Indicator 4: Children Living in Poverty
(Last Updated: February 2019)

In 2016, the percentage of children under the age of 18 in families living in poverty was higher for Black children than Hispanic children (31 and 26 percent, respectively), and the percentages for both of these groups were higher than for White and Asian children (10 percent each).

Research suggests that living in poverty during early childhood is associated with lower-than-average academic performance that begins in kindergarten¹ and extends through high school, leading to lower-than-average rates of school completion.² This indicator examines the percentage of children under the age of 18 in families living in poverty by race/ethnicity using two different poverty measures, the official poverty measure and the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM).

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Figure 4.1. Percentage of children under age 18 in families living in poverty based on the official poverty measure, by race/ethnicity: 2000 through 2016

¹ In 2000 and 2001, Asian includes Pacific Islanders as well as Asians.
NOTE: The measure of child poverty includes all children who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutional population. The official poverty measure consists of a set of income thresholds for families of different sizes and compositions that are compared to before-tax cash income to determine a family’s poverty status. For more information about how the Census Bureau determines who is in poverty, see https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not separately shown, including Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Two or more races. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2001 through 2017. See Digest of Education Statistics 2015, table 102.50; and Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 102.50.

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The official poverty measure was developed in 1960 and consists of a set of income thresholds for families of different sizes and compositions that are compared to before-tax cash income to determine a family’s poverty status. According to this measure, 16 percent of all related children under age 18 were in families living in poverty in 2000. The rate rose to 21 percent in 2010, before decreasing to 18 percent in 2016. From 2000 to 2016, the official poverty measure rate increased for White children (from 9 to 10 percent), but did not change measurably for Black, Hispanic, and Asian³ children.

The percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty based on the official poverty measure varied across racial/ethnic groups in 2016. The child poverty rate for Black children (31 percent) was higher than the rate for Hispanic children (26 percent), and the rates for both of these groups were higher than those for White and Asian children (10 percent each).

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Figure 4.2. Percentage of children under age 18 in families living in poverty based on the Supplemental Poverty Measure, by race/ethnicity: 2010 and 2016

NOTE: The measure of child poverty includes all children who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit. Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutional population. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) is based on a broader array of information than the official poverty measure and adds to family income the value of benefits from many government programs designed to assist low-income families, subtracts taxes and necessary expenses such as child care costs (for working families) and medical expenses, and adjusts poverty thresholds for geographic differences in housing costs. To match the population included in the current official poverty measure, SPM estimates presented here exclude unrelated children under age 15. For more information about the SPM, see https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/p60-261.pdf. Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not separately shown, including Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Two or more races. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) Research Files, 2010 and 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 102.51.

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The SPM is an alternative poverty measure developed more recently than the official poverty measure (the U.S. Census Bureau first published data using the SPM in 2011 for data years 2009 and later). The SPM is based on a broader array of information than the official poverty measure and adds to family income the value of benefits from many government programs designed to assist low-income families, subtracts taxes and necessary expenses such as child care costs (for working families) and medical expenses, and adjusts poverty thresholds for geographic differences in housing costs.⁴

Of all children under age 18, the percentage who were in families living in poverty based on the SPM was 15 percent in 2016, which was lower than the rate in 2010 (18 percent). A similar pattern was found across most racial/ethnic groups. There was no measurable difference between 2010 and 2016 for Asian children. A higher percentage of Black and Hispanic children (24 percent each) than of Asian (12 percent) and White (8 percent) children were living in poverty in 2016, according to the SPM. In addition, the SPM poverty rate for White children in 2016 was lower than the SPM rate for Asian children.

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Figure 4.3. Percentage of children under age 18 in families living in poverty, by race/ethnicity and type of poverty measure: 2016

¹ The official poverty measure consists of a set of thresholds for families of different sizes and compositions that are compared to before-tax cash income to determine a family’s poverty status. For more information about how the Census Bureau determines who is in poverty, see https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.
² The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) extends the information provided by the official poverty measure by adding to family income the value of benefits from many government programs designed to assist low-income families, subtracting taxes and necessary expenses such as child care costs (for working families) and medical expenses, and adjusting poverty thresholds for geographic differences in housing costs. To match the population included in the current official poverty measure, SPM estimates presented here exclude unrelated children under age 15. For more information about the SPM, see https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/p60-261.pdf.
NOTE: Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutional population. Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not separately shown, including Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Two or more races. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2017; and Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) Research Files, 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, tables 102.50 and 102.51.

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Comparing the poverty rate based on the official measure with the rate based on the SPM for children under age 18 provides a look into how poverty rates can differ when benefits from government programs, subtractions for taxes and necessary expenses, and housing cost adjustments are included as part of family income. In 2016, the rate of children under age 18 who were in families living in poverty based on the official poverty measure was higher than the rate in poverty based on the SPM (18 vs. 15 percent). A similar pattern was found across racial/ethnic groups, with the exception of Asian children, where there was no measurable difference between the rate based on the official measure and the rate based on the SPM. The percentage-point difference between the poverty rate based on the official measure and the rate based on the SPM was larger for Black children (7 percentage points) than for Hispanic (3 percentage points) and White children (2 percentage points).

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Figure 4.4. Percentage of children under age 18 in mother-only households living in poverty, by race/ethnicity and type of poverty measure: 2016

¹ The official poverty measure consists of a set of thresholds for families of different sizes and compositions that are compared to before-tax cash income to determine a family’s poverty status. For more information about how the Census Bureau determines who is in poverty, see https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html.
² The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) extends the informatiffrrtt '[on provided by the official poverty measure by adding to family income the value of benefits from many government programs designed to assist low-income families, subtracting taxes and necessary expenses such as child care costs (for working families) and medical expenses, and adjusting poverty thresholds for geographic differences in housing costs. To match the population included in the current official poverty measure, SPM estimates presented here exclude unrelated children under age 15. For more information about the SPM, see https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2017/demo/p60-261.pdf.
NOTE: Data are based on sample surveys of the civilian noninstitutional population. Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not separately shown, including Pacific Islander, American Indian/Alaska Native, and Two or more races. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Current Population Survey (CPS), Annual Social and Economic Supplement, 2017; and Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) Research Files, 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, tables 102.50 and 102.51.

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Both the OPM and SPM help reveal an association between family structure and child poverty. Children living in mother-only households had higher rates of poverty according to both poverty measures than the overall child poverty rate; this pattern was also observed for all racial/ethnic groups.

In 2016, children under 18 living in mother-only households had a higher poverty rate based on the official measure than based on the SPM (42 vs. 31 percent). The same pattern was found for White, Black, and Hispanic children living in mother-only households.

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Endnotes

¹ Mulligan, G.M., Hastedt, S., and McCarroll, J.C. (2012). First-Time Kindergartners in 2010–11: First Findings From the Kindergarten Rounds of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS-K:2011) (NCES 2012-049). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012049.
²Ross, T., Kena, G., Rathbun, A., KewalRamani, A., Zhang, J., Kristapovich, P., and Manning, E. (2012). Higher Education: Gaps in Access and Persistence Study (NCES 2012-046). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved from https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2012046.
³ The Asian child poverty rate includes Pacific Islander children in 2000 but excludes them in 2016.
⁴To match the population included in the current official poverty measure, SPM estimates presented here exclude unrelated children under age 15.

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