Skip Navigation
Digest of Education Statistics
2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 102.62. Percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty, by parents' highest level of educational attainment, child's race/ethnicity, and selected racial/ethnic subgroups: 2010 and 2016
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Year and race/ethnicity Percent in poverty, all children under age 18 who resided with at least one parent1 Percent of children in poverty, by highest level of education attained by any parent residing with child1
Less than high school completion High school completion2 Some college, no degree Associate's degree Bachelor's or higher degree
Total Bachelor's degree Master's degree Doctor's
degree3
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2010                                                      
Total 20.8   (0.13) 53.4   (0.33) 32.3   (0.25) 23.0   (0.22) 12.7   (0.27) 4.3   (0.08) 5.6   (0.12) 2.8   (0.10) 2.1   (0.13)
White 12.5   (0.12) 48.8   (0.75) 24.6   (0.31) 17.1   (0.25) 8.8   (0.23) 3.2   (0.08) 4.1   (0.13) 2.1   (0.10) 1.5   (0.14)
Black 37.6   (0.39) 72.8   (0.76) 49.0   (0.65) 36.9   (0.72) 23.9   (0.99) 8.0   (0.37) 10.0   (0.51) 4.6   (0.57) 4.7   (1.12)
                                                       
Hispanic 31.8   (0.23) 50.6   (0.42) 34.1   (0.44) 24.8   (0.50) 16.4   (0.68) 7.9   (0.33) 9.5   (0.45) 4.9   (0.55) 4.9   (0.73)
Cuban 18.6   (1.12) 52.3   (5.24) 27.0   (2.56) 21.9   (2.80) 11.4   (2.21) 6.7   (1.07) 9.5   (1.77) 2.2 ! (0.99) 3.4 ! (1.52)
Dominican 33.9   (1.22) 50.9   (3.29) 46.5   (2.73) 32.2   (2.61) 11.1   (2.60) 11.1   (1.91) 14.2   (2.60)   (†)   (†)
Mexican 33.8   (0.28) 50.7   (0.49) 34.4   (0.53) 24.9   (0.62) 15.8   (0.90) 8.1   (0.44) 9.1   (0.58) 5.7   (0.91) 5.9   (1.19)
Puerto Rican 33.3   (0.78) 68.6   (2.06) 38.7   (1.44) 29.0   (1.42) 23.7   (2.50) 7.9   (0.83) 9.9   (1.20) 5.1 ! (1.58)   (†)
Spaniard 16.9   (1.58) 44.1   (8.89) 30.9   (4.83) 21.6   (3.34) 17.0 ! (5.73) 3.4 ! (1.05) 3.9 ! (1.28)   (†)   (†)
Central American4 26.8   (0.79) 40.0   (1.44) 26.8   (1.63) 19.7   (1.62) 10.0   (1.87) 9.5   (1.33) 11.8   (1.86) 4.4 ! (1.85) 8.1 ! (3.51)
Costa Rican 18.9   (3.67)   (†) 28.7 ! (9.73) 29.7   (8.13)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Guatemalan 31.2   (1.67) 50.2   (2.44) 27.4   (3.45) 22.4   (3.74) 11.0 ! (3.37) 8.3   (1.99) 11.5   (3.40)   (†)   (†)
Honduran 33.5   (2.15) 41.0   (3.44) 37.0   (4.44) 25.8   (4.58) 12.4 ! (5.46) 19.4   (4.59) 24.5   (6.06)   (†)   (†)
Nicaraguan 21.6   (2.96) 51.2   (7.70) 29.2   (5.70) 20.1   (5.13)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Panamanian 15.5   (3.54)   (†) 41.9 ! (17.94) 15.7 ! (5.31)   (†) 8.9 ! (3.92) 18.3 ! (7.25)   (†)   (†)
Salvadoran 23.8   (1.09) 33.6   (2.28) 20.7   (2.13) 15.4   (2.26) 9.9   (2.87) 11.9   (2.65) 11.3   (2.71)   (†)   (†)
South American 17.0   (0.77) 41.7   (3.69) 25.7   (1.99) 18.4   (1.80) 16.5   (2.61) 7.4   (0.82) 9.8   (1.22) 3.6   (0.94) 5.1 ! (1.58)
Chilean 10.9   (3.02)   (†) 13.2 ! (5.94) 23.0 ! (10.50)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Colombian 13.8   (1.29) 37.1   (8.57) 24.6   (3.47) 16.3   (2.92) 10.2 ! (3.53) 6.0   (1.26) 7.5   (1.88) 3.2 ! (1.45)   (†)
Ecuadorian 24.2   (2.05) 42.4   (4.95) 29.8   (4.40) 21.9   (4.73) 17.2   (4.90) 9.8   (2.85) 11.5 ! (4.06)   (†)   (†)
Peruvian 17.9   (2.17) 65.0   (11.70) 22.9   (4.15) 17.1   (4.07) 10.5 ! (4.43) 11.4   (2.43) 13.8   (2.98)   (†)   (†)
Venezuelan 17.1   (3.20)   (†) 37.8 ! (12.96)   (†) 61.0   (11.07) 7.3   (1.84) 8.3 ! (2.75)   (†)   (†)
Other South American 14.0   (1.89) 33.0   (8.91) 24.5   (6.93) 20.6   (4.29) 10.8 ! (5.38) 4.5 ! (1.40) 8.3 ! (2.85)   (†)   (†)
Other Hispanic 28.2   (1.18) 52.8   (3.10) 34.7   (2.38) 24.9   (2.09) 18.2   (3.39) 7.5   (1.25) 9.2   (1.79) 6.0 ! (2.32) 3.6 ! (1.52)
                                                       
