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Poverty in America Increases in Past Years
"Real median household income showed no change between 2002 and 2003. Both the number of people in poverty and the poverty rate increased between 2002 and 2003. The number and percentage of people without health insurance coverage, as well as the number of people with health insurance coverage, rose. These changes were not uniform across demographic groups. For example, Hispanics experienced declines in real median household income, Asians experienced increases in poverty, and non-Hispanic Whites had declines in health insurance coverage."
from: Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003, U.S Census Bureau
Click here for a copy of the Report in pdf format. (801 kb)
Other key information from the report:
• The official poverty rate in 2003 was 12.5 percent, up from 12.1 percent in 2002.
• In 2003, 35.9 million people were in poverty, up 1.3 million from 2002.
• Poverty rates remained unchanged for Hispanics, non-Hispanic Whites, and Blacks, although it rose for Whites and Asians.21
For children under 18 years old, both the poverty rate and the number in poverty rose between 2002 and 2003, from 16.7 percent to 17.6 percent, and from 12.1 million to 12.9 million, respectively. The poverty rate of children under 18 remained higher than that of 18-to-64-year olds and that of seniors aged 65 and over (10.8 percent and 10.2 percent, respectively, both unchanged from 2002). The poverty rate in 2003 12.5 percent) is 9.9 percentage points lower than in 1959, the first year for which poverty estimates are available, as shown in Figure From the most recent trough in 2000, both the number and rate have risen for three consecutive years, from 31.6 million and 11.3 percent in 2000, to 35.9 million and 12.5 percent in 2003.
Race and Hispanic Origin
In 2003, the poverty rate was 8.2 percent for non-Hispanic Whites, unchanged from 2002 (Table 3). Because the poverty rate for these non-Hispanic Whites was lower than for the other racial groups, they accounted for 44.3 percent of the people in poverty, compared with 67.6 percent of the total population. For Blacks, neither the poverty rate nor the number in poverty changed between 2002 and 2003, as shown Table 3.23 People who reported Black as their only race, for example, had poverty rate of 24.4 percent in 2003.
Among people who indicated Asian as their only race, 11.8 percent were in poverty in 2003, higher than the 10.1 percent in 2002. The number in poverty also increased (from 1.2 million to 1.4 million).
Among Hispanics, the poverty rate remained unchanged at 22.5 percent in 2003, although their number in poverty increased from 8.6 million in 2002 to 9.1 million in 2003. The 3-year average poverty rate for people who reported American Indian and Alaska Native as their only race (23.2 percent) was not different from the rates for Blacks or the rate for Hispanics. It was higher than the rates for other race groups.
The 3-year average poverty rate for people who reported American Indian and Alaska Native regardless of whether they also reported another race (20.0 percent) was lower than the rates for Blacks, or the rate for Hispanics, and higher than the rates for other race groups.
Poverty in Lancaster County
Poverty in Pennsylvania:
 |
10% of Pennsylvania residents live in poverty compared to 11.3% nationwide. |
|
15% of Pennsylvania's children live in poverty compared to 16.2% nationwide |
Poverty in Lancaster County
Poverty exists in every municipality in
Lancaster County. According to the 2000 Census, 470,658 people reside in the County.
Of that number, 7.8% (or 35,553 individuals) live in poverty. Poverty is highest in
African-American (28.7%) and Hispanic families (38%). Of the 5,569
families who live in poverty, 3,060 are families headed by single females.
The greatest numbers of low income individuals are located in the City of Lancaster, Lancaster Township, Manheim Township and the Borough of Columbia. The greatest percentages of poverty occur in the City of Lancaster (21.20%), Millersville Borough (16.4%), Leacock Township (15.4%), Earl Township (15.%) and and in the Solanco areas of Fulton (13.7%), Little Britain Township (13.6%) and Bart Township (13%). For a summary of poverty in Lancaster County for every municipality in pdf format, click here.
