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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Supplemental Poverty Measure

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  • Alternative poverty rate declines to 15.5% from 16%, By Neil Shah, October 16, 2014, Wall Street Journal: “Poverty in America declined in 2013 from the year before, according to an alternative measure released by the Census Bureau on Thursday that many economists consider more comprehensive than the nation’s official rate. According to this ‘supplemental’ measure, the poverty rate dropped from 16% to 15.5%. However, roughly 48.7 million people were still below the poverty line in 2013—not statistically different from 2012, Census said. The drop echoes the recent fall in the official poverty rate, reported in September. That rate dropped from 15% to 14.5%, thanks entirely to reduced poverty among Hispanics…”
  • Census Bureau: California still has highest U.S. poverty rate, By Dan Walters, October 16, 2014, Sacramento Bee: “California continues to have – by far – the nation’s highest level of poverty under an alternative method devised by the Census Bureau that takes into account both broader measures of income and the cost of living. