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
Total 37665 24.5 32.3 32.1 30.9

Age
Under 18 years 11302 34.5 38.9 38.9 36.7
  Related children 11174 34.3 38.8 38.8 36.6
      Under 6 years 3742 40.8 44.4 44.3 42.4
18 to 24 years 4112 27.6 33.2 33.0 31.8
25 to 44 years 10529 19.4 23.3 23.2 22.1
45 to 64 years 8572 16.6 24.1 24.0 23.3
65 years and over 3150 23.2 59.5 58.7 58.3
  65 to 74 years 1832 23.5 54.7 53.9 53.3
  75 years and over 1318 22.8 66.2 65.4 65.1

Family Relationship
In families 30778 23.8 30.7 30.6 29.1
  Married-couple families 14671 8.3 14.8 14.7 13.6
      With related children under 18 9472 9.7 13.0 13.0 11.4
  Female hhlder, no husband present 13741 39.7 47.2 47.1 45.2
      With related children under 18 10898 45.5 51.6 51.5 49.3
Unrelated individuals 6807 27.9 39.4 39.1 38.7
  Living alone 4626 26.5 41.8 41.3 40.9
      65 years and over 1172 33.5 76.3 75.5 75.1

Region
Northeast 6622 22.2 30.2 30.1 28.6
Midwest 6674 28.3 37.0 36.9 35.5
South 20859 25.0 32.4 32.2 31.0
West 3509 19.2 26.5 26.4 25.3

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 26363 20.2 29.4 29.2 28.3
18 to 24 years old 4112 27.6 33.2 33.0 31.8
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 1003 43.9 50.5 50.5 48.2
25 years old and over 22251 18.9 28.8 28.5 27.7
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 3776 37.5 59.4 59.1 57.8
  High school graduate, no college 7807 21.7 31.9 31.7 30.8
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 6297 13.6 20.4 20.2 19.3
  Bachelor's degree or more 4371 5.2 8.6 8.5 8.3

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 22016 19.3 24.8 24.7 23.7
  Worked at full-time jobs 14266 7.4 8.9 8.9 8.0
      50 to 52 weeks 12074 4.8 5.8 5.8 5.1
  Worked at part-time jobs 2171 27.8 37.1 37.1 35.7
  Did not work 5579 46.4 60.6 60.2 59.1

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 4516 54.4 73.0 72.8 70.6
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		2017 67.4 79.7 79.4 77.8
    SSI 2780 45.3 69.1 68.8 66.5
  Food stamps 7204 70.8 80.7 80.5 78.2
  Housing assistance 4275 67.6 78.6 78.5 76.3
  Energy assistance 1507 67.8 83.1 83.0 80.6
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 8274 54.3 61.7 61.7 58.3
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		2601 72.2 88.1 88.1 86.4

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		18503 6.4 9.1 9.0 7.1
  Medicare 4301 29.5 65.3 64.6 64.1
      Also Medicaid 1150 47.2 79.3 78.9 78.4
  Medicaid 8910 55.1 66.9 66.7 65.0
Not covered 7348 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
Total 32.3 32.0 29.5 29.5 23.4

Age
Under 18 years 38.8 37.5 32.8 32.7 30.0
  Related children 38.6 37.3 32.7 32.5 29.8
      Under 6 years 44.3 42.9 37.6 37.5 35.3
18 to 24 years 33.7 33.8 31.5 31.5 27.1
25 to 44 years 23.4 23.2 21.1 21.2 18.7
45 to 64 years 24.3 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 65.6 66.0 65.6 65.6 25.4

Family Relationship
In families 30.8 30.1 27.2 27.2 22.0
  Married-couple families 14.5 14.2 13.2 13.2 7.5
      With related children under 18 12.5 11.8 10.4 10.2 7.9
  Female hhlder, no husband present 47.5 46.5 41.2 41.2 36.5
      With related children under 18 51.6 50.2 43.7 43.5 40.2
Unrelated individuals 39.3 40.2 39.7 40.1 29.8
  Living alone 41.6 42.4 42.1 42.4 28.6
      65 years and over 75.7 75.8 75.8 76.1 35.7

