There is also additional background information for this table group.

Contents for Table

Table 3. Percent of Families in Poverty, by Definition of Income and Selected Characteristics: 2007

    Percent Below Poverty Level
  Before taxes
  Money income  
Population Total
(thous.)		 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
All families 9259 22.1 29.9 29.7 28.5

Age of Householder
15 to 24 years 663 48.1 51.7 51.3 49.9
25 to 44 years 4166 25.2 28.2 28.1 26.7
45 to 54 years 2115 14.2 19.4 19.2 18.1
55 to 64 years 1313 16.0 26.6 26.4 25.6
65 years and over 1003 16.6 49.2 48.5 48.0

Type of Family
Married-couple families 4322 6.8 15.0 14.9 14.1
  With related children
    under 18 		2198 8.3 11.2 11.2 9.9
  With related children
    under 6 		957 11.8 13.8 13.8 12.4
Male householder,
    no wife present 		799 25.7 33.4 32.9 31.5
Female householder,
    no husband present 		4138 37.3 44.7 44.7 43.0
  With related children
    under 18 		3105 43.9 49.3 49.3 47.4
  With related children
    under 6 		1408 53.4 57.7 57.5 55.9

Region
Northeast 1604 20.7 28.4 28.4 27.0
Midwest 1670 25.5 33.6 33.6 32.2
South 5121 22.4 30.5 30.2 29.1
West 865 16.4 21.9 21.9 20.9

Educational Attainment
Less than 12th grade, no diploma 1498 43.6 59.7 59.4 57.8
High school graduate, no college 3145 27.8 35.9 35.6 34.3
College: Less than bachelor's degree 2909 15.4 21.9 21.8 20.4
Bachelor's degree or more 1707 4.0 6.4 6.3 6.0

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 15 to 64 years 8256 22.8 27.5 27.5 26.2
Worked at full-time jobs 5709 11.0 12.6 12.6 11.4
  50 to 52 weeks 4856 8.0 9.1 9.1 8.1
Worked at part-time jobs 803 41.4 50.1 50.1 48.0
Did not work 1744 52.5 65.9 65.6 64.6

Number of Year-Round Full-Time Workers in the Family
No workers 2960 53.1 74.0 73.6 72.2
  Householder 15 to 64 years 2324 60.7 74.4 74.1 72.5
  Householder 65 years and over 636 25.2 72.7 71.6 71.3
One worker 3967 11.6 14.1 14.0 12.3
Two workers or more 2333 0.6 0.8 0.8 0.6

Program Participation Status of Family Members
One or more members received:
  Cash assistance 1033 52.5 73.0 72.6 70.7
      Public assistance or welfare non-SSI 493 69.0 82.3 81.8 80.3
      SSI 602 40.2 67.1 66.7 64.7
  Food stamps 1649 68.8 79.5 79.5 77.4
  Housing assistance 1049 66.1 75.2 75.2 73.1
  Energy assistance 366 65.5 80.2 80.2 78.6
  Free or reduced-price school lunches 2067 52.5 59.7 59.7 56.7
Family received
  both food stamps and cash assistance 594 70.9 87.9 87.9 86.6

Health Insurance Coverage
One or more members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan 5774 7.2 10.7 10.5 8.6
  Medicare 1918 20.6 49.3 48.7 47.9
  Medicaid 3119 45.8 57.2 57.1 55.4
No members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan or Medicare or
      Medicaid 		918 30.3 33.0 32.9 32.9
  Health insurance 671 36.8 38.3 38.3 38.3
Family received
  Medicare and Medicaid 744 32.3 63.5 63.3 62.2

 

  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
All families 30.0 29.5 26.9 26.8 20.7

Age of Householder
15 to 24 years 54.3 53.4 48.0 47.7 44.8
25 to 44 years 28.2 27.3 23.4 23.3 21.5
45 to 54 years 19.1 18.8 17.3 17.5 14.2
55 to 64 years 26.4 26.5 25.6 25.8 17.2
65 years and over 49.6 49.6 49.1 49.1 19.9

Type of Family
Married-couple families 14.8 14.7 14.0 14.0 6.6
  With related children
    under 18 		10.7 10.2 9.0 8.8 6.9
  With related children
    under 6 		13.2 12.7 10.9 10.4 8.9
Male householder,
    no wife present 		33.3 32.9 31.8 31.9 25.7
Female householder,
    no husband present 		45.3 44.4 39.4 39.3 34.4
  With related children
    under 18 		49.6 48.3 41.8 41.5 38.3
  With related children
    under 6 		58.0 56.3 49.2 49.3 47.6

Region
Northeast 28.5 27.8 25.7 24.9 19.7
Midwest 33.7 33.1 30.0 30.5 24.1
South 30.7 30.2 27.6 27.6 20.9
West 22.0 22.0 19.2 19.2 15.1

Educational Attainment
Less than 12th grade, no diploma 60.0 59.6 54.7 54.9 42.4
High school graduate, no college 36.0 35.5 32.2 32.1 25.7
College: Less than bachelor's degree 21.9 21.1 19.1 19.0 14.0
Bachelor's degree or more 6.7 6.3 6.0 6.0 4.0

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 15 to 64 years 27.7 27.1 24.2 24.1 20.8
Worked at full-time jobs 12.8 12.1 9.2 9.1 7.9
  50 to 52 weeks 9.3 8.7 6.1 6.0 5.1
Worked at part-time jobs 50.5 49.6 43.8 43.8 38.0
Did not work 65.9 65.9 64.3 64.3 55.0

Number of Year-Round Full-Time Workers in the Family
No workers 73.8 73.2 70.2 70.2 54.1
  Householder 15 to 64 years 74.4 73.6 69.8 69.9 60.7
  Householder 65 years and over 71.8 71.7 71.5 71.5 29.9
One worker 14.6 13.9 10.2 10.1 7.8
Two workers or more 0.7 0.6 0.4 0.3 0.2

Program Participation Status of Family Members
One or more members received:
  Cash assistance 73.5 72.4 69.4 69.5 62.8
      Public assistance or welfare non-SSI 84.1 82.3 77.5 76.9 72.9
      SSI 66.3 65.9 64.4 65.0 56.7
  Food stamps 80.6 79.1 71.8 71.2 64.5
  Housing assistance 75.9 74.3 68.6 67.7 61.8
  Energy assistance 80.6 79.6 72.9 72.2 64.6
  Free or reduced-price school lunches 60.0 58.3 50.4 49.8 45.1
Family received
  both food stamps and cash assistance 89.6 88.2 83.8 83.3 77.3

Health Insurance Coverage
One or more members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan 9.5 9.2 7.3 7.3 4.6
  Medicare 49.2 49.2 48.5 48.6 24.6
  Medicaid 58.4 57.1 51.8 51.6 44.5
No members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan or Medicare or
      Medicaid 		35.4 35.1 30.8 31.0 28.4
  Health insurance 41.8 41.4 35.9 36.1 34.3
Family received
  Medicare and Medicaid 64.1 64.2 62.5 62.5 41.7

 

  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
All families 20.1 20.1 18.9 17.9 15.6

Age of Householder
15 to 24 years 44.8 44.8 42.9 40.5 36.0
25 to 44 years 21.3 21.3 20.4 19.2 16.1
45 to 54 years 13.8 13.8 12.7 12.0 10.8
55 to 64 years 16.1 16.1 14.6 13.7 12.7
65 years and over 17.8 17.8 15.4 15.1 13.9

Type of Family
Married-couple families 6.2 6.2 5.6 5.2 4.8
  With related children
    under 18 		6.4 6.4 6.0 5.5 5.0
  With related children
    under 6 		8.7 8.7 8.3 7.9 7.0
Male householder,
    no wife present 		25.0 25.0 23.6 22.6 21.3
Female householder,
    no husband present 		33.7 33.7 31.9 30.2 25.7
  With related children
    under 18 		37.7 37.7 36.5 34.5 28.8
  With related children
    under 6 		47.4 47.4 45.8 42.5 37.3

Region
Northeast 19.1 19.1 18.0 16.9 14.4
Midwest 23.4 23.4 21.8 20.5 17.5
South 20.3 20.3 19.0 18.1 16.0
West 14.9 14.9 14.2 13.5 11.6

