Poverty by Age

Families in Poverty

In 2007, as the number of American families overall dropped by almost 71 million, the number in poverty also fell slightly, to 7.63 million, from 7.67 million in 2006 The poverty rate again stayed at 9.8 percent, or about one family in ten.

Adults in Poverty

For Americans 18 to 64 years old, the number in poverty rose slightly, after holding at 20.2 million persons in 2005 and 2006, to 20.4 million in 2007. The poverty rate also went up for this group from 10.8 percent in 2005 to 2006, to 10.3 percent.

The number of elderly (persons 65 and older) in poverty increased to 3.56 million in 2007, after dropping from 3.6 million in 2005 to 3.4 million in 2006. The poverty rate rose to 9.7 percent, after it decreased to 9.4 percent from 10.1 percent in the past two years.

American Children in Poverty

There were over half a million more children in poverty in 2007 than 2006: 13.3 million altogether. The poverty rate for minors—under 18—increased to 18 percent, or more than one in six.

Children are one-fourth (25%) of our population, but in 2007 were again more than a third (36%) of all people in poverty in the United States. The poverty rate for children is far higher than for adults or seniors.

Children under the age of six are particularly vulnerable to poverty. In 2007, the poverty rate for related children under six living in families was again over 20 percent—one child in five.  But the number of small children in poverty increased substantially to 5.1 million children in 2007, from 4.8 million children in 2006.

More than half—54 percent—of all children under six living in families with a female householder (with no husband present) live in poverty. That’s more than five times the rate of their counterparts in married-couple families (9.5%).

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Sources:

(U.S. Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007)