Statistics on Low-Income Families

Everyday in theUnited States, many families have to make difficult choices when it comes to the basic necessities of food, shelter, healthcare, and childcare. All too often, sacrifices have to be made that not only affect the health and development of families but also take a toll on their quality of life. Although there is no official definition, low-income is defined among some research organizations as twice the federal poverty threshold. Below are some statistics regarding the situation low-income families face in America.

Food Insecurity

· 2.9 million low-income households (41.1%) with children under 18 were food insecure in 2006.[1]

· 17.6% of low-income households (over 600,000) with seniors were food insecure in 2006.[2]

· 5.56 million (33.1%) low-income households with incomes below 130% of the poverty line were food insecure in 2006.[3]

· Nearly one quarter of the country (12 states) have more than 20% percent of children living in food insecure households, the states of Texas and New Mexico have the highest rates of children in households (24%) without consistent access to food. [4]

· The top four states plus DC with the highest rate of food insecure children are New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma and Idaho. [4]

· The top five states with the lowest rate of food insecure children are North Dakota, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Massachusetts and Connecticut. [4]

· One-in-four low-income households with one full-time, full-year worker is food insecure and similarly housing insecure[5]

· 70.3% of all clients served by America's Second Harvest Network are food insecure, 33.3% of all clients are food insecure with hunger[6]

· Forty-two percent of households served by the America 's Second Harvest Network report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel[7]

· Among client households with children younger than age 18 served by America's Second Harvest Network, 41.8% were food insecure without hunger and 31.3% were food insecure with hunger[8]

· Among client households with seniors age 65 years or older served by America's Second Harvest Network, 35.8% were food insecure without hunger and 16.2% were food insecure with hunger[9]

Employment

· Fifty-four percent of children in low-income families have at least one parent who works full-time and year-round[10]

· Twenty-seven precent of children in low-income families have at least one parent who works part-time or full-time for part of a year[11]

· Nineteen percent of children in low-income families do not have a parent who is employed[12]

· Sixty percent of low-income parents working full-time only part of the year report that they could not find full-year employment[13]

· Thirty-eight percent of all low-income parents working part-time report that they cannot find full-time employment[14]

· Among all adults in client households served by America's Second Harvest Network, 14.6% are employed full-time, 13.2% are employed part-time, and the remaining 72.2% are currently unemployed[15]

Household Income

· In 2004, 37 million people (12.7%) lived at or below the official poverty threshold[16]

· Nearly one-in-three employed, low-income parents work in the service industry where earnings are at the minimum wage[17]

· The average household income among all clients served by America's Second Harvest Network during the previous month was $860 (median: $750)[18]

· 78.1% of America's Second Harvest Network client households had an income of 130% or below the federal poverty level during the previous month[19]

· In 2004, two-thirds of the working poor who were employed worked in one of the following occupation groups: service, sales and office, production, transportation, and material moving[20]

Parental Education

· Twenty-six percent of children in low-income families live with parents with less than a high school education[21]

· Thirty-five percent of children in low-income families live with parents who have only a high school education[22]

· Thirty-eight percent of children in low-income families live with parents who have some college or more[23]

· Among all clients served by America’s Second Harvest Network, 36.9% have finished high school and have no further education[24]

· Among all clients served by America's Second Harvest Network, 16.8% have some college education or completed a two-year degree[25]

· Among all clients served by America's Second Harvest Network, 5.3% have completed college or beyond[26]

Healthcare

· Families with at least one full-time worker are less likely than middle-income families to have health insurance through an employer[27]

· Nearly 1-in-10 low-income families report putting off medical care for lack of health insurance or money[28]

· The majority of uninsured individuals are low-income adult workers[29]

Ø 40% of adults age 19-34

Ø 40% of adults age 35-64

Ø 20% of children under age 18

· In 2004, almost 70% of the uninsured came from families with one or more full-time workers and 13% from families with part-time workers[30]

