EMBARGOED UNTIL: 10:30 A.M. EDT, SEPTEMBER 26, 2000 (TUESDAY) Public Information Office CB00-158 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-1037 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov HHES Information Staff 301-457-3242 Poverty Rate Lowest in 20 Years, Household Income at Record High, Census Bureau Reports The nation's poverty rate dropped from 12.7 percent in 1998 to 11.8 percent in 1999 the lowest rate since 1979 and real median household income reached $40,816, the highest level ever recorded by the Census Bureau (household income data were first recorded in 1967), according to two reports released today by the Commerce Department's Census Bureau. "Every racial and ethnic group experienced a drop in both the number of poor and the percent in poverty, as did children, the elderly and people ages 25 to 44," said Daniel Weinberg, chief of the Census Bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division. "Declines in poverty were concentrated in metropolitan areas, particularly central cities. And, on the income side, this was the fifth consecutive year that households experienced a real annual increase in income." Poverty According to the poverty report, 2.2 million fewer people were poor in 1999 than in 1998 32.3 million versus 34.5 million. In addition, the percentage of people 65 and over who were living in poverty reached a measured low of 9.7 percent in 1999 and the proportion of the nation's children in poverty was the lowest since 1979 16.9 percent. The percentage and number of poor declined in the Northeast and West and remained unchanged in the South and the Midwest. The poverty rate in the South did not change significantly from the 1998 measured low for that region. Except for Whites, the 1999 poverty rates for the nation's major racial and ethnic groups set or equaled historic lows. The rate for African Americans, 23.6 percent, was the lowest ever measured by the Census Bureau, and about 700,000 fewer African Americans were poor in 1999 (8.4 million) than in 1998 (9.1 million). The poverty rate for non-Hispanic Whites, 7.7 percent, equaled its measured low reached in 1988-1989 and did not differ from the rates recorded during the 1973-1974 and 1976-1979 periods. Between 1998 and 1999, the number of poor non-Hispanic Whites dropped from 15.8 million to 14.9 million, a decline of 900,000. In 1999, the poverty rate among Hispanics (who may be of any race) was 22.8 percent which statistically equaled its measured low last reached in 1979. The number of Hispanics in poverty fell by 600,000 between 1998 and 1999, to 7.4 million. The poverty rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders decreased to 10.7 percent in 1999, from 12.5 percent in 1998, also equaling its lowest measured value. The number of poor Asians and Pacific Islanders decreased from 1.4 million in 1998 to 1.2 million in 1999. A three-year average (1997-1999) poverty rate for American Indian and Alaska Natives was 25.9 percent, with an estimated 700,000 living in poverty. This is the first time that the Census Bureau has shown poverty data for the American Indian and Alaska Native population. The average was used because the American Indian and Alaska Native population is relatively small and multiyear averages provide more reliable estimates. (The Census Bureau recommends, however, that caution be used in interpreting these data, noting that 1990 census results showed differences in poverty between the American Indian and Alaska Native population living in American Indian or in Alaska Native areas and those residing outside those areas. Poverty data from the Current Population Survey [CPS] cannot make a similar distinction.) Based on comparisons of two-year averages (1998-1999 and 1997-1998), no state showed an increase in poverty rates and seven states Arizona, Arkansas, California, New York, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia, plus the District of Columbia showed decreases in their poverty rates. The average poverty threshold for a family of four in 1999 was $17,029 in annual income; for a family of three, it was $13,290. Income The 1999 median income level for the nation's households rose, in real terms, by 2.7 percent, from $39,744 in 1998 to $40,816. The 1999 median income was the highest ever recorded for non-Hispanic White ($44,366), African American ($27,910) and Hispanic ($30,735) households. Although the real median income of Asian and Pacific Islander households increased between 1998 and 1999 to $51,205, the highest median income of any group, that amount was not statistically different from their previously recorded high. As with the poverty data, the 1999 report also marked the first time the Census Bureau showed income data for American Indians and Alaska Natives. The three-year average (1997-1999) median household income for American Indian and Alaska Natives was $30,784. The average was used because the American Indian and Alaska Native population is relatively small and multiyear averages provide more reliable estimates. (The Census Bureau recommends, however, that caution be used in interpreting these data, noting that 1990 census results showed substantial differences in median household income for the American Indian and Alaska Native population living on reservations or in Alaska Native villages compared with those residing outside those areas. Income data from the CPS cannot make a similar distinction.) Median household income recorded highs in 1999 in the Midwest ($42,679) and the South ($37,442), but was statistically unchanged from 1998 in the Northeast ($41,984) and West ($42,720). Based on comparisons of two-year average medians (1997-1998 versus 1998-1999), real median household income did not decline for any state and increased significantly for 14 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, New York, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont and Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia. The reports, Money Income in the United States: 1999 and Poverty in the United States: 1999, are available on the Internet. Other highlights: Poverty Using three-year averages (1997-1999), poverty rates ranged from 7.6 percent in Maryland to 20.8 percent in New Mexico. The poverty rate in Maryland was not statistically different from the rates in 14 other states. New Mexico's rate was not statistically different from the rates for Louisiana and the District of Columbia, although higher than the rates for all other states. Eight out of 10 (81 percent) of the net decline in the number of poor occurred in central cities of metropolitan areas, where 3 out of 10 people reside and 4 out of 10 poor people live. The poverty rate for families in 1999 declined to a 20-year low of 9.3 percent; the rates for married-couple (4.8 percent) and female-householder (27.8 percent) families both were record lows. The number and percentage of poor non-Hispanic White and Hispanic families fell in 1999 to 25- and 20-year lows, respectively. African American families had no change in the number of their poor or in their poverty rate. Despite the drop in child poverty, children under age 6 remained particularly vulnerable to this condition; those living in families with a female householder and no husband present experienced a poverty rate of 50.3 percent, more than five times the rate for children under 6 in married-couple families (9.0 percent). Income Using three-year averages for 1997-1999, the real median household income for Alaska ($51,046), although not statistically different from that of Maryland, New Jersey and Connecticut, was higher than the median of any of the remaining 46 states and the District of Columbia. Arkansas' income ($28,398), although not statistically different from West Virginia, was lower than the remaining 48 states and the District of Columbia. Real median income for households inside metropolitan areas rose by 2.1 percent and the median for households inside central cities rose by 5.0 percent between 1998 and 1999. The 1999 median income for households in the suburbs and outside metropolitan areas remained statistically unchanged from 1998. Family households (up 2.9 percent to $49,940) and nonfamily households (up 2.5 percent to $24,566) both experienced growth in real median income between 1998 and 1999. Between 1998 and 1999, per capita income reached a record high, increasing 3.0 percent in real terms from $20,564 to $21,181. Each racial group Whites (up 2.3 percent), African Americans (up 8.7 percent), and Asians and Pacific Islanders (up 10.5 percent) experienced growth in per capita income. The per capita income of Hispanics did not change significantly, while the per capita income of non-Hispanic Whites increased 2.8 percent. The real median earnings of men who worked full-time, year-round increased by 1.0 percent, while earnings of comparable women remained statistically unchanged. This is the third straight year that men have experienced an annual increase in earnings. The female-to-male earnings ratio dropped to 0.72 in 1999, significantly lower than the 1998 ratio of 0.73 and the record high of 0.74 in 1996. Both reports also present alternative measures of income and poverty that take into account the effect of taxes and noncash benefits. The data are from the March 2000 CPS. Statistics from sample surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.-X-