Region
Northeast 30.1 29.5 27.6 27.0 21.6
Midwest 36.7 36.3 33.5 33.9 27.4
South 32.6 32.2 29.7 29.8 23.5
West 26.6 26.7 24.2 24.2 18.7

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 29.6 29.6 28.1 28.2 20.6
18 to 24 years old 33.7 33.8 31.5 31.5 27.1
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 49.6 49.9 45.8 45.9 41.1
25 years old and over 28.8 28.8 27.4 27.6 19.4
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 59.3 59.5 57.1 57.4 39.7
  High school graduate, no college 32.1 32.2 30.7 30.8 22.4
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 20.3 20.0 18.9 18.9 13.1
  Bachelor's degree or more 8.9 8.8 8.5 8.5 5.5

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 24.9 25.0 23.4 23.5 19.5
  Worked at full-time jobs 9.1 9.0 7.5 7.5 6.2
      50 to 52 weeks 6.0 5.9 4.5 4.5 3.6
  Worked at part-time jobs 37.3 38.0 34.6 35.5 29.1
  Did not work 60.6 60.6 59.8 59.9 49.6

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 73.2 72.5 69.5 69.6 63.6
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		81.4 80.6 75.3 75.1 71.1
    SSI 68.1 67.6 66.3 66.6 59.8
  Food stamps 81.2 79.9 73.3 72.8 66.5
  Housing assistance 78.9 77.4 72.8 71.9 64.3
  Energy assistance 83.1 81.7 75.4 74.8 67.3
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 61.6 59.9 52.2 51.8 46.9
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		89.1 88.2 83.8 83.6 78.1

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		7.8 7.6 6.1 6.0 3.9
  Medicare 64.8 65.0 64.4 64.5 33.4
      Also Medicaid 79.0 79.2 77.5 77.5 57.9
  Medicaid 67.8 66.5 61.5 61.2 54.2
Not covered 40.7 40.6 36.9 37.4 32.9

 

  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
Total 22.6 22.6 21.3 20.1 17.7

Age
Under 18 years 29.4 29.4 28.6 26.8 22.9
  Related children 29.2 29.2 28.4 26.5 22.6
      Under 6 years 35.1 35.1 34.2 31.8 28.3
18 to 24 years 26.6 26.6 25.4 23.8 21.4
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 22.5 22.5 20.3 19.7 17.7
  65 to 74 years 22.5 22.5 20.2 19.4 17.3
  75 years and over 22.4 22.4 20.4 20.1 18.4

Family Relationship
In families 21.3 21.3 20.2 18.9 16.5
  Married-couple families 7.1 7.1 6.5 5.8 5.2
      With related children under 18 7.6 7.6 7.1 6.6 5.8
  Female hhlder, no husband present 35.6 35.6 33.9 31.7 27.3
      With related children under 18 39.3 39.3 38.1 35.6 30.2
Unrelated individuals 28.0 28.0 26.4 25.5 23.1
  Living alone 26.9 26.9 25.1 24.2 21.4
      65 years and over 32.6 32.6 29.9 29.5 25.6

Region
Northeast 20.8 20.8 19.7 18.6 15.9
Midwest 26.5 26.5 24.8 23.1 19.9
South 22.6 22.6 21.5 20.4 18.2
West 18.0 18.0 16.9 15.5 13.9

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 19.6 19.6 18.2 17.2 15.5
18 to 24 years old 26.6 26.6 25.4 23.8 21.4
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 39.8 39.8 37.5 34.4 29.6
25 years old and over 18.3 18.3 16.9 16.0 14.4
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 37.1 37.1 33.5 32.1 28.0
  High school graduate, no college 21.2 21.2 19.9 18.9 17.0
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 12.5 12.5 11.6 10.8 9.8
  Bachelor's degree or more 5.2 5.2 4.9 4.6 4.5

