SocialIMPACTResearchCenters

SummaryoftheU.S.CensusBureausIncome, Poverty,andHealthInsuranceCoverageinthe UnitedStates:2009Report

September16,2010
NationalPovertyData NationalIncomeData MidwestPovertyData MidwestIncomeData 3 5 7 7 8

NationalandMidwestHealthInsuranceData

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AlldatainthissummaryarederivedfromtheU.S.CensusBureausCurrentPopulationSurvey, AnnualSocialandEconomicSupplement,aspublishedinthereport,Income,Poverty,andHealth InsuranceCoverageintheUnitedStates:2009.TheCurrentPopulationSurveyservesasthenations primarysourceofdataonlaborforcecharacteristicsandprovidestheofficialannualdataonthe nationsincomeandpovertylevels.Visitwww.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/incpovhlth/2009/index formoreinformation.

Aboutthedatainthissummary

Forstateandlocalpoverty,income,andhealthinsuranceestimates
WhiletheCurrentPopulationSurveydoesprovideestimatesforstatelevelpoverty,income,and healthinsurancecoverage,duetosmallsamplesizes,theCensusBureaurecommendswaitinguntil the2009AmericanCommunitySurveyreleaseonSeptember28,2010forthesedata. OnSeptember28,theSocialIMPACTResearchCenterwillproducefactsheetsonstateandlocal poverty.Visitwww.heartlandalliance.org/povertyreportonthatdate.

TheSocialIMPACTResearchCenter(IMPACT)isanonprofitorganizationthatinvestigatestodays mostpressingsocialissuesandsolutionstoinformandequipthoseworkingtowardajustglobal society.IMPACT,aprogramofHeartlandAllianceforHumanNeeds&HumanRights,provides research,policyanalysis,consulting,technicalassistance,communications,andcoalitionbuildingto projectsinIllinois,theMidwest,andnationally.Visitwww.heartlandalliance.org/researchtolearn more.

33W.GrandAve.,Ste500|Chicago,IL60654|312.870.4949|research@heartlandalliance.org

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NATIONALPOVERTYDATA
SUMMARY Thenation'sofficialpovertyratein2009was14.3percent,upfrom13.2percentin 2008.Thepovertyratein2009wasthehighestsince1994. Therewere43.6millionpeopleinpovertyin2009,anincreaseof3.7millionsince 2008(39.8million)thethirdconsecutiveannualincreaseinthenumberof peopleinpoverty.Thenumberofpeopleinpovertyin2009isthelargest numberinthe51yearsforwhichpovertyestimatesareavailable. Theincomedeficitforfamiliesinpoverty(thedifferenceindollarsbetweena familysincomeanditspovertythreshold)averaged$9,042in2009.

EXTREMEPOVERTY

In20096.3percentofpeopleintheU.S.livedinextremepoverty(belowhalfofthe povertythreshold)atotalof19.0millionpeople.Thisisupfrom5.7percentand 17.1millionpeoplein2008. Childrenrepresent36.3percentofthepeoplewithincomebelow50percentofthe povertythreshold.Since1980thepercentageofchildrenlivinginextreme poverty,childrenlivinginfamilieswithincomebelow50percentoftheir povertythreshold(lessthan$10,977in2009forafamilyoffour)increased from6.9percentto9.3percent.(Duringthesametimeperiod,theshareof childrenlivinginfamilieswithincomebetween100and199percentoftheir povertythresholdandinfamilieswithincomebetween200and399percentoftheir povertythresholdhasdecreased).

RECESSIONCOMPARISON

The1.9percentagepointincreaseinthepovertyratebetween2007and2009issmaller thanthepercentageincreasefortheyearssurroundingtheJanuary1980toJuly1980and July1981toNovember1982recession;andlargerthanthechangesforallother recessions. 1 RACE ThepovertyrateincreasedforallracegroupsandforHispanicswiththeexceptionof Asians.PovertyratesforBlacksandHispanicswereabout25percent,morethan doublethepovertyratefornonHispanicWhites(9.4percent).

1TheapparentchangesinthepovertyratesacrosstheMarch2001toNovember2001andDecember1969toNovember1970recessions werenotstatisticallydifferentfromzero.

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AGE Thepovertyrateincreasedforchildrenyoungerthan18(from19.0percentin2008 to20.7percentin2009).Thenumberofchildreninpovertyincreasedfrom14.1 millionin2008to15.5millionin2009. Thepovertyrateincreasedto12.9percentin2009forpeople18to64(from11.7 percentin2008).Thenumberofpeopleinpovertyincreasedforpeople18to64 (22.1millionin2008to24.7millionin2009). Thepovertyratedeclinedto8.9percentin2009forpeople65andolder(from9.7 percentin2008).Thenumberinpovertydeclinedforseniors65andolder(from3.7 millionin2008to3.4millionin2009).Thepovertyrateforpeopleaged65and olderfellmainlybecauseoftheincreasesinSocialSecuritypayments.Thepoverty rateforpeopleaged65andolderwithSocialSecuritybenefitsfellfrom7.8percent in2008to6.7percentin2009whileoverthesameperiodthepovertyrateofthose withoutSocialSecuritybenefitswasnotstatisticallydifferent.

