The Census Bureau has released the 2010 report on poverty in America. Follow this site for in depth reports, and lots of charts, on this topic during the next week.

The press is making much of the actual numbers of Americans in poverty. Remember, however, that with a growing population, the numbers will increase even if the rate stays the same. Every person living in poverty matters, but it is the increase or decrease in the rate that will describe most accurately what the economy is doing.

46,180,000 Americans are believed to live in poverty according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Just over 33 million live in families and about 12.4 million are unrelated individuals. 15,895,000 Americans live in poverty in homes headed by a female with no husband present.

The Term “American”, for this piece, includes non-citizens living in the United States. There will be a later report on that topic. For now, they’re included and the media is making the same assumption.

Numbers of Americans living in poverty 1981-2010. Click on chart for a larger version.

Percentage of Americans living in poverty 1961 to 2010. Click on the chart for a larger version.

Percentage of Americans living in poverty 1981 to 2010. Click on the chart for a larger image.

Americans living in a family group, in poverty, make up 71% of all those in poverty. 34% of all those living in poverty live in families with a female head of household and no husband present. that also is 48% of all those family members living in poverty.

Americans in families living in poverty 1960 to 2010. Click on the chart for a larger view.

Americans in families living in poverty 1981 to 2010. Click on the chart for a larget image.

Future pieces in this series will examine poverty in America by race, by citizenship and will also look at wage equity for women.

All charts were prepared from the data in the report by Charles Simmins.

The Census Bureau has released its report titled: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. The release of the report was delayed by about a month by the administration.

Highlights

• The official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5 percent in 2007. This was the first statistically significant annual increase in the poverty rate since 2004, when poverty increased to 12.7 percent from 12.5 percent in 2003.
• In 2008, 39.8 million people were in poverty, up from 37.3 million in 2007 — the second consecutive annual increase in the number of people in poverty.
• In 2008, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic Whites (8.6 percent in 2008 — up from 8.2 percent in 2007), Asians (11.8 percent in 2008 — up from 10.2 percent in 2007) and Hispanics (23.2 percent in 2008 — up from 21.5 percent in 2007). Poverty rates in 2008 were statistically unchanged for Blacks (24.7 percent).
• The poverty rate in 2008 (13.2 percent) was the highest poverty rate since 1997 but was 9.2 percentage points lower than in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available.
• Since 1960, the number of people below poverty has not exceeded the 2008 figure of 39.8 million people.^[1]
• The poverty rate increased for children under 18 years old (19.0 percent in 2008 — up from 18.0 percent in 2007) and people 18 to 64 years old (11.7 percent in 2008 — up from 10.9 percent in 2007), while it remained statistically unchanged for people 65 years and over (9.7 percent).^[2]

Some comparisons are called for since year over year numbers can be a bit misleading.

Here is a comparison of the poverty rates by term for recent Presidents.

Graph of historical poverty rates in the United States through 2008 for entire population

Graph of historical poverty rates for families in the United States through 2008

In 1981, 30% of Americans earned under $25,000 a year, and 41% earned over $50,000 per year. In 2008, 25% earned under $25,000 and 50% earned over $50,000 a year.

The remaining entries in the series will explore poverty in the elderly, the black and Hispanic community and the issue of wage parity between men and women.