Asian 12.0   (0.30) 41.7   (1.71) 24.3   (1.26) 15.2   (0.99) 11.0   (1.09) 5.2   (0.27) 7.0   (0.43) 4.1   (0.37) 2.7   (0.35)
Chinese5 9.5   (0.53) 32.0   (2.77) 23.5   (2.60) 12.8   (2.11) 9.5   (2.17) 3.8   (0.39) 6.1   (0.92) 3.1   (0.66) 2.4   (0.56)
Filipino 5.2   (0.71) 10.6 ! (4.73) 12.4   (3.03) 9.1   (1.83) 7.6 ! (2.61) 2.8   (0.59) 2.9   (0.67)   (†)   (†)
Japanese 4.5   (1.14)   (†) 26.9 ! (10.91)   (†)   (†) 2.7 ! (0.91) 3.7 ! (1.45)   (†)   (†)
Korean 12.9   (0.99)   (†) 16.9   (4.85) 18.2   (5.18) 6.0 ! (2.17) 11.7   (1.16) 14.9   (1.66) 10.7   (1.70) 6.6   (1.86)
South Asian6 9.9   (0.63) 50.7   (4.76) 26.9   (3.38) 22.7   (3.92) 17.7   (3.66) 4.9   (0.49) 8.7   (1.16) 3.2   (0.53) 1.6 ! (0.50)
Asian Indian 7.6   (0.61) 49.2   (5.88) 25.0   (4.31) 22.9   (4.32) 13.0 ! (4.52) 3.6   (0.49) 7.4   (1.25) 1.9   (0.42) 0.9 ! (0.45)
Bangladeshi 30.0   (4.25) 79.5   (9.81)   (†)   (†)   (†) 21.3   (4.96) 24.8 ! (7.93) 23.5 ! (8.18)   (†)
Bhutanese   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Nepalese   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Pakistani 19.2   (2.33) 43.5   (10.91) 33.9   (6.31)   (†) 30.5 ! (10.37) 11.1   (2.00) 12.2   (3.16) 12.0 ! (3.80)   (†)
Southeast Asian 21.4   (0.91) 43.0   (2.51) 27.5   (2.04) 16.1   (1.74) 12.1   (2.36) 7.0   (1.07) 8.0   (1.32) 6.0   (1.55)   (†)
Burmese   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Cambodian 27.2   (3.09) 57.0   (6.67) 31.3   (7.65) 19.3 ! (6.53)   (†) 4.7 ! (2.22)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Hmong 39.5   (3.68) 70.2   (6.78) 39.2   (6.62) 16.5 ! (5.47) 20.6 ! (8.76) 13.7 ! (6.32) 19.3 ! (8.84)   (†)   (†)
Laotian 19.0   (3.16) 27.7 ! (8.40) 26.7   (6.08) 14.4   (4.29)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Thai 23.2   (6.73)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Vietnamese 15.9   (1.01) 28.2   (2.48) 22.9   (2.47) 15.7   (2.27) 10.1   (2.52) 5.2   (0.96) 5.9   (1.07)   (†)   (†)
Other Southeast Asian7 22.9   (5.69)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 17.1 ! (5.22) 15.2 ! (7.06) 22.8 ! (8.78)   (†)
Other Asian 15.9   (1.29) 54.3   (6.45) 23.8   (4.15) 21.1   (4.47) 12.1   (3.55) 5.6   (0.96) 6.1   (1.51) 6.3 ! (2.46) 3.4 ! (1.54)
                                                       
