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Senior Citizen Longevity & Statistics
Senior Citizens Living in Poverty Decline in 2006
but Not for Younger People
U.S. poverty rate does decline for first time in
Bush era
Aug. 28, 2007 The nations poverty rate declined
in 2006 for the first time since George W. Bush became president 12.6%
in 2005 down to 12.3% in 2006. Senior citizens (65 and older), however,
saw even a bigger drop 10.1% in 2005 down to 9.4% last year. The new
U.S. Census Bureau report also found that median household income in the
U.S. climbed between 2005 and 2006, reaching $48,200. This is the second
consecutive year that income has risen.
The number of senior citizens living in poverty
also declined - from 3.6 million in 2005 to 3.4 million in 2006. For
children under 18 (12.8 million) and people 18 to 64 (20.2 million), the
numbers in poverty remained statistically unchanged in 2006.
The poverty rate also remained unchanged for
children younger than 18 (17.4 percent) and people 18 to 64 (10.8
percent.
There were 36.5 million people in poverty in 2006,
about the same number as in 2005.
A disturbing discovery was the growing number of
people without health insurance coverage. That number rose from 44.8
million (15.3 percent) in 2005 to 47 million (15.8 percent) in 2006.
These findings are contained in the
Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States:
2006 report [PDF]. The data were compiled from information collected
in the 2007 Current Population Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic
Supplement (ASEC).
Also released today were income, poverty and
earnings data from the 2006 American Community Survey (ACS) for
states and metropolitan areas, counties, cities and American
Indian/Alaska Native areas of 65,000 population or more and all
congressional districts. (This year marks the first time that the
population in group quarters - such as prisons, college dorms, military
barracks and nursing homes - is included, so the 2006 estimates are not
fully comparable to the 2005 estimates.)
Current Population Survey
(Provides primarily national-level statistics)
The 2007 Current Population Survey Annual Social
and Economic Supplement reveals the following results for the nation:
Income
Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to
people reporting a single race only)
● Real median household income of white
households rose 1.1 percent between 2005 and 2006 (from $50,100 to
$50,700), the first real increase in annual household income for this
group since 1999. Asian households had the highest median income at
$64,200, followed by non-Hispanic white ($52,400), Hispanic ($37,800)
and black ($32,000) households. Income levels remained statistically
unchanged between 2005 and 2006 for each of these groups.
Regions
● Between 2005 and 2006, real median incomes of
households in the nations four regions were statistically unchanged. In
2006, the Northeast and West had the highest household incomes at
$52,100 and $52,200, respectively, followed by the Midwest ($47,800) and
South ($43,900). (The apparent difference between household incomes of
the Northeast and West was not statistically significant.)
Nativity and Earnings
● Real median income rose by 1.3 percent to
$49,100 in 2006 for native-born households and was statistically
unchanged for foreign-born households ($43,900).
● In 2006, women earned 77 cents for each dollar
earned by men, statistically unchanged from 2005. Real median earnings
of both men and women who worked full time, year-round declined between
2005 and 2006. The median earnings for men fell 1.1 percent to $42,300;
for women, the corresponding numbers were 1.2 percent and $32,500. (The
apparent difference between the decline in the earnings of men and women
was not statistically significant.)
Poverty
Overview
● About 9.8 percent (7.7 million) of the nations
families were in poverty in 2006. Married-couple families had a poverty
rate of 4.9 percent (2.9 million), compared with 28.3 percent (4.1
million) for female-householder, no-husband-present families and 13.2
percent (671,000) for those with a male householder and no wife present.
The poverty rate for these types of families in poverty showed no
statistically significant change between 2005 and 2006.
● As defined by the Office of Management and
Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the
weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2006 was
$20,614; for a family of three, $16,079; for a family of two, $13,167;
and for unrelated individuals, $10,294.
Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to
people reporting a single race only)
● For Hispanics, 20.6 percent were in poverty in
2006, down from 21.8 percent in 2005. Poverty rates remained
statistically unchanged for non-Hispanic whites (8.2 percent), blacks
(24.3 percent) and Asians (10.3 percent) in 2006.
Nativity
● Among the native-born population, 11.9 percent,
or 30.8 million, were in poverty in 2006. Both the poverty rate and
number in poverty were statistically unchanged from 2005.
● Among the foreign-born population, the poverty
rate decreased from 16.5 percent in 2005 to 15.2 percent in 2006. The
number in poverty was statistically unchanged at 5.7 million in 2006.
Regions
● In 2006, the South continued to have the
highest poverty rate at 13.8 percent. The other three regions had
poverty rates that were not statistically different from one another:
11.5 percent in the Northeast, 11.2 percent in the Midwest and 11.6
percent in the West.
● percentage in poverty: 8 million and 11.6
percent in 2006, down from 8.6 million and 12.6 percent in 2005.
Health Insurance Coverage
Overview
● The number of uninsured children increased from
8 million (10.9 percent) in 2005 to 8.7 million (11.7 percent) in 2006.
Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to
those reporting a single race only)
● The number of uninsured, as well as the rate
without health insurance, remained statistically unchanged in 2006 for
non-Hispanic whites (at 21.2 million or 10.8 percent). For blacks, the
number and percentage increased, from 7 million in 2005 to 7.6 million
and from 19 percent in 2005 to 20.5 percent. The number of uninsured
Asians remained statistically unchanged, at 2 million in 2006, while
their uninsured rate declined to 15.5 percent in 2006, from 17.2 percent
in 2005.
