DEC. 8, 2020 – In 2019, the median estimated poverty rate for school-age children was 13.9% for all school districts, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The new data come from the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program, which provides the only up-to-date, single-year income and poverty statistics for the nation’s 3,141 counties and 13,174 school districts.

SAIPE statistics are used to allocate funding under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Title I funds are distributed to school districts based on their number and percentage of low-income children. The U.S. Department of Education plans to use the 2019 estimates to calculate fiscal year 2021 allocations for Title I and several other federal education programs to provide funding to states and school districts in the 2021-2022 school year.

Additional tables provide statistics on median household income, the number of people of all ages in poverty, the number of children younger than age 5 in poverty (for states only), the number of children ages 5 to 17 in families in poverty, and the number of children younger than age 18 in poverty. At the school district level, estimates are available for the total population, the number of children ages 5 to 17, and the number of children ages 5 to 17 in families in poverty.

Income highlights:

• In 2019, 22.8% of counties had a statistically significant increase and 2.4% a statistically significant decrease in median household income compared with 2007, the year before the Great Recession.
• County-level median household income estimates ranged from $24,732 to $151,806, with a median income of $53,341 for all counties in 2019.

County-level poverty estimates were also released. They ranged from 2.7% to 47.7%, with a median poverty rate of 13.4% for all counties.

Poverty highlights:

• In 2019, the county-level poverty rate for school-age children (ages 5 to 17) ranged between 2.2% and 55.0%, with a median county-level rate of 17.5%.
• Compared with 2007, 7.4% of counties had a statistically significant decrease and 2.5% had a statistically significant increase in 2019.

These statistics and further analysis can be found in the 2019 SAIPE Report released today.

No news release associated with this report. Tip sheet only.

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