Educational Attainment
Less than 12th grade, no diploma 41.5 41.5 37.9 36.6 30.9
High school graduate, no college 25.0 25.0 24.1 22.6 19.9
College: Less than bachelor's degree 13.5 13.5 12.5 11.7 10.4
Bachelor's degree or more 3.8 3.8 3.6 3.2 3.0

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 15 to 64 years 20.4 20.4 19.3 18.2 15.8
Worked at full-time jobs 7.9 7.9 7.5 6.6 5.0
  50 to 52 weeks 5.1 5.1 4.8 4.0 3.0
Worked at part-time jobs 36.8 36.8 35.4 32.8 26.4
Did not work 54.1 54.1 50.8 49.4 46.2

Number of Year-Round Full-Time Workers in the Family
No workers 52.7 52.7 49.4 47.5 42.2
  Householder 15 to 64 years 59.8 59.8 56.6 54.2 47.9
  Householder 65 years and over 26.9 26.9 23.4 22.9 21.4
One worker 7.5 7.5 7.1 6.1 4.7
Two workers or more 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2

Program Participation Status of Family Members
One or more members received:
  Cash assistance 60.0 60.0 49.5 47.0 39.6
      Public assistance or welfare non-SSI 70.5 70.5 64.2 60.4 48.1
      SSI 52.6 52.6 38.8 36.7 31.8
  Food stamps 63.2 63.2 60.6 55.8 45.1
  Housing assistance 60.9 60.9 58.5 55.1 41.1
  Energy assistance 63.2 63.2 59.8 57.1 44.9
  Free or reduced-price school lunches 44.4 44.4 42.5 40.1 32.7
Family received
  both food stamps and cash assistance 74.9 74.9 67.8 63.8 51.9

Health Insurance Coverage
One or more members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan 4.5 4.5 4.3 4.1 3.6
  Medicare 21.9 21.9 19.0 18.3 16.1
  Medicaid 43.3 43.3 39.9 36.8 31.4
No members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan or Medicare or
      Medicaid 		28.4 28.4 28.0 28.0 25.0
  Health insurance 34.3 34.3 33.9 33.9 30.4
Family received
  Medicare and Medicaid 36.7 36.7 29.8 27.9 23.3

 

  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
All families 15.1 16.0 22.8 20.2

Age of Householder
15 to 24 years 36.0 36.6 51.1 44.6
25 to 44 years 15.8 16.6 25.8 21.9
45 to 54 years 10.2 10.9 14.6 13.7
55 to 64 years 11.9 13.2 16.3 15.3
65 years and over 13.1 14.8 17.0 16.9

Type of Family
Married-couple families 4.6 5.3 7.1 6.3
  With related children
    under 18 		4.9 5.4 8.6 6.9
  With related children
    under 6 		6.9 7.3 12.4 10.0
Male householder,
    no wife present 		20.7 21.5 26.4 24.3
Female householder,
    no husband present 		25.1 26.2 38.5 33.9
  With related children
    under 18 		28.4 29.4 44.8 38.8
  With related children
    under 6 		37.4 38.3 53.9 48.2

Region
Northeast 13.9 14.8 21.2 18.8
Midwest 17.2 18.0 26.4 23.4
South 15.6 16.4 22.9 20.3
West 10.4 12.3 18.1 15.5

Educational Attainment
Less than 12th grade, no diploma 29.9 32.1 44.6 40.0
High school graduate, no college 19.6 20.4 28.6 25.7
College: Less than bachelor's degree 9.8 10.7 16.2 13.5
Bachelor's degree or more 3.1 3.0 4.1 3.8

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 15 to 64 years 15.4 16.2 23.5 20.6
Worked at full-time jobs 4.8 5.3 11.6 8.6
  50 to 52 weeks 2.9 3.3 8.5 5.9
Worked at part-time jobs 26.3 26.9 43.4 37.6
Did not work 44.8 47.0 53.1 51.8

Number of Year-Round Full-Time Workers in the Family
No workers 41.1 43.2 54.0 50.9
  Householder 15 to 64 years 46.8 48.9 61.8 57.9
  Householder 65 years and over 19.9 22.5 25.4 25.4
One worker 4.6 5.0 12.5 8.8
Two workers or more 0.1 0.2 0.6 0.4