WORKSTATUS Amongallworkersaged16andolder,boththepovertyrateandthenumberincreasedto 6.9percentand10.7millionfrom6.4percentand10.1million.Thisincreaseinpoverty wasdrivenalmostentirelybythosewhoworkedlessthanfulltime,yearround. HOUSEHOLDCOMPOSITION Afterfallingformanyyears,reachingalowof33.0percentin2000,the povertyrateforfemaleheadedhouseholdswithchildrenhasincreased, reaching38.5percentin2009. Onewaythatindividualsandfamiliesmayhavedealtwiththerecenteconomic downturnistodoubleup.Thereisevidencethatthenumberoffamiliessharing householdshasrisenoverthepasttwoyears.In2009therewere1.6million moremultifamilyhouseholdsthanin2007anincreaseof11.6percent. 2 Overthis sameperiodthenumberofhouseholdsgrewbyonly0.6percent. Therewasasharpincreaseinthenumberofyoungadults(aged25to34) livingwiththeirparents.From2007to2009,thenumberof2534yearoldsliving withtheirparentsincreasedby8.4percent(from5.1millionto5.5million.Young adultsaged2534livingwiththeirparentshadanofficialpovertyrateof8.5percent (whentheirentirefamilysincomeiscomparedtothethresholdwhichincludes themasanadditionaladultinthefamily),butiftheirpovertystatuswere determinedusingtheirownincome,42.8percenthadincomebelowthe povertythresholdforasinglepersonunderage65($11,161).

2WhileincomeandpovertyestimatesrefertothecalendaryearpriortotheCPSASECsurvey,householdcompositionestimatesarefor themonthsofthesurvey,e.g.February,MarchorAprilofthesurveyyear.

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NATIONALINCOMEDATA
SUMMARY RACE RealmedianhouseholdincomeintheUnitedStatesin2009was$49,777,not statisticallydifferentfromthe2008median. Since2007,theyearbeforethemostrecentrecession,medianhousehold incomehasdeclined4.2percent(from$51,965)andis5.0percentbelowthe medianhouseholdincomepeak($52,388)thatoccurredin1999.

Realmedianincomedeclinedbetween2008and2009fornonHispanicwhiteand blackhouseholds,whilethechangesforAsianandHispanicoriginhouseholdswere notstatisticallydifferent. ThemedianhouseholdincomeforBlack($32,584)andHispanichouseholds ($38,039)wasconsiderablylowerthanforthatofWhitehouseholds($54,461).

GENDER

Therealmedianearningsofmenwhoworkedfulltime,yearroundroseby2.0 percentbetween2008and2009,from$46,191to$47,127. Forwomen,thecorrespondingincreasewas1.9percent,from$35,609to$36,278. In2009,theearningsofwomenwhoworkedfulltime,yearroundwere77percent ofthatforcorrespondingmen,notstatisticallydifferentfromthe2008ratio.

WORKSTATUS Overall,between2008and2009thenumberofworkingmenandworkingwomen declinedby2.1millionand1.6million,respectively.Forfulltime,yearround workers,thenumberofmendeclinedby3.8millionand900,000forwomen. Since2007,theyearbeforethemostrecentrecession,thetotalnumberofworkers declinedby3.9millionandthenumberoffulltime,yearroundworkersfellby9.3 million6.9millionmenand2.4millionwomen. ThoughthetroughoftherecessionthatbeganinDecember2007hasnotyet beendefined,noothersetofincomeyearssurroundingtherecessionsdating from1969tothepresenthasexperiencedsuchalargedeclineinthenumber ofworkersorinthepercentagepointdeclinesinthepercentageofmaleand femalefulltime,yearroundworkers.

INCOMETYPES

Householdswithahouseholderage65andolderreceiveamajorityoftheirincome fromnonearnedsources.Inparticular,socialsecurity,theirlargestsourceof incomeincreasedbetween2008and2009.In2009,thenumberofpeopleaged65

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andoverinpovertywouldbehigherby14millionifSocialSecuritypaymentswere excludedfromincomeincludedinthepovertymeasure,morethanquintuplingthe numberofpeopleaged65andoverinpoverty. Themajorityofincomeforhouseholdswithahouseholderunderage65comesfrom earningswhichdeclinedbetween2008and2009.Between2008and2009,for thosewhowereabletoworkfulltime,yearround,themedianearningsofmen increasedby2.0percentandforwomenby1.9percent.Between2007and2009, therealmedianearningsofallmaleworkersdeclined4.1percentandfor femaleworkersitdeclinedby2.8percent.Thisistheonlyperioddatingfrom 1969topresentshowingadeclineinwomensrealmedianearnings. Ifunemploymentinsurancebenefitswerenotincludedintheincomeusedto measurepoverty,thenumberofadultsaged18to64classifiedasinpovertyin2009 wouldhaveincreasedby2.3million.Theimpactofunemploymentinsurance benefitswasmuchlessdramaticin2008keepingonly595,000adultsaged18to 64outofpoverty.