Pacific Islander 22.4   (2.29) 68.3   (9.33) 23.6   (3.90) 18.7   (3.45) 21.8   (6.17) 11.7 ! (5.04) 13.5 ! (6.66)   (†)   (†)
                                                       
American Indian/Alaska Native8 33.9   (1.16) 65.0   (2.96) 42.0   (2.30) 29.8   (1.88) 20.1   (2.76) 12.6   (2.24) 14.6   (3.03) 6.0 ! (2.77) 15.2 ! (5.64)
American Indian 35.4   (1.24) 66.7   (2.92) 44.5   (2.58) 31.1   (2.16) 19.8   (2.96) 12.6   (2.63) 14.5   (3.55) 3.6 ! (1.81) 22.1 ! (8.12)
Alaska Native 25.3   (3.55) 61.6   (12.23) 32.1   (5.12) 15.8 ! (5.45)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                       
Some other race9 19.3   (1.63) 41.5   (6.50) 30.9   (4.30) 22.9   (4.49) 9.0 ! (4.28) 6.6 ! (2.05) 13.8 ! (4.15)   (†)   (†)
Two or more races 21.0   (0.49) 57.8   (2.04) 35.8   (1.38) 27.1   (0.77) 18.0   (1.38) 5.3   (0.39) 7.2   (0.60) 3.4   (0.45) 1.7 ! (0.52)
                                                       
2016                                                      
Total 18.7   (0.15) 49.8   (0.44) 32.0   (0.31) 22.0   (0.23) 12.7   (0.25) 4.1   (0.07) 5.5   (0.11) 2.7   (0.10) 2.1   (0.15)
White 11.1   (0.13) 46.2   (0.96) 24.8   (0.37) 16.7   (0.28) 9.3   (0.30) 2.9   (0.08) 4.0   (0.12) 1.9   (0.11) 1.4   (0.14)
Black 33.5   (0.36) 68.9   (1.09) 48.3   (0.70) 33.9   (0.62) 22.0   (0.89) 8.0   (0.36) 10.2   (0.57) 5.1   (0.48) 4.8   (0.91)
                                                       
