Poverty USA
Alec, Tyler, and Brooke
Poverty Facts
In 2014, 13% of men lived in Poverty USA and 16% of women lived in poverty. The poverty rate for people living with a disability was 29%, which means more than four million disabled people are living in poverty. 21% of all children (15.5 million kids) lived in Poverty USA. In 2012, the National Center on Family Homelessness found that nationwide, 1.6 million children experience homelessness in a single year. The official census data gives seniors a 2014 poverty rate of only 10%, the Supplemental Poverty Measure, which accounts for expenses such as the rising costs of health care, raises the senior poverty rate to 14%. According to 2014 US Census Data, the highest poverty rate by race is found among Blacks (26%), with Hispanics (of any race) having the second highest poverty rate (24%). 7% of the population—or 21 million people—live in deep poverty, with incomes at only 50% of their poverty thresholds. In 2014, an estimated 74% of men with earnings and 61% of women with earnings worked full time, year round. However, in 2014, the earnings of women who worked full-time, year-round were only 79% of that for men working full time, year-round.
USA Map Trends
There are only three states with a poverty rate of below 11%. The states with the highest rate of poverty are mainly in the south.
Kentucky Statistics
The poverty rate for people with disabilities is the highest rate among any group at 27.8%. The second highest poverty rate is for children at 26.2%.
New Hampshire Statistics
New Hampshire has the lowest poverty rate among the 50 states at an overall rate of 9.2%. The poverty rate for people with disabilities and children are again the two highest rates in New Hampshire at 15.6% and 13%, respectively.
New Mexico Statistics
The two highest poverty rates again are children and people with disabilities. The poverty rate for children in New Mexico is 29.5% and the poverty rate for people with disabilities is 26.5%.
Jimmy's Snapshot
Jimmy is 35 years old and has been legally blind since he was a boy. Like people with disabilities, he is underemployed. Even while being blind, he has his own room at a house shared by three people with disabilities. Part of jimmy's training at the agency involves daily living skills such as cooking and maintaining his own apartment that help him to live on his own. He is also able to ride public transportation to the agency for his daily work.