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MIDWESTPOVERTYDATA
Thepovertyrateincreasedfrom2008to2009intheMidwest,SouthandWest whileallfourgeographicregionsintheU.S.hadincreasesinthenumberofpeoplein poverty.(The2009povertyratefortheNortheastwasnotstatisticallydifferent fromits2008povertyrate). TheMidwestpovertyrateincreasedfrom12.4percentin2008to13.3percentin 2009andthenumberincreasedfrom8.1millionto8.8million.

MIDWESTINCOMEDATA
Realmedianincomedeclinedbetween2008and2009intheMidwestandWest(2.1 percentand1.9percentrespectively);thechangesfortheNortheastandSouthwere notstatisticallysignificant. TheMidwestmedianincomewas$48,877in2009,downfrom$49,922in2008;by comparison,theSouthwhichhasthelowestmedianincomethaneveryotherregion, wasnotfarbelowtheMidwestat$45,615.

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NATIONALANDMIDWESTHEALTHINSURANCEDATA
SUMMARY Thenumberofpeoplewithouthealthinsurancecoveragerosefrom46.3millionin 2008to50.7millionin2009,whilethepercentageincreasedfrom15.4percentto 16.7percentoverthesameperiod. Since1987,thefirstyearthatcomparablehealthinsurancedatawere collected,thisisthefirstyearthatthenumberofpeoplewithhealthinsurance hasdecreased.

TYPESOFCOVERAGE

Theratesofcoverageforbothprivateandemploymentbasedcoveragehaveshown adownwardtrendforthelastnineyears. Thepercentageofpeoplecoveredbygovernmenthealthinsuranceprograms,which includeMedicare,Medicaid,theChildrensHealthInsuranceProgram,andmilitary coverageincreasedforthethirdconsecutiveyearto30.6percentin2009. Thebottomlineisanincreaseinpeoplewithouthealthinsurance.Between2008 and2009: o Thenumberofpeoplecoveredbyprivatehealthinsurancedecreasedfrom 201.0millionto194.5million.Thepercentageofpeoplecoveredbyprivate insurance(63.9percent)isthelowestsinceitbeganbeingcountedin1987. o Thenumbercoveredbygovernmenthealthinsuranceclimbedfrom87.4 millionto93.2million.Thepercentageofpeoplecoveredbygovernmenthealth insuranceprograms(30.6percent)isthehighestsince1987. o Thenumbercoveredbyemploymentbasedhealthinsurancedeclinedfrom 176.3millionto169.7million.Thepercentageofpeoplecoveredby employmentbasedinsurance(55.8percent)isthelowestsinceitbeganbeing countedin1987. o ThenumberwithMedicaidcoverageincreasedfrom42.6millionto47.8 million.ThepercentageofpeoplecoveredbyMedicaid(15.7percent)isthe highestsince1987.

AGE

Theuninsuredrateforthoseunderage65increasedin2009to18.8percentfrom 17.3percentin2008. In2009,10.0percent(7.5million)ofchildrenunder18werewithouthealth insurance,notstatisticallydifferentfrom2008.Theuninsuredrateforchildrenin poverty(15.1percent)wasgreaterthantherateforallchildren.Thenumberof uninsuredchildrenwasnotstatisticallydifferentfrom2008,at7.5millionchildren.

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INCOME In2009,theuninsuredratesdecreasedashouseholdincomeincreased: About26.6percentofpeoplelivinginhouseholdswithincomebelow$25,000 wereuninsured. 9.1percentofpeoplelivinginhouseholdswithincomeabove$75,000were uninsured. The2009uninsuredrateforpeopleinhouseholdswithincomerangingbetween $25,000and$50,000wasnotstatisticallydifferentfrom2008,whiletheother incomegroupsexperiencedanincreaseintheuninsuredrate. Whenwecompare1987to2009,allincomegroupshavehigheruninsuredrates.

WORKERS Fulltime,yearroundworkershada0.6percentagepointincreaseintheir uninsuredratebetween2008and2009.However,thenumberofthesefulltime, yearroundworkersdecreasedby5millionpeople. Overthesametimeperiod,theuninsuredratewentupby2.7percentagepointsfor peoplethatwerenotfulltime,yearroundworkers(thisincludespeoplethat workedlessthanfulltime,yearroundanddidnotwork).

NATIVITY Theproportionoftheforeignbornpopulationwithouthealthinsurancein2009was nearlytwoandahalftimesthatofthenativebornpopulation.

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