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| Poverty | |
Annual poverty rate --- percent of people who were in poverty in a calendar year.
Annual poverty rates from the Current Population Survey and the decennial census long form are based on income reported at an annual figure.
- In the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), income is reported a few months at a time, several times a year. Therefore, in the SIPP, annual poverty rates are calculated using the sum of family income over the year divided by the sum of poverty thresholds that can change from month to month if one’s family composition changes.
Average monthly poverty --- Average percent of people poor per month in each year of a longitudinal survey panel. See also Longitudinal survey data.
Chronic or long-term poverty --- Percent of people in poverty every month for the duration of a longitudinal survey panel (typically 3 to 4 years). See also Longitudinal survey data.
Cross-sectional survey data --- Data from a survey in which a new group of respondents is sampled for each interview, instead of following the same group of respondents over time. The Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC), the American Community Survey (ACS), and the decennial census long form are cross-sectional surveys. See also Longitudinal survey data.
Entrance rate --- Percent of people who were not in poverty during the first year of a Longitudinal survey. but were in poverty in a subsequent year. Uses an annual poverty measure.
Episodic poverty --- Percent of people who were poor in 2 or more consecutive months in a given time period. Episodic poverty can only be computed using Longitudinal survey data.
Equivalence scale --- the numerical relationship by which poverty thresholds vary for families of different sizes and compositions.
Exit rate --- Percent of people who were in poverty during the first year of a Longitudinal survey but were not in poverty in a subsequent year. Uses an annual poverty measure.
Federal Poverty Level (FPL) --- According to the Department of
Health and Human Services, “The poverty guidelines are sometimes loosely
referred to as the ‘federal poverty level’ (FPL), but that phrase is ambiguous
and should be avoided, especially in situations (e.g., legislative or administrative)
where precision is important.” [http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/05poverty.shtml,
last accessed May 24, 2005.] See also HHS poverty
guidelines.
Gini ratio --- The Gini ratio (or index of income concentration)
is a statistical measure of income equality ranging from 0 to 1. A measure
of 1 indicates perfect inequality; i.e., one person has all the income
and rest have none. A measure of 0 indicates perfect equality; i.e., all
people have equal shares of income. The Census Bureau used grouped data
to compute all Gini ratios. For a more detailed discussion, see Current
Population Reports, Series P-60, No. 123.
Income deficit / income surplus --- Income deficit is the number
of dollars that the income of a family in poverty (or unrelated individual)
falls below its poverty threshold. If income is negative, the deficit
equals the threshold. Income surplus is the difference in dollars between
the income of a family or unrelated individual above the poverty level
and its poverty threshold.
Income surplus --- Income surplus is the difference in dollars
between the income of a family or unrelated individual above the poverty
level and its poverty threshold.
Income-to-poverty ratio --- See Ratio
of income to poverty.
Longitudinal survey data
--- Data from a survey in which the same respondents are interviewed multiple
times, using the same set of questions, over a period of time (a panel).
The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) is a longitudinal
survey. While cross-sectional data have been compared to "snapshots"
in that differences between two cross-sectional estimates are based on
two different samples of people, longitudinal data instead allow the analyst
to observe how the status of the same group of people changes over time--for
instance, by observing the average number of months a person falls below
the poverty level, or by observing the demographic characteristics of people
who enter and leave poverty. In that sense, longitudinal data have
been compared to "videos." See, for instance, Mary Naifeh, "Dynamics
of Economic Well-Being, Poverty, 1993-94: Trap
Door? Revolving Door? Or Both?"
Long-term poverty --- See Chronic
or long-term poverty.
Median income --- Median income is the amount which divides the
income distribution into two equal groups, half having incomes above the
median, half having incomes below the median. The medians for households,
families, and unrelated individuals are based on all households, families,
and unrelated individuals, respectively. The medians for people are based
on people 15 years old and over with income.
Monthly poverty --- See Average
monthly poverty.
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel --- The National Research
Council’s Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance: Concepts, Information
Needs, and Measurement Methods. --- A group of scholars who co-authored
a publication in 1995, Measuring
Poverty: A New Approach (National Academy Press, 1995), that recommended
alternative methods for measuring poverty. The Census Bureau has
conducted research to refine some of the panel's measurement methods and
to examine how its recommendations would affect the number in poverty and
the poverty rate. (For further information see Poverty
Measurement Studies and Alternative Measures.)