Poverty by school district: Click here for a summary of poverty by school district in Lancaster County
The census also shows that 13,261 children live in poverty in the County, while 3,999 senior citizens live in poverty. In terms of housing costs, the census showed that over 42% of all families pay more than 30% of their household income for gross rental costs.
The following shows the degree and increase of concentration of poverty in the City of Lancaster, versus the immediate suburbs of the metropolitan area.
|
|
Metro Region |
Central City |
Suburb |
Central City-Suburb Disparity |
||||
|
|
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
1990 |
2000 |
|
Median HH income |
43,160 |
45,507 |
28,840 |
29,770 |
45,530 |
47,471 |
0.63 |
0.63 |
|
Per capita income |
18,479 |
20,398 |
13,867 |
13,955 |
19,173 |
21,274 |
0.72 |
0.66 |
|
% Below poverty |
8 |
7.8 |
21 |
21.2 |
6.1 |
6 |
0.29 |
0.29 |
|
% College |
16.7 |
20.5 |
13.4 |
14 |
17.1 |
21.3 |
0.78 |
0.66 |
|
% Professional |
26.7 |
28.1 |
22.6 |
21.4 |
27.3 |
28.9 |
0.83 |
0.74 |
|
% Unemployed |
3.1 |
3 |
6.5 |
7.8 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
0.41 |
0.31 |
|
% Homeowners |
69.4 |
70.8 |
47 |
46.6 |
73 |
74.2 |
0.64 |
0.63 |
|
%Vacant housing |
3.5 |
4.1 |
5.7 |
9.1 |
3.2 |
3.4 |
0.55 |
0.37 |
|
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|
|
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
City Index - Suburban Index |
|
Source: Lewis Mumford
Center
http://mumford1.dyndns.org/cen2000/CityProfiles/Profiles/4000msaProfile.htm
Poverty Rate (Percent)
While the poverty rate in the SMSA and the suburban areas has declined between 1989 and 1999, it has increased in the central city.
*Estimated poverty rates for 1993, 1995, 1997, and 1998
are derived from the
Census Bureau's Small Area
Income and Poverty Estimates.
Median Family Income in 1999 Dollars
| Lancaster, PA MSA | Central city of: Lancaster,PA |
Suburbs* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | $45,105 | $39,199 | $46,285 |
| 1979 | $47,194 | $35,438 | $48,881 |
| 1989 | $50,774 | $36,278 | $52,710 |
| 1999 | $52,676 | $34,623 | $54,634 |
Median Household Income in 1999 Dollars
| Lancaster, PA MSA | Central city of: Lancaster, PA |
Suburbs* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | $37,660 | $26,806 | $40,429 |
| 1979 | $41,152 | $28,701 | $43,892 |
| 1989 | $44,680 | $29,840 | $47,149 |
| 1999 | $45,294 | $29,770 | $47,824 |
This shows that while the median household and median family income for all of the SMSA has increased as has that of the suburban areas, the median income has actually declined in the central city between 1989 and 1999.
*Suburb data are defined as the
total for the Lancaster, PA MSA less the sum of data for
Lancaster.
Federal Poverty Income Guidelines:
The federal government establishes eligibility for programs for low income
families based upon the Federal Poverty Income guidelines which are revised
every February. Programs serving low income people use different income
thresholds based upon the program's federal or state legislative authority.
For a copy of those current guidelines in
Adobe PDF format, click here.
Welfare Assistance in Pennsylvania, Lancaster County and Philadelphia:
For families with limited income, several types of benefits are provided in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania: cash assistance (TANF and General Assistance), food stamps and medical assistance.
Number of unduplicated households receiving assistance
|
County |
TANF – Cash |
General Assistance |
|
January 1999 |
|
|
|
State Total |
115,116 |
51,743 |
|
Lancaster |
1,456 |
460 |
|
Philadelphia |
57,027 |
26,742 |
|
January 2001 |
|
|
|
State Total |
88,338 |
42,334 |
|
Lancaster |
1,288 |
401 |
|
Philadelphia |
43,633 |
21,985 |
|
July 2001 |
|
|
|
State Total |
86,422 |
41,814 |
|
Lancaster |
1,375 |
393 |
|
Philadelphia |
42,035 |
21,615 |
|
July 2002 |
|
|
|
State Total |
83,248 |
41,378 |
|
Lancaster |
1,649 |
516 |
|
Philadelphia |
38,881 |
20,874 |
|
July 2003 |
|
|
|
State Total |
77,929 |
47,353 |
|
Lancaster |
1,738 |
575 |
|
Philadelphia |
34,425 |
23,821 |
|
April, 2004 |
|
|
|
State Total |
83,600 |
56,074 |
|
Lancaster |
1,984 |
899 |
|
Philadelphia |
36,145 |
27,537 |
Click here for a copy (pdf format) of the complete report entitled "Welfare and Poverty in Lancaster County". (236 kb)
| Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) |
TANF provides money for dependent children and their parents or other relatives with whom they live, and for pregnant women. TANF payments are funded by Federal and State dollars. Amounts provided are noted below:
|
Number of Persons in Budget Group |
||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | each additional person |
| $215 | $330 | $421 | $514 | $607 | $687 | $83 |
Eligiblity for TANF is based upon income and family size.
|
General Assistance (GA)
GA provides money for persons who do not meet the requirements for TANF. Most GA recipients are individuals or couples with no dependent children, who have temporary or permanent disabilities that prevent their employment. GA is State funded. |
| Food Stamps Food stamp benefits are used to buy food and help low-income households obtain more nutritious diets by increasing the food purchasing power for all eligible participants. You do not have to receive TANF or General Assistance in order to receive food stamps! Food stamp coupons or paper food stamp cards are no longer issued. Instead, food stamp benefits are placed in an "electronic" account that only the recipient can use. This system is called Electronic Benefits Transfer or EBT. The recipient receives a plastic card, the Pennsylvania EBT ACCESS Card. This card allows withdrawals for food purchases at grocery stores and supermarkets. The store simply uses the EBT ACCESS card to "electronically" subtract purchases from the food stamp account. The recipient can only spend the amount that is in the account. This is not a credit card. Only food products can be purchased using the ACCESS Card. Eligibility for food stamps is determined based upon family size and income. Click here for more information on Food Stamp eligibility. |
|
Medical Assistance: |
Medicaid provides payment for health care services on behalf of eligible low-income persons and individuals with limited income and high medical expenses. Payments are made directly to the health care providers. In some cases, persons may qualify for payment of medical services that were provided up to three months before the month in which a Medicaid application was completed.
Anyone who receives the following benefits is automatically eligible for Medicaid without filing a separate application:
| Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) |
| Supplemental Security Income (SSI) |
| General Assistance (GA) |
| Refugee Cash Assistance |
| State Blind Pension |
| State Subsidized Adoption |
| Title IV-E Foster Care |
| Received TANF for at least three months of the previous six months prior to losing eligibility because of an increase in income from employment or the receipt of child support. Medicaid under these circumstances is limited to not more than 12 months for employment income and not more than 4 months due for support. |
Other eligibility is determined by income and family size.
For more information on how to apply for welfare benefits, check out the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare website or contact your local County Assistance Office.
Additional information:
For additional information about poverty in America, click here to go to the poverty section of the US Census Bureau web page. For more detailed information about poverty in the County's municipalities, click on to the Penn State Data Center web page. For a summary of poverty in Lancaster Count by each municipality in Adobe pdf format, click here.
Self-Sufficiency Standard for
Pennsylvania Summary Report (2001)
was prepared by
PathwaysPA. This outstanding report
documents how much money families must earn to live without any public or
private subsidies. The Standard
details the amount of money working adults in Pennsylvania need to meet their
families’ basic needs for housing, food, transportation, child care, medical
care and taxes. You can down load this report
right here
Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania Summary Report in PDF Format.
This document was last modified on 02/11/08 08:53:02 AM