Kids Count Data Center

Poverty

Children Ages 0 to 17 Living in Poverty (2008)

The 2009 federal poverty threshold for a family of four was $21,947. The federal poverty thresholds are updated each year by the U.S. Census Bureau and were established in 1964 using guidelines set by the Social Security Administration. GEOGRAPHY - Data reflect the child’s place of residence. DATE - Census data reflect April 1 of reference year.  SAIPE data are modeled using estimates of poverty from the March supplement to the Current Population Survey and are subject to modeling error.  For the 90% confidence intervals associated with state and county-level data, visit http://www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/.

U.S. Census Bureau: 1980 Census; 1990 Census, Summary Tape File 4A, Table PB100; Census 2000, Summary File 3 (SF3), Table P87; and the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program.

This indicator represents the number of children ages 0 to 17 who are living in families with incomes below the federal poverty threshold. 

The percentage is the proportion children ages 0 to 17 living in poverty represent of the total child population ages 0 to 17 for whom poverty status is determined in respective geographic areas.  Children for whom poverty status is determined include children living in households where they are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. Thus, children living in foster care or in a group/institutional setting are excluded from this indicator.