Program Participation Status of Family Members
One or more members received:
  Cash assistance 38.9 41.3 53.7 50.1
      Public assistance or welfare non-SSI 47.4 51.1 70.8 64.8
      SSI 31.1 33.1 40.7 39.5
  Food stamps 44.3 46.2 70.3 63.3
  Housing assistance 41.1 42.1 68.2 61.1
  Energy assistance 41.9 44.9 67.1 61.7
  Free or reduced-price school lunches 32.4 33.2 53.8 45.3
Family received
  both food stamps and cash assistance 51.2 54.4 72.5 68.1

Health Insurance Coverage
One or more members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan 3.3 3.6 7.4 5.8
  Medicare 15.3 16.9 21.1 20.5
  Medicaid 31.0 32.4 46.9 41.5
No members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan or Medicare or
      Medicaid 		24.3 25.0 32.7 28.0
  Health insurance 29.5 30.4 39.9 33.9
Family received
  Medicare and Medicaid 22.6 23.8 32.7 31.6

 

  Number Below Poverty Level
Definition 1 Definition 2 Definition 3 Definition 4 Definition 5 Definition 6 Definition 7 Definition 8 Definition 9
Black alone
All families 2045 2768 2753 2642 2781 2733 2490 2486 1917

Age of Householder
15 to 24 years 319 343 340 331 360 354 319 316 297
25 to 44 years 1050 1173 1173 1112 1173 1136 976 969 895
45 to 54 years 301 409 407 382 404 397 366 369 300
55 to 64 years 210 349 347 336 347 348 337 338 225
65 years and over 166 494 487 481 498 498 493 493 200

Type of Family
Married-couple families 295 649 642 610 640 634 607 605 287
  With related children
    under 18 		183 246 246 217 234 225 198 193 151
  With related children
    under 6 		113 132 132 118 127 122 104 100 86
Male householder,
    no wife present 		205 267 263 252 266 263 254 255 206
Female householder,
    no husband present 		1544 1851 1849 1780 1875 1836 1629 1626 1425
  With related children
    under 18 		1362 1532 1530 1471 1540 1500 1297 1288 1189
  With related children
    under 6 		752 812 809 786 817 793 693 695 670

Region
Northeast 332 456 455 432 457 445 412 399 316
Midwest 426 561 560 538 563 553 501 509 403
South 1145 1562 1548 1490 1571 1544 1411 1412 1068
West 142 190 190 181 190 190 166 166 131

Educational Attainment
Less than 12th grade, no diploma 653 895 890 866 899 894 820 822 635
High school graduate, no college 874 1127 1121 1080 1132 1117 1011 1009 807
College: Less than bachelor's degree 449 636 635 594 637 615 556 553 407
Bachelor's degree or more 68 110 108 102 114 108 103 102 67

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 15 to 64 years 1879 2274 2267 2160 2284 2235 1997 1993 1718
Worked at full-time jobs 630 722 719 648 730 688 523 519 452
  50 to 52 weeks 389 444 444 394 451 421 296 290 249
Worked at part-time jobs 332 402 402 385 406 398 352 352 306
Did not work 916 1150 1145 1126 1148 1149 1122 1122 960

Number of Year-Round Full-Time Workers in the Family
No workers 1571 2191 2178 2137 2186 2166 2076 2078 1601
  Householder 15 to 64 years 1411 1729 1723 1684 1729 1711 1622 1624 1411
  Householder 65 years and over 160 462 455 454 457 456 455 455 190
One worker 460 558 557 489 579 552 404 400 311
Two workers or more 14 18 18 15 17 15 9 7 6

Program Participation Status of Family Members
One or more members received:
  Cash assistance 543 754 750 731 758 748 717 718 648
      Public assistance or welfare non-SSI 340 406 404 396 415 406 382 379 359
      SSI 242 404 402 390 399 397 387 391 341
  Food stamps 1134 1310 1310 1276 1329 1304 1184 1174 1063
  Housing assistance 694 789 789 767 796 779 720 710 648
  Energy assistance 240 293 293 287 295 291 267 264 237
  Free or reduced-price school lunches 1085 1233 1233 1172 1239 1205 1042 1029 932
Family received
  both food stamps and cash assistance 422 523 522 515 533 524 498 495 460