Ø 69% of the uninsured have one or more full-time workers

Ø 19% of the uninsured have no member working

Ø 13% of the uninsured have one or more part-time workers

· Thirty-two percent of households served by America's Second Harvest Network had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care[31]

Housing

· In 2003, 4.2 million working families paid more than half of their income for housing[32]

· From 1997 to 2003, the number of low to moderate income working family households with critical housing needs increased from 3 million to 5 million[33]

· Thirty-five percent of households served by America's Second Harvest Network had to choose between paying for food and paying their rent or mortgage[34]

· 19.8% of client households served by America's Second Harvest Network with a place to live were late paying the previous month’s rent or mortgage[35]

· 1.3 million clients served by America's Second Harvest Network do not have a permanent place to live[36]

Childcare[37]

· In 38 states, families with earnings of $18,000 or less each year have to spend 30% or more of their annual income to afford the average price of child care for an infant

· Families in the United States with a 4-year old child face average prices of $3,016 to $9,628 a year in child care fees

· Average yearly child care fees for an infant are higher than the average amount of money that families spend on food

· Average annual fees for child care for one child is higher than the amount of money that families spend on healthcare and clothing combined

· Child care fees for two children regardless of age exceed the average rent cost in 49 states

[1] United States Department of Agriculture. Nord, Mark, M. Andrews, S. Carlson. Household Food Security in the United States, 2006. November 2007.
[2] United States Department of Agriculture. Nord, Mark, M. Andrews, S. Carlson. Household Food Security in the United States, 2006. November 2007.
[3] United States Department of Agriculture. Nord, Mark, M. Andrews, S. Carlson. Household Food Security in the United States, 2006. November 2007.
[4] Cook, John. Child Food Insecurity in the United States: 2003-2005, State-by-State Levels of Child Food Insecurity Averaged for Years 2003-2005. America’s Second Harvest. November 2007.
[5] Urban Institute, Who Are Low-Income Working Families, September 2005.
The Urban Institute defines low-income as income below twice the federal poverty threshold. In 2004, the average poverty threshold for a family of four was $19,307.
[6] America's Second Harvest, Hunger in America 2006.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Ibid.
[9] Ibid.
[10] National Center for Children in Poverty, Most Low-Income Parents Are Employed, May 2006.
The National Center for Children in Poverty defines low-income as twice the federal poverty level.

[11] National Center for Children in Poverty, Most Low-Income Parents Are Employed, May 2006.
[12] Ibid.
[13] Ibid.
[14] Ibid.
[15] America's Second Harvest, Hunger In America 2006.
[16] US Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, A Profile of the Working Poor, 2004.
    In 2004, the average poverty threshold for a family of four was $19,307.
[17] National Center for Children in Poverty, Most Low-Income Parents are Employed, May 2006.
[18] America's Second Harvest, Hunger In America, 2006.
[19] Ibid.
[20] US Department of Labor, US Bureau of Labor Statistics, A Profile of the Working Poor, 2004.
[21] National Center for Children in Poverty. Basic Facts About Low-Income Children: Birth to Age 18, January 2006.
[22] Ibid.
[23] Ibid.
[24] America's Second Harvest, Hunger Study 2006.
[25] Ibid.
[26] Ibid.
[27] Urban Institute, Low-Income Working Families: Facts & Figures, August, 2005.
[28] Ibid.
[29] Henry J. Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, The Uninsured: A Primer.
    Henry J. Kaiser Commission defines low-income as income less than 200% of the poverty level, or $38,614 for a family of     four in 2004.
[30] Ibid.
[31] America's Second Harvest, Hunger In America, 2006.
[32] Center for Housing Policy, The Housing Landscape for America’s Working Families 2005.
[33] Center for Housing Policy, The Housing Landscape for America’s Working Families 2005.
    Low to moderate income working families are defined as families who work the equivalent of a full-time job and earn from the minimum wage of 10,700 and up to 120% of the median income in their area.
[34] America's Second Harvest, Hunger In America, 2006.
[35] Ibid.
[36] Ibid.
[37] National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, Breaking the Piggy Bank, Parents and the High Price of Child Care.