Poverty has been an issue for every country, from the most modern countries to the poorest ones, for centuries.
Everyone, including politicians, billionaires, and middle-income families, has been trying to do something to fix poverty in every region of the world, but it is such a massive problem everywhere; instead of getting better, it is getting worse, even in modern countries like the United States of America.
Organizations within governments make up statistics about their population, and poverty statistics is one of them. We will examine the poverty statistics in the US and see the details of who is in poverty.
How Many People in the US Are in Poverty?
When it comes to the statistics, looking at the general statistics by the distribution generally doesn’t give out the correct information.
There are many other things that change those statistics, no matter how big or small those things might seem. Nevertheless, looking at the general statistic creates a big picture in people’s heads, making it easier to read out other smaller statistics.
Those who have an income lower than $25,700 annually are within the poverty threshold in the US. In 2020, about 11% of all US population was in poverty, that is 37 million people. 10% of them were men, and 12% of them were women.
Does Age Plays a Role in Poverty?
In the US, age might play a role in poverty as the income level increases or decreases the more you go up or down, depending on your outlook.
In the US, approximately 16% of all children, among 12 million kids, are living in poverty, in a statistics from 2018.
However, this number decreases as the age increases because seniors’ official poverty rate is about 10%. This is about a 6% of decrease, which could amount to millions of people.
Poverty Based on Ethnicity
The US is a big country in population and in size with a lot of diversifications in everything. Religion, culture, ethnicity, language, and so on.
Thus, it might be important to look at which ethnicity is at more risk of poverty, and the statistics give us some idea about this.
About 25% of all Native Americans live in poverty, the highest in every ethnicity in the US. Blacks follow them by 20%1.
This shows clearly that minorities in the US have a higher risk of living in poverty than the majority of the population.
Poverty Statistics In The US By Ethnicity
| Year | Asian | Black | Hispanic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 9.3% | 24.1% | 24.3% |
| 2011 | 9.7% | 24.2% | 22.9% |
| 2012 | 9.4% | 23.7% | 23.5% |
| 2013 | 8.7% | 22.8% | 21.6% |
| 2014 | 8.9% | 22.9% | 21.5% |
| 2015 | 8% | 21.1% | 19.6% |
| 2016 | 7.2% | 19% | 17.3% |
| 2017 | 7.8% | 18.2% | 16.3% |
| 2018 | 7.6% | 17.7% | 15.5% |
| 2019 | 5.7% | 16.3% | 13.9% |
| 2020 | 6.4% | 16.8% | 14.8% |
Poverty Statistics In The US By Birth Rate
| Year | Poverty rate |
|---|---|
| 2009 | 92% |
| 2010 | 85% |
| 2011 | 81% |
| 2012 | 82% |
| 2013 | 76% |
| 2014 | 77% |
| 2015 | 76% |
| 2016 | 78% |
| 2017 | 76% |
| 2018 | 77% |
| 2019 | 74% |
Poverty Statistics In The US By Year
| Year | Poverty rate |
|---|---|
| 2010 | 15.1% |
| 2011 | 15% |
| 2012 | 15% |
| 2013 | 14.8% |
| 2014 | 14.8% |
| 2015 | 13.5% |
| 2016 | 12.7% |
| 2017 | 12.3% |
| 2018 | 11.8% |
| 2019 | 10.5% |
| 2020 | 11.4% |
The Verdict
To conclude, the poverty statistics in the US have many different dimensions to it if you look at the details of the statistics because overall, about 11% live in poverty which might seem low, but when you pin-point other details such as ethnicity, you see that certain ethnicity or ages have higher poverty rate when you focus on one or two aspects.
This allows you to see a more detailed picture and whether there is discrimination or inequality in income in the US.
The US is a diversified country which could create problems within the population, but these statistics help everyone to see the real problem.
Shefali Jain is a Content Writer & Editor at USWorkforce.org
After completing her graduation in hospitality, Shefali decided to follow her passion and started writing. Shefali has been writing for two years now and contributes to our website as a skilled editor and content writer with strong research skills. Writing product and service reviews, biographies, and book reviews are some of her key areas, among many others in which she specializes. In her time at the organization, she has written and edited content on a range of topics, including employment law, human resources, and business management.
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