Hispanic 27.9   (0.30) 47.5   (0.51) 31.5   (0.57) 22.5   (0.49) 15.4   (0.59) 6.9   (0.28) 8.4   (0.40) 3.6   (0.37) 5.7   (0.66)
Cuban 17.6   (0.96) 48.2   (5.58) 28.7   (2.46) 17.5   (2.19) 18.2   (3.27) 6.5   (1.01) 8.8   (1.79) 1.2 ! (0.60) 7.3 ! (2.70)
Dominican 29.3   (1.39) 57.4   (3.86) 38.5   (2.86) 27.8   (2.30) 17.3   (3.15) 10.0   (1.80) 12.6   (2.50)   (†) 12.4 ! (5.37)
Mexican 29.0   (0.34) 46.6   (0.57) 31.4   (0.58) 22.1   (0.60) 14.3   (0.73) 6.3   (0.39) 7.4   (0.55) 3.6   (0.56) 5.5   (1.08)
Puerto Rican 29.0   (0.83) 66.2   (2.39) 39.1   (1.56) 26.2   (1.31) 17.1   (1.32) 7.9   (0.91) 10.2   (1.33) 4.6   (1.01)   (†)
Spaniard 13.1   (1.81) 51.7   (9.03) 29.2   (5.43) 16.0   (4.49) 21.1   (5.44) 2.7 ! (0.87) 3.3 ! (1.17)   (†)   (†)
Central American4 29.8   (0.81) 45.6   (1.44) 27.9   (1.49) 21.5   (1.82) 19.6   (2.74) 8.0   (1.10) 9.9   (1.50)   (†) 6.5 ! (2.89)
Costa Rican 17.8   (4.15)   (†) 30.6 ! (10.52)   (†)   (†) 7.9 ! (2.74) 8.2 ! (4.04)   (†)   (†)
Guatemalan 37.7   (1.58) 55.0   (2.37) 32.6   (3.64) 26.0   (4.22) 24.0   (6.46) 10.8   (2.73) 13.5   (3.50)   (†)   (†)
Honduran 35.9   (1.77) 50.1   (3.01) 33.2   (3.44) 32.3   (4.76) 18.9 ! (6.49) 9.2 ! (2.77) 11.9 ! (3.88)   (†)   (†)
Nicaraguan 21.5   (2.63) 40.9   (10.98) 30.4   (5.30) 15.7   (4.25) 24.2 ! (8.40) 8.1 ! (2.93) 12.5 ! (4.47)   (†)   (†)
Panamanian 14.5   (3.36)   (†) 43.0   (12.39)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Salvadoran 23.9   (1.00) 35.2   (2.10) 22.1   (2.23) 15.0   (2.20) 15.5   (4.56) 7.1   (1.73) 7.8 ! (2.47) 3.0 ! (1.44)   (†)
South American 14.6   (0.81) 31.6   (4.50) 23.4   (2.02) 18.3   (2.29) 14.9   (2.59) 7.1   (0.80) 9.2   (1.38) 4.1   (1.05) 6.3   (1.85)
Chilean 12.2 ! (5.62)   (†)   (†) 43.1 ! (20.73)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Colombian 14.1   (1.18) 27.6 ! (8.72) 25.6   (3.75) 20.9   (3.86) 13.1   (3.43) 6.5   (1.46) 9.9   (2.63) 2.9 ! (1.16)   (†)
Ecuadorian 17.9   (1.99) 28.1   (5.04) 19.7   (3.94) 16.5   (3.42) 18.7 ! (6.37) 11.8   (2.97) 14.5 ! (4.46)   (†)   (†)
Peruvian 15.3   (1.74) 42.8   (11.32) 20.9   (4.04) 22.5   (5.54) 11.1 ! (4.63) 5.2 ! (1.85) 8.6 ! (3.15)   (†)   (†)
Venezuelan 13.4   (2.25)   (†) 34.2 ! (11.87)   (†) 26.7 ! (8.16) 8.5   (2.11) 5.1 ! (2.17) 11.6 ! (4.74) 12.7 ! (5.00)
Other South American 10.8   (1.76) 25.7 ! (9.13) 31.0   (8.14) 8.2 ! (3.39)   (†) 5.0   (1.38) 7.9 ! (2.62)   (†)   (†)
Other Hispanic 25.2   (1.11) 51.5   (3.36) 27.0   (2.06) 23.8   (2.05) 16.4   (3.01) 9.3   (1.41) 11.8   (2.07) 6.5 ! (2.23) 3.9 ! (1.56)
                                                       
