Nearly one-in-six Americans remain below the poverty line as the country grapples with low growth and moderate jobs growth, new data from the Census Bureau shows.
To qualify for poverty a family of four must earn less than $22,811
In its report released today, the Census Bureau painted a detailed picture of the difficulty many Americans are facing, including declining household earnings.
Below, 11 sad statistics from the report.
- 46.2 million Americans are under the poverty line — that's 15.7 percent of the country
- 1-in-15 American households earned less than $11,406, the second highest percentage since 1967
- Median household incomes fell 1.5 percent to $50,100
- 48.6 million Americans did not have health insurance in 2011 (down from 2010)
- 9.4 percent of children did not have health insurance
- The bottom 10 percent of earners made the same amount of money in 2011 as they did in 1994
- Women continued to earn 77 percent of what men earned
- 27.6 percent of Black Americans were in poverty
- 25.3 percent of Hispanic Americans were in poverty
- 9.8 percent of White Americans were in poverty
- More than one-fifth of those under 18 were in poverty
The Census' report included charts that illustrate how key trends have evolved over time.
Real Median Household Income: 1967 to 2011
Real Median Household Income by Race and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2011
Real Household Income at Selected Percentiles: 1967 to 2011
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