232 859
  Bachelor's degree or more 235 393 386 377 404 402 386 389 253

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 4360 5611 5581 5369 5649 5646 5298 5328 4408
  Worked at full-time jobs 1072 1297 1294 1171 1332 1315 1090 1095 908
      50 to 52 weeks 586 715 713 627 737 724 553 551 439
  Worked at part-time jobs 631 839 838 807 842 858 784 803 662
  Did not work 2657 3475 3449 3391 3475 3474 3424 3429 2838

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 2558 3435 3424 3324 3445 3413 3274 3281 2990
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		1424 1687 1680 1648 1721 1704 1598 1593 1507
    SSI 1309 2002 1996 1928 1976 1961 1922 1934 1722
  Food stamps 5339 6074 6066 5892 6113 6014 5521 5483 5015
  Housing assistance 3017 3500 3495 3399 3510 3447 3239 3202 2868
  Energy assistance 1116 1364 1362 1326 1364 1343 1243 1234 1112
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 4726 5353 5353 5059 5351 5196 4536 4501 4085
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		1958 2393 2392 2347 2419 2396 2278 2275 2121

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		1229 1755 1738 1369 1495 1456 1175 1162 767
  Medicare 1295 2868 2837 2816 2844 2852 2828 2832 1466
      Also Medicaid 554 938 933 927 935 936 917 917 682
  Medicaid 5181 6275 6260 6093 6359 6236 5766 5741 5091
Not covered 2545 2957 2948 2912 3094 3086 2806 2837 2494

 

  Number Below Poverty Level
Definition 10 Definition 11 Definition 12 Definition 13 Definition 14 Definition 15 Definition 16 Definition 17 Definition 18

Black alone or in combination
Total 8881 8881 8404 7907 6955 6688 7278 9972 9025

Age
Under 18 years 3567 3567 3466 3228 2758 2728 2850 4256 3681
  Related children 3501 3501 3401 3162 2696 2666 2784 4179 3613
      Under 6 years 1405 1405 1370 1273 1136 1130 1173 1644 1443
18 to 24 years 1144 1144 1089 1025 924 906 979 1275 1172
25 to 44 years 1978 1978 1856 1742 1545 1497 1618 2175 1969
45 to 64 years 1476 1476 1346 1284 1161 1082 1214 1513 1454
65 years and over 716 716 646 628 567 475 619 753 749
  65 to 74 years 417 417 374 360 321 282 357 445 442
  75 years and over 299 299 272 269 246 193 262 308 307

Family Relationship
In families 6875 6875 6511 6075 5293 5156 5521 7899 6963
  Married-couple families 1122 1122 1028 917 815 785 934 1332 1139
      With related children under 18 783 783 740 675 584 578 640 1013 820
  Female hhlder, no husband present 5101 5101 4859 4549 3910 3816 4016 5871 5189
      With related children under 18 4488 4488 4354 4062 3445 3389 3552 5323 4651
Unrelated individuals 1976 1976 1862 1801 1637 1507 1732 2041 2030
  Living alone 1285 1285 1194 1154 1019 898 1043 1306 1302
      65 years and over 382 382 351 345 300 226 302 397 397

Region
Northeast 1445 1445 1371 1291 1109 1064 1154 1582 1450
Midwest 1897 1897 1780 1637 1410 1393 1491 2087 1922
South 4855 4855 4613 4388 3905 3742 4055 5526 4969
West 684 684 640 590 530 488 578 777 685

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 5314 5314 4937 4679 4197 3959 4429 5716 5344
18 to 24 years old 1144 1144 1089 1025 924 906 979 1275 1172
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 420 420 395 364 312 310 348 483 436
25 years old and over 4170 4170 3848 3654 3273 3054 3450 4441 4172
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 1420 1420 1284 1232 1075 983 1135 1471 1398
  High school graduate, no college 1696 1696 1588 1511 1360 1293 1423 1814 1710
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 815 815 755 701 636 579 675 909 824
  Bachelor's degree or more 240 240 221 211 203 199 217 246 240

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 4253 4253 3962 3752 3363 3229 3520 4554 4230
  Worked at full-time jobs 887 887 847 791 669 650 697 1175 964
      50 to 52 weeks 426 426 406 367 302 294 316 651 491
  Worked at part-time jobs 638 638 598 565 491 466 504 683 626
  Did not work 2727 2727 2516 2395 2203 2113 2318 2696 2640

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 2830 2830 2384 2241 1886 1854 2016 2615 2463
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		1452 1452 1331 1256 1027 1015 1113 1468 1346
    SSI 1584 1584 1224 1130 955 935 1026 1323 1292
  Food stamps 4887 4887 4673 4296 3488 3427 3630 5427 4939
  Housing assistance 2778 2778 2638 2438 1810 1810 1860 3089 2810
  Energy assistance 1071 1071 1006 942 743 695 766 1139 1066
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 4012 4012 3861 3591 2981 2957 3039 4843 4126
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		2049 2049 1835 1735 1417 1404 1517 1992 1885

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		754 754 720 704 625 590 630 1265 1027
  Medicare 1252 1252 1095 1073 939 828 1029 1310 1285
      Also Medicaid 584 584 450 434 337 312 367 558 540
  Medicaid 4934 4934 4571 4170 3527 3465 3709 5267 4768
Not covered 2428 2428 2363 2293 2093 2004 2161 2691 2437

Race Footnotes