Asian 10.7   (0.29) 36.5   (1.93) 23.7   (1.48) 15.5   (1.02) 13.0   (1.41) 5.1   (0.26) 6.8   (0.40) 4.4   (0.41) 2.6   (0.36)
Chinese5 11.5   (0.62) 31.8   (3.56) 20.8   (2.78) 22.8   (3.09) 13.6   (2.40) 6.0   (0.55) 8.0   (0.98) 6.4   (0.97) 3.6   (0.75)
Filipino 5.9   (0.67) 18.1 ! (7.13) 10.0   (2.66) 10.2   (1.88) 10.3 ! (3.24) 3.4   (0.54) 3.9   (0.66) 1.8 ! (0.79)   (†)
Japanese 5.5   (1.46)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 4.6   (1.19) 6.6 ! (2.28)   (†)   (†)
Korean 9.0   (1.03)   (†) 19.6   (5.57) 5.8 ! (2.03) 9.5 ! (2.90) 7.7   (1.12) 8.7   (1.62) 9.9   (2.27) 3.4 ! (1.15)
South Asian6 8.6   (0.48) 44.1   (4.74) 35.8   (3.71) 16.9   (2.76) 15.6   (2.86) 4.5   (0.44) 8.1   (0.77) 3.2   (0.57) 1.8   (0.47)
Asian Indian 5.6   (0.44) 39.7   (7.81) 31.4   (4.47) 11.6   (2.89) 13.7   (3.18) 2.9   (0.34) 5.3   (0.73) 2.0   (0.40) 1.8   (0.52)
Bangladeshi 32.2   (4.69)   (†) 48.9   (10.31) 35.6 ! (12.36)   (†) 26.3   (5.18) 26.5   (6.01) 30.2 ! (9.94)   (†)
Bhutanese 36.2 ! (11.52)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Nepalese 17.7   (3.97) 36.7   (10.79) 26.1 ! (9.57)   (†)   (†) 8.5 ! (3.89)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Pakistani 18.3   (2.35) 53.6   (9.54) 51.0   (10.02) 36.5   (9.11) 18.8 ! (8.70) 10.3   (1.80) 16.0   (3.33) 9.4 ! (3.03)   (†)
Southeast Asian 18.1   (0.90) 36.2   (2.57) 24.7   (2.69) 17.5   (2.19) 14.1   (3.09) 5.0   (0.89) 5.0   (1.07) 6.4 ! (2.51)   (†)
Burmese 35.9   (4.14) 48.9   (5.59) 23.0 ! (7.34)   (†)   (†) 16.2 ! (7.71) 23.7 ! (10.70)   (†)   (†)
Cambodian 16.1   (2.78) 25.8 ! (8.39) 17.7   (5.12) 14.7 ! (5.69)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Hmong 27.6   (3.71) 62.1   (10.11) 37.2   (8.71) 14.7 ! (4.86) 26.7 ! (8.32)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Laotian 12.8   (3.46) 16.3 ! (7.09) 18.2 ! (7.54) 14.5 ! (6.30)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Thai 12.8   (3.75)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Vietnamese 14.1   (1.07) 25.3   (3.06) 23.5   (3.37) 19.6   (2.92) 11.0   (2.87) 3.7   (0.83) 4.2   (1.17)   (†)   (†)
Other Southeast Asian7 13.5 ! (4.97)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†) 6.1 ! (2.61)   (†)   (†)   (†)
Other Asian 10.3   (1.24) 40.1   (9.27) 21.7   (5.20) 9.8 ! (3.02) 13.2 ! (5.07) 5.3   (1.21) 8.1   (1.91) 3.5 ! (1.27)   (†)
                                                       
Pacific Islander 22.1   (2.49) 27.3   (7.48) 30.7   (4.88) 23.1   (4.23) 8.7 ! (3.48) 11.1 ! (4.30) 11.5 ! (5.32)   (†)   (†)
                                                       
American Indian/Alaska Native8 33.8   (1.20) 61.5   (2.93) 46.2   (2.06) 33.3   (1.81) 20.3   (2.92) 11.7   (1.58) 14.8   (2.32) 6.9 ! (2.84)   (†)
American Indian 34.9   (1.25) 61.9   (3.20) 49.0   (2.30) 33.7   (1.79) 21.5   (3.19) 11.6   (1.81) 14.4   (2.49) 7.7 ! (3.42)   (†)
Alaska Native 31.9   (5.20) 65.7   (8.37) 34.6   (5.03) 31.2 ! (10.74)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)   (†)
                                                       
Some other race9 21.1   (1.55) 34.5   (6.06) 36.4   (4.29) 30.3   (4.35) 8.2 ! (3.57) 5.9   (1.48) 6.1 ! (1.97) 7.8 ! (2.98)   (†)
Two or more races 18.6   (0.41) 56.0   (2.32) 36.6   (1.32) 25.0   (0.97) 15.9   (0.99) 4.9   (0.32) 6.7   (0.52) 3.5   (0.50) 1.8   (0.44)
—Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
1 Parents include adoptive and stepparents, but exclude parents not residing in the same household as their children.
2 Includes parents who completed high school through equivalency programs, such as a GED program.
3 Includes parents with professional degrees.
4 Includes other Central American subgroups not shown separately.
5 Includes Taiwanese.
6 In addition to the subgroups shown, also includes Sri Lankan.
7 Consists of Indonesian and Malaysian.
8 Includes persons reporting American Indian alone, persons reporting Alaska Native alone, and persons from American Indian and/or Alaska Native tribes specified or not specified.
9 Respondents who wrote in some other race that was not included as an option on the questionnaire.
NOTE: Table includes only children under the age of 18 who resided with at least one of their parents (including an adoptive or stepparent). Respondents were interviewed throughout the given year and reported the income they received during the previous 12 months. Data are based on sample surveys of the entire population residing within the United States. Poverty status is determined by the Census Bureau using a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition. For additional information about poverty status, see https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2010 and 2016. (This table was prepared November 2017.)

2017 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest