© 2013 Empire Justice Center How Detailed Data Analysis Reveals the True Face of Suburban Poverty September 26, 2013 Presented by: Michael L. Hanley Empire Justice Center Rochester, New York Telling the Full Story –

Generalized suburban poverty data may– Give an incomplete picture Give a misleading picture Miss the most important story 2

A detailed look at the poverty data will allow you to: Describe the important variations Make sure your story does not mislead Explain how the nature of the problem differs depending on the people and areas you are looking at 3

Venn Diagram Illustrating the Difficulty of Describing “Suburban Poverty”: THE DETAILS THE DEVIL 4

What are the “details” that you need to pay attention to? Who are you looking at? All people? All households? Just families? Single mothers? The elderly? Persons with disabilities? Minorities? Not surprisingly, it is the “Who, What, When, Where” of the story: 5

What are the “details” that you need to pay attention to? What level of poverty are you talking about? At the poverty line? Below the poverty line? Below twice the poverty line? Numbers or percentages? 6

What are the “details” that you need to pay attention to? When – i.e. What period of time are you talking about? Just the recent changes? Longer term patterns? Since the Great Recession? Five year data or just the latest figures? 7

What are the “details” that you need to pay attention to? Where – National and State data? County level? Towns and Villages? Zip Codes? Census Tracts? Neighborhoods? 8

What are the “details” that you need to pay attention to? Not just “poverty,” but “poverty-related” issues: Crime and Violence Child Care School performance; graduation rates Health care access and health outcomes Housing affordability and quality Physical Accessibility Etc., etc., etc.... “Suburban” poverty is not the same thing as “urban” poverty 9

The Silver Lining? Increases in suburban poverty can be a good thing : When poverty is spread out, the impact on everyone is diminished; Lower income families and children in suburban areas may have better educational and employment prospects; Health concerns related to housing conditions may be fewer; Safety concerns related to crime may be lessened 10

For social context on the critical issues, and to identify experts on specific topics, check out: Poverty & Race Research Action Council The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities The Opportunity Agenda: Policy Link: 11

So, where’s the data? The most complete, detailed and accurate data is from the Census Bureau. They have wonderful data access online through “American Factfinder 2” -- --but it can be difficult to use at first! Check out the official Census Bureau tutorial:  OR, try an “unofficial” tutorial:  OR, get a PDF hard copy guide from the MIT Library:  OR, you can access a commercial service, for example: 

Variations in Poverty Concentrations: To understand the poverty issues and variations in a given community, it may be helpful to take advantage of some readily available websites that illustrate local variations in poverty concentrations. From there you can start to explore the factors that account for the variations and the implications of the patterns. Two good cites for a “quick look” are the New York Times census map website and another called “Rich Blocks, Poor Blocks” So, where’s the data? 13

Also, for data on school enrollments (a good “trend” indicator), check out the NATIONAL CENTER ON EDUCATION STATISTICS : 14

NCES DATA IS AVAILABLE BY DISTRICT OR BY INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL, AND INCLUDES CHARTER AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. HERE’S A SAMPLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DATA AVAILABLE : NCES DATA IS AVAILABLE BY DISTRICT OR BY INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL, AND INCLUDES CHARTER AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS. HERE’S A SAMPLE OF THE INDIVIDUAL SCHOOL DATA AVAILABLE : FREE AND REDUCED LUNCH = 80% (COMPARE TO CENSUS TABLE B14006) 15

The New York Times Census Project: The New York Times Census Project: CLICK ON “VIEW MORE MAPS” 16