● The number and percentage of uninsured
Hispanics increased from 14 million (32.3 percent) in 2005 to 15.3
million (34.1 percent).
● Based on a three-year average (2004-2006), 31.4
percent of people who reported American Indian and Alaska Native as
their race were without coverage. The three-year average for Native
Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders was 21.7 percent.
Nativity
● Between 2005 and 2006, the number of U.S.-born
residents who were uninsured increased from 33 million to 34.4 million,
and their uninsured rate increased from 12.8 percent in 2005 to 13.2
percent. The number of foreign-born who were uninsured rose from 11.8
million in 2005 to 12.6 million, and their rate was statistically
unchanged at 33.8 percent in 2006.
Regions
● The Midwest had the lowest uninsured rate in
2006, at 11.4 percent, followed by the Northeast (12.3 percent), the
West (17.9 percent) and the South (19 percent). The Northeast and South
experienced increases in their uninsured rates their 2005 rates were
11.7 percent and 18 percent, respectively.
States
● Rates for 2004-2006 using a three-year average
show that Texas (24.1 percent) had the highest percentage of uninsured.
The rates for Minnesota, Hawaii, Iowa, Wisconsin and Maine were lower
than the rates of the other 45 states and the District of Columbia. The
rates for these five states were not statistically different from one
another.
● Fifteen states had an uninsured rate that was
statistically higher than the national rate of 15.3 percent, while 29
states and the District of Columbia had rates statistically lower than
the U.S. average. Six states had rates that were not statistically
different from the national average.
American Community Survey
(Provides state, county and city statistics)
Income
● Among states, Maryland, New Jersey and
Connecticut had the highest median household incomes in 2006, while
Mississippi and West Virginia had the lowest.
● Median household incomes in 18 states and the
District of Columbia were above the U.S. median in 2006, while 29 states
were below it.
● Real median household income rose between 2005
and 2006 in 15 states and the District of Columbia, while no states
experienced a decline. Seven states that experienced increases were in
the West (Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and
Washington), six were in the South (Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana,
Maryland, North Carolina and Texas) and two were in the Midwest (Kansas
and South Dakota).
● For counties with 250,000 or more people,
Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia had the highest 2006 median
household incomes. Cameron and Hidalgo counties in Texas had the lowest.
● For counties with a population between 65,000
and 249,999 people, Hunterdon County, N.J., and Arlington County, Va.,
had some of the highest 2006 median household incomes while St. Landry
Parish, La.; Apache County, Ariz.; Robeson County, N.C.; and McKinley
County, N.M., had some of the lowest.
● For large cities (250,000 or more people),
Plano, Texas, and San Jose, Calif., had the highest median household
incomes, whereas Cleveland; Miami; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Detroit had the
lowest.
● For smaller cities (65,000 to 249,999 people),
Yorba Linda, Calif., had the highest median household income, while
Youngstown, Ohio; Muncie, Ind.; Camden, N.J.; Brownsville, Texas;
Syracuse, N.Y.; College Station, Texas; and Lawrence, Mass., had some of
the lowest incomes.
Poverty
● Maryland, New Hampshire and Connecticut had
some of the lowest poverty rates in 2006. Mississippi and the District
of Columbia had some of the highest.
● Among counties with 250,000 or more people in
2006, Hidalgo and Cameron counties in Texas had the highest proportions
of people with income below the poverty level. On the other hand,
Douglas County, Colo., and Loudoun County, Va., had among the lowest.
● In smaller counties populations between
65,000 and 249,999 ? McKinley County, N.M., had the highest proportion
of people in poverty in 2006 at 44 percent.
● Large cities (250,000 or more population) with
some of the highest poverty rates were Detroit; Buffalo, N.Y.;
Cincinnati; Cleveland; Miami; and St. Louis. The lowest percentage of
people in poverty was in Plano, Texas.
● Among the smaller cities (65,000 to 249,999
population), Brownsville, Texas; College Station, Texas; Camden, N.J.;
and Edinburg, Texas, had some of the highest poverty rates. Meanwhile,
Highlands Ranch, Colo.; Allen, Texas; Yorba Linda, Calif.; Pleasonton,
Calif.; Newton, Mass.; Flower Mound, Texas; Naperville, Ill.; and Chino
Hills, Calif., had some of the lowest rates.
Earnings
● New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and
Maryland had median earnings above $50,000 for men that worked full
time, year-round in 2006. Connecticut, Maryland, New Jersey and the
District of Columbia were the only states or state equivalents where
median earnings for women who worked full time, year-round were above
$40,000.
● In each of the 50 states, women had lower
median earnings than men in 2006. However, in the District of Columbia,
there was no statistical difference between the earnings of men and
women.
Note that estimates from the CPS-ASEC may not match
the estimates from the ACS because of differences in the questionnaires,
data collection methodology, reference period, processing procedures,
etc. Both surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling errors. All
comparisons made in the reports have been tested and found to be
statistically significant at the 90 percent confidence level, unless
otherwise noted.
For additional information on the CPS data, visit <http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/p60226sa.pdf>.
For additional information on the ACS data, visit <http://www.census.gov/acs/www/UseData/Accuracy/Accuracy1.htm>.
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