Poverty Statistics Understanding Poverty —A book study

National Statistics, 2008 The U.S. Government’s poverty threshold for a four person household: $22,025* 13.2 percent of all persons lived in poverty

National Statistics, 2008  The poverty rate varies between racial/ethnic subgroups.  Poverty rates for blacks and Hispanics greatly exceed the national average.  In 2008, 24.7 percent of blacks and 23.2 percent of Hispanics were poor, compared to 8.6 percent of non- Hispanic whites and 11.8 percent of Asians.

National Statistics, 2008  Poverty rates are highest for families headed by single women, particularly if they are black or Hispanic.  In 2008, 28.7 percent of households headed by single women were poor, while 13.8 percent of households headed by single men and 5.5 percent of married-couple households lived in poverty.

National Statistics, 2008  There are also differences between native- born and foreign-born residents.  In 2008, 17.8 percent of foreign-born residents lived in poverty, compared to 12.6 percent of residents born in the United States.  Foreign-born, non-citizens had an even higher incidence of poverty, at a rate of 23.3 percent.

Georgia statistics, 2007  Residents with income below the poverty level: Georgia: 14.3%  Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level:  Georgia: 6.4%

Lawrenceville vs. Georgia  Residents with income below the poverty level in 2007:  Lawrenceville: 17.7%  Whole state: 14.3%  Residents with income below 50% of the poverty level in 2007:  Lawrenceville: 5.7%  Whole state: 6.4%

Poor Families by Type  Married-couple family (37.0%)  Male, no wife present (4.9%)  Female, no husband present (58%)

Poverty Based on Place of Birth  Poverty status for native-born residents vs. foreign-born residents  Native: Below poverty level (17.4%)  Foreign-born: Below poverty level (15.2%)  Native: Above poverty level (82.6%)  Foreign-born: Above poverty level (84.8%)

Poor Married-couple Families, Lawrenceville Breakdown by work experience:  Both worked full-time (0%)  One full-time, other part-time (3%)  One full-time, other didn't work (11%)  Both worked part-time (30%)  One part-time, other didn't work (34%)  Both didn't work (22%)

Poverty and Education Lawrenceville vs. State  Dependent Minor Children below poverty level: Lawrenceville  28.3% State  19.4%  Poverty rate among independent high school grads: Lawrenceville  13.3% Georgia  17.6%  Poverty rate among people who did not graduate high school not in families: Lawrenceville  36.0% Georgia  44.8%

Wiki Reflections due Tuesday   What were your impressions about the neighborhoods in which your students reside?  What resources did you observe were present or absent? Where were they located?  What about the national, state, local poverty figures surprised you?