Poverty areas --- Poverty areas are census tracts or block numbering
areas (BNA's) where at least 20 percent of residents were below the poverty
level.
Poverty definition --- Following the Office of Management and
Budget's (OMB) Statistical Policy Directive 14, the Census Bureau uses
a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition
to determine who is in poverty. If a family’s total income is less
than the family’s threshold, then that family and every individual in it
is considered in poverty. The official poverty thresholds do not
vary geographically, but they are updated for inflation using Consumer
Price Index (CPI-U). The official poverty definition uses money income
before taxes and does not include capital gains or noncash benefits (such
as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps).
Poverty in the past 12 months --- The American Community
Survey measures poverty in the previous 12 months instead of the previous
calendar year. For more information see ACS
poverty definition.
Poverty rate --- The percentage of people (or families) who are
below poverty.
Poverty spell --- Number of months
in poverty as measured using panel data from a longitudinal
survey (excluding spells underway in the first interview month of the
panel). Miminum spell length is 2 months. Spells are separated
by 2 or more months of not being in poverty. Individuals can have
more than one spell.
Poverty thresholds --- Dollar
amounts the Census Bureau uses to determine a family's or person's poverty
status.
Poverty universe --- Persons for whom the Census Bureau can determine
poverty status (either "in poverty" or "not in poverty"). For some
persons, such as unrelated individuals under age 15, poverty status is
not defined. Since Census Bureau surveys typically ask income questions
to persons age 15 or older, if a child under age 15 is not related by birth,
marriage, or adoption to a reference person within the household, we do
not know the child's income and therefore cannot determine his or her poverty
status. For the decennial censuses and the American Community Survey,
poverty status is also undefined for people living in college dormitories
and in institutional group quarters. People whose poverty status
is undefined are excluded from Census Bureau poverty tabulations.
Thus, the total population in poverty tables--the poverty universe--is
slightly smaller than the overall population.
Ratio of income to poverty --- People and
families are classified as being in poverty if their income is less than
their poverty threshold. If their income is less than half their
poverty threshold, they are below 50% of poverty; less than the threshold
itself, they are in poverty (below 100% of poverty); less than 1.25 times
the threshold, below 125% of poverty, and so on. The greater the ratio
of income to poverty, the more people fall under the category, because
higher ratios include more people with higher incomes.
Relative poverty thresholds --- See Absolute
poverty thresholds vs. relative poverty thresholds.
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates --- The Small Area Income
and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE)
program produces estimates of income and poverty for states and counties,
and population and poverty for school districts. The estimates are provided
for the administration of federal programs and the allocation of federal
funds to local jurisdictions.
Spells of poverty --- see poverty
spell.
Standard error --- A measure of an estimate's variability.
The greater the standard error in relation to the size of the estimate,
the less reliable the estimate.
Threshold --- See poverty
threshold.
Unrelated individual --- Unrelated individuals are people of
any age who are not members of families or subfamilies.
Working poor --- The Census Bureau does not use the term "working
poor." The "working poor" may mean different things to different
data users, based on the question they are trying to answer, such as:
-People who worked, but who, nevertheless, fell under the official definition
of poverty. See table POV22 of our Detailed Poverty Tables.
Table POV22
focuses on workers versus non-workers, age 16 and over.
-People who were in poverty and had at least one working family member.
See table POV10 of our Detailed Poverty Tables. Table POV10
includes the children and other family members of workers (such as stay-at-home
parents, retired family members, and others).
-People who may not necessarily be "in poverty" according to the official
measure of poverty, but who fall below some percentage of the poverty level
(for instance, 200 percent of poverty).
-"Below 100% of poverty" is the same as "in poverty."
-"Below 200% of poverty" includes all those described as "in poverty"
under the official definition, plus some people who have income above poverty
but less than 2 times their poverty threshold.-Percentages of the poverty level are referred to as "Ratio of income
to poverty"" in our Detailed Poverty Tables.
