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While Overall Poverty Rates Decline Slightly, Child Poverty Rates Hold Steady

Child Poverty Rates 1987 to 2006 | State Child Poverty Rates in 2006 | Changes in State Child Poverty Rates from 2001 to 2006 | State Table of Poverty Rate Percentages | Key Resources

On August 28^th, the U.S. Census Bureau released the 2006 poverty statistics.  For the first time this decade, poverty dropped slightly.  In 2006, the poverty rate was 12.3 percent, compared to 12.6 percent in 2005.   Poverty rates had increased after the recession in 2001 after eight years of steady decline from 1992 to 1999.

Poverty is measured by family size.  For a family of three in 2006, the poverty line was $16,242.  While this federal definition of poverty is the one most frequently used, many analysts question whether it captures the full cost of living for families and the fact that it does not include adjustments for the different costs of living across the country.  Calculating the poverty rate also does not include government benefits such as food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit which provide substantial supports for many low-income working families.

Child poverty in 2006 was 17.4 percent, statistically unchanged since 2005.  Like the overall poverty rate, child poverty had increased slightly every year after the 2001 recession.  It had declined steadily for most of the previous decade, going from almost 23% in 1993 to just above 16% in 1999. 

Child Poverty Rates 1987 to 2006

State Child Poverty Rates

State child poverty rates vary a great deal.  In 2006, they ranged from 5.6% in New Hampshire to 28.8% in Mississippi. Six states have child poverty rates above 23 percent and six states have rates below 11%.  Table 1 (link) reports the child poverty rates for the states in 2001 and 2006.

Child Poverty Rates in 2006

	Over 23%
	from 19% to 23%
	from 15% to 19%
	from 11% to 15%
	under 11%

States have also experienced substantial differences in how their poverty rates have changed over the past five years.  Twenty states have seen increases of more than 20 percent from 2001 to 2006 (while the national rate rose slightly from 16.3% to 17.4%).  Seventeen states have seen drops in child poverty, including six states with drops of more than 20 percent.

Changes in State Child Poverty Rates from 2001 to 2006

	Large increase: over 20%
	Moderate increase: 5% to 20%
	Little change: +5% to -5%]
	Moderate decrease: -5% to -20%
	Large decrease: over - 20%

State Table of Child Poverty Rate Percentages

	Child Poverty Rate 2001	Child Poverty Rate 2006	Percentage Increase in the Child Poverty Rate
ALABAMA	23.2%	18.8%	-19.0%
ALASKA	12.5%	11.6%	-7.2%
ARIZONA	22.3%	20.0%	-10.3%
ARKANSAS	28.3%	26.6%	-6.0%
CALIFORNIA	16.4%	18.1%	10.4%
COLORADO	10.6%	13.4%	26.4%
CONNECTICUT	9.3%	10.3%	10.8%
DELAWARE	9.3%	12.4%	33.3%
DIST.OF COLUMBIA	30.8%	31.8%	3.2%
FLORIDA	18.8%	14.6%	-22.3%
GEORGIA	19.5%	20.4%	4.6%
HAWAII	15.9%	10.5%	-34.0%
IDAHO	15.9%	13.2%	-17.0%
ILLINOIS	15.8%	14.9%	-5.7%
INDIANA	11.3%	14.3%	26.5%
IOWA	7.6%	14.4%	89.5%
KANSAS	14.4%	19.7%	36.8%
KENTUCKY	17.2%	23.5%	36.6%
LOUISIANA	23.1%	23.8%	3.0%
MAINE	12.4%	13.2%	6.5%
MARYLAND	7.6%	10.9%	43.4%
MASSACHUSETTS	11.9%	13.6%	14.3%
MICHIGAN	13.0%	19.3%	48.5%
MINNESOTA	8.4%	11.1%	32.1%
MISSISSIPPI	23.2%	28.8%	24.1%
MISSOURI	12.9%	17.7%	37.2%
MONTANA	16.4%	17.2%	4.9%
NEBRASKA	13.5%	13.1%	-3.0%
NEVADA	9.1%	12.6%	38.5%
NEW HAMPSHIRE	8.2%	5.6%	-31.7%
NEW JERSEY	9.6%	12.5%	30.2%
NEW MEXICO	25.4%	23.2%	-8.7%
NEW YORK	20.0%	19.0%	-5.0%
NORTH CAROLINA	16.4%	20.5%	25.0%
NORTH DAKOTA	19.5%	16.3%	-16.4%
OHIO	16.2%	18.6%	14.8%
OKLAHOMA	21.4%	20.7%	-3.3%
OREGON	15.1%	16.7%	10.6%
PENNSYLVANIA	14.0%	17.0%	21.4%
RHODE ISLAND	11.0%	15.7%	42.7%
SOUTH CAROLINA	23.0%	15.6%	-32.2%
SOUTH DAKOTA	8.2%	13.4%	63.4%
TENNESSEE	20.4%	20.9%	2.5%
TEXAS	21.1%	22.0%	4.3%
UTAH	12.5%	12.6%	0.8%
VERMONT	12.2%	8.9%	-27.0%
VIRGINIA	8.4%	13.2%	57.1%
WASHINGTON	13.7%	10.5%	-23.4%
WEST VIRGINIA	22.2%	21.2%	-4.5%
WISCONSIN	12.0%	15.5%	29.2%
WYOMING	10.7%	14.0%	30.8%
Totals	16.3%	17.4%	6.7%

Key Resources

• U.S. Census Bureau 2006 Poverty Report:  Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006 (P60-233)
• Brookings Institution meeting on 2006 Poverty report
• American Enterprise Institute meeting on 2006 Poverty report
• National Center for Children in Poverty