Poverty USA: The State of Poverty in America

For the first time this decade, the nation's official poverty rate of Americans living in poverty declined from 12.6 percent in 2005 to 12.3 percent in 2006.

The number of people living in poverty in 2006, however, was not statistically different from 2005, at 36.5 million.

Since 2000, the number of poor Americans has grown by more than 6 million.

In 2006, the number of people living in extreme poverty, that is, with incomes below half the poverty line, remained the same at 15.6 million people. The number of Americans living in extreme poverty remains the highest level on record, since data first became available in 1975.

Poverty by Region
Poverty by Age
Poverty by Race
The Working Poor in PovertyUSA

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Sources:

(U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006)