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 18.8 18.8 17.5 16.6 14.8
  Worked at full-time jobs 6.1 6.1 5.8 5.5 4.6
      50 to 52 weeks 3.5 3.5 3.3 3.0 2.5
  Worked at part-time jobs 28.0 28.0 26.3 24.7 21.4
  Did not work 47.7 47.7 44.0 41.8 38.5

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 60.2 60.2 50.7 47.7 40.2
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		68.6 68.6 62.8 59.5 48.8
    SSI 54.9 54.9 42.4 39.0 33.1
  Food stamps 64.8 64.8 62.0 57.1 46.4
  Housing assistance 62.3 62.3 59.1 54.9 40.8
  Energy assistance 64.7 64.7 61.0 56.7 45.4
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 46.0 46.0 44.3 41.3 34.4
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		75.4 75.4 67.5 63.7 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 28.7 28.7 25.1 24.6 21.5
      Also Medicaid 50.0 50.0 38.6 37.2 28.9
  Medicaid 52.6 52.6 48.7 44.6 37.8
Not covered 32.0 32.0 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
Total 17.0 18.5 25.3 22.9

Age
Under 18 years 22.7 23.6 35.2 30.4
  Related children 22.4 23.3 34.9 30.2
      Under 6 years 28.2 29.2 41.0 36.0
18 to 24 years 21.0 22.7 29.6 27.2
25 to 44 years 13.8 14.9 20.1 18.2
45 to 64 years 12.4 13.9 17.3 16.6
65 years and over 14.8 19.3 23.4 23.3
  65 to 74 years 15.0 19.1 23.8 23.6
  75 years and over 14.4 19.5 22.9 22.8

Family Relationship
In families 16.0 17.1 24.5 21.6
  Married-couple families 5.0 5.9 8.5 7.2
      With related children under 18 5.7 6.2 9.9 8.0
  Female hhlder, no husband present 26.6 28.1 40.8 36.2
      With related children under 18 29.7 31.1 46.6 40.7
Unrelated individuals 21.3 24.5 28.9 28.8
  Living alone 18.8 21.9 27.4 27.3
      65 years and over 19.3 25.8 33.5 33.5

Region
Northeast 15.3 16.5 22.8 20.9
Midwest 19.6 21.1 29.0 26.7
South 17.4 18.8 25.7 23.2
West 12.7 15.2 20.6 18.0

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 14.6 16.3 21.1 19.7
18 to 24 years old 21.0 22.7 29.6 27.2
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 29.3 33.0 45.6 40.9
25 years old and over 13.4 15.1 19.5 18.3
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 25.6 29.6 38.4 36.5
  High school graduate, no college 16.2 17.8 22.7 21.4
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 8.9 10.3 13.9 12.6
  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 18.7
  Worked at full-time jobs 4.5 4.8 8.1 6.6
      50 to 52 weeks 2.4 2.6 5.3 4.0
  Worked at part-time jobs 20.3 22.0 30.1 27.5
  Did not work 36.9 40.5 47.1 46.2

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 39.5 43.1 55.7 52.4
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		48.2 53.0 69.5 63.6
    SSI 32.3 35.6 45.9 44.8
  Food stamps 45.6 48.2 71.9 65.6
  Housing assistance 40.8 42.0 69.1 62.9
  Energy assistance 42.4 46.1 69.2 64.7
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 34.1 34.9 55.6 47.4
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		51.6 55.9 73.5 69.4

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		3.0 3.2 6.5 5.3
  Medicare 18.9 23.5 29.9 29.3
      Also Medicaid 26.7 31.3 47.4 45.9
  Medicaid 37.1 39.6 56.0 50.7
Not covered 26.3 28.4 35.5 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
Total 9237 12164 12105 11620 12180 12036 11113 11124 8822

Age
Under 18 years 3904 4402 4397 4152 4387 4240 3712 3691 3389
  Related children 3838 4336 4331 4088 4317 4169 3650 3628 3326
      Under 6 years 1526 1660 1656 1587 1657 1604 1407 1402 1322
18 to 24 years 1134 1363 1358 1309 1384 1390 1293 1295 1115
25 to 44 years 2043 2456 2442 2324 2460 2440 2221 2232 1965
45 to 64 years 1426 2069 2057 2000 2087 2100 2031 2046 1545
65 years and over 731 1874 1850 1835 1862 1867 1855 1860 808
  65 to 74 years 431 1002 988 977 997 997 991 996 473
  75 years and over 301 872 862 858 864 869 864 865 335

Family Relationship
In families 7312 9454 9420 8960 9476 9276 8383 8370 6770
  Married-couple families 1211 2173 2158 1998 2128 2077 1942 1931 1102
      With related children under 18 921 1232 1232 1080 1183 1122 987 966 752
  Female hhlder, no husband present 5459 6480 6473 6207 6525 6389 5667 5664 5020
      With related children under 18 4962 5619 5611 5377 5619 5473 4762 4745 4378
Unrelated individuals 1898 2684 2658 2634 2677 2733 2704 2728 2026
  Living alone 1228 1935 1912 1893 1926 1960 1947 1962 1324
      65 years and over 392 894 885 879 887 888 888 892 418

Region
Northeast 1469 2000 1995 1892 1995 1951 1827 1786 1433
Midwest 1887 2467 2462 2369 2447 2422 2239 2263 1828
South 5207 6768 6720 6470 6804 6725 6198 6226 4904
West 674 928 927 890 933 938 849 849 657

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 5333 7762 7708 7468 7793 7796 7401 7434 5433
18 to 24 years old 1134 1363 1358 1309 1384 1390 1293 1295 1115
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 441 507 506 483 497 501 460 460 412
25 years old and over 4200 6399 6349 6159 6409 6407 6108 6139 4319
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 1417 2243 2232 2183 2238 2248 2154 2168 1500
  High school graduate, no college 1696 2491 2473 2403 2508 2515 2393 2407 1749
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 859 1287 1274 1212 1276 1257 1189 1190 828
  Bachelor's degree or more 227 377 370 361 388 386 371 373 242

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 4243 5456 5427 5219 5493 5493 5155 5184 4291
  Worked at full-time jobs 1051 1269 1265 1145 1303 1286 1069 1073 891
      50 to 52 weeks 577 704 702 617 726 713 547 544 435
  Worked at part-time jobs 603 806 805 774 809 825 751 771 631
  Did not work 2590 3382 3357 3300 3380 3382 3335 3340 2769

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 2457 3297 3287 3189 3306 3275 3139 3144 2874
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		1359 1607 1602 1570 1642 1626 1519 1515 1435
    SSI 1260 1919 1914 1847 1892 1879 1842 1852 1661
  Food stamps 5099 5810 5802 5633 5847 5753 5282 5243 4793
  Housing assistance 2891 3362 3357 3264 3374 3311 3112 3076 2747
  Energy assistance 1022 1253 1250 1214 1252 1232 1136 1127 1014
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 4492 5108 5108 4821 5098 4957 4323 4288 3879
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		1877 2292 2291 2249 2318 2295 2179 2174 2032

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		1176 1690 1674 1317 1441 1402 1127 1114 727
  Medicare 1270 2809 2780 2759 2786 2795 2770 2775 1436
      Also Medicaid 543 912 907 901 908 911 891 891 666
  Medicaid 4909 5961 5946 5787 6040 5928 5482 5454 4830
Not covered 2460 2858 2849 2812 2992 2984 2714 2745 2419

 

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

Black alone
Total 8495 8495 8032 7571 6660 6401 6963 9527 8628

Age
Under 18 years 3327 3327 3231 3023 2584 2561 2665 3976 3439
  Related children 3268 3268 3171 2964 2528 2505 2606 3905 3376
      Under 6 years 1315 1315 1280 1191 1058 1053 1091 1533 1349
18 to 24 years 1094 1094 1042 978 880 862 933 1217 1118
25 to 44 years 1917 1917 1800 1689 1497 1449 1566 2113 1912
45 to 64 years 1449 1449 1321 1260 1140 1064 1191 1484 1427
65 years and over 707 707 638 620 559 465 607 737 733
  65 to 74 years 411 411 370 355 316 276 351 436 433
  75 years and over 296 296 268 265 242 189 257 301 300

Family Relationship
In families 6564 6564 6210 5809 5064 4932 5274 7531 6644
  Married-couple families 1042 1042 951 856 766 735 866 1243 1059
      With related children under 18 715 715 674 625 545 539 585 938 753
  Female hhlder, no husband present 4887 4887 4651 4361 3748 3660 3855 5612 4968
      With related children under 18 4278 4278 4150 3878 3287 3236 3393 5075 4441
Unrelated individuals 1905 1905 1797 1736 1575 1448 1668 1969 1958
  Living alone 1246 1246 1161 1121 990 871 1011 1266 1262
      65 years and over 381 381 351 345 300 226 302 392 392

Region
Northeast 1375 1375 1304 1229 1056 1014 1095 1508 1382
Midwest 1767 1767 1652 1539 1329 1309 1406 1932 1782
South 4721 4721 4484 4259 3789 3633 3929 5363 4831
West 632 632 591 543 486 444 532 724 633

Educational Attainment
Total, 18 years and over 5167 5167 4802 4547 4076 3840 4298 5551 5190
18 to 24 years old 1094 1094 1042 978 880 862 933 1217 1118
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 399 399 376 345 297 294 331 457 410
25 years old and over 4073 4073 3759 3569 3196 2978 3364 4334 4071
  Less than 12th grade, no diploma 1401 1401 1266 1213 1056 967 1116 1450 1376
  High school graduate, no college 1657 1657 1552 1476 1329 1262 1389 1769 1670
  College: Less than bachelor's degree 787 787 729 677 616 558 650 877 794
  Bachelor's degree or more 229 229 213 203 195 192 209 238 232

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 20 to 64 years 4137 4137 3856 3649 3269 3137 3420 4436 4120
  Worked at full-time jobs 871 871 832 778 657 638 682 1154 948
      50 to 52 weeks 423 423 402 363 298 290 312 643 487
  Worked at part-time jobs 607 607 570 537 466 441 478 654 597
  Did not work 2659 2659 2453 2334 2147 2058 2259 2628 2575

Program Participation Status of Household Members
One or more members received:
Cash assistance 2720 2720 2288 2153 1817 1785 1945 2516 2366
    Public assistance or
 welfare non-SSI 		1384 1384 1268 1201 985 973 1069 1402 1283
    SSI 1525 1525 1179 1085 919 898 990 1276 1245
  Food stamps 4669 4669 4463 4110 3342 3285 3472 5181 4723
  Housing assistance 2662 2662 2528 2346 1746 1746 1795 2956 2689
  Energy assistance 975 975 919 855 684 639 694 1043 975
  Free or reduced-price sch. lunch 3808 3808 3662 3417 2843 2820 2891 4604 3922
Household received both food stamps
  and cash assistance 		1962 1962 1757 1657 1356 1343 1454 1911 1805

Health Insurance Coverage
Covered by:
  Plan related to employment
    of self or relative 		713 713 680 665 589 559 594 1204 974
  Medicare 1233 1233 1079 1057 925 814 1009 1285 1260
      Also Medicaid 575 575 444 428 332 307 360 546 528
  Medicaid 4685 4685 4337 3970 3365 3304 3532 4988 4522
Not covered 2353 2353 2288 2219 2021 1932 2086 2606 2362

Race Footnotes