Health Insurance Coverage
One or more members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan 418 616 609 497 546 532 424 422 267
  Medicare 395 945 934 919 943 943 930 932 472
  Medicaid 1428 1784 1780 1727 1820 1781 1616 1609 1387
No members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan or Medicare or
      Medicaid 		278 303 302 302 326 323 283 284 261
  Health insurance 247 257 257 257 281 278 241 242 230
Family received
  Medicare and Medicaid 240 473 471 463 477 477 465 465 310

 

  Number Below Poverty Level
Definition 10 Definition 11 Definition 12 Definition 13 Definition 14 Definition 15 Definition 16 Definition 17 Definition 18
Black alone
All families 1865 1865 1751 1654 1443 1399 1485 2110 1866

Age of Householder
15 to 24 years 297 297 285 268 239 239 242 339 296
25 to 44 years 886 886 852 801 671 659 690 1077 912
45 to 54 years 291 291 269 254 228 215 231 309 289
55 to 64 years 212 212 191 180 166 156 173 214 201
65 years and over 178 178 155 151 139 131 148 171 169

Type of Family
Married-couple families 268 268 243 223 208 197 229 307 270
  With related children
    under 18 		141 141 133 121 111 109 118 188 152
  With related children
    under 6 		84 84 80 75 67 66 70 119 96
Male householder,
    no wife present 		200 200 189 181 170 165 172 211 194
Female householder,
    no husband present 		1397 1397 1319 1250 1065 1037 1084 1592 1402
  With related children
    under 18 		1172 1172 1133 1071 896 882 914 1392 1206
  With related children
    under 6 		667 667 645 598 526 526 540 758 679

Region
Northeast 307 307 289 272 231 224 237 340 302
Midwest 391 391 364 342 292 288 301 440 391
South 1038 1038 975 924 820 798 840 1172 1039
West 129 129 123 116 101 90 107 157 134

Educational Attainment
Less than 12th grade, no diploma 622 622 568 549 463 448 481 668 599
High school graduate, no college 786 786 759 711 626 615 641 900 808
College: Less than bachelor's degree 392 392 363 340 303 284 311 471 393
Bachelor's degree or more 66 66 61 55 51 52 51 70 66

Work Experience in 2007
Total, 15 to 64 years 1687 1687 1597 1503 1304 1268 1336 1939 1697
Worked at full-time jobs 448 448 426 377 286 276 300 664 492
  50 to 52 weeks 245 245 233 196 147 139 158 412 288
Worked at part-time jobs 296 296 284 264 212 211 216 349 302
Did not work 943 943 886 862 806 781 820 926 903

Number of Year-Round Full-Time Workers in the Family
No workers 1560 1560 1463 1405 1250 1215 1279 1599 1508
  Householder 15 to 64 years 1389 1389 1315 1260 1114 1089 1136 1437 1346
  Householder 65 years and over 171 171 149 146 136 126 143 162 162
One worker 299 299 282 243 187 182 200 497 349
Two workers or more 6 6 6 6 6 2 6 14 9

Program Participation Status of Family Members
One or more members received:
  Cash assistance 619 619 511 485 409 401 426 554 518
      Public assistance or welfare non-SSI 348 348 317 298 237 234 252 349 320
      SSI 317 317 234 221 192 187 199 245 238
  Food stamps 1042 1042 1000 920 744 731 761 1159 1043
  Housing assistance 638 638 614 578 431 431 442 715 641
  Energy assistance 231 231 219 209 164 153 164 245 226
  Free or reduced-price school lunches 917 917 879 829 676 669 685 1113 937
Family received
  both food stamps and cash assistance 445 445 403 379 309 304 323 431 405

Health Insurance Coverage
One or more members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan 262 262 246 237 206 192 208 430 336
  Medicare 420 420 365 351 310 294 325 404 394
  Medicaid 1350 1350 1244 1147 979 965 1009 1463 1295
No members covered by:
  Employer-provided plan or Medicare or
      Medicaid 		261 261 257 257 229 223 229 300 257
  Health insurance 230 230 227 227 204 198 204 268 227
Family received
  Medicare and Medicaid 273 273 222 208 173 168 177 244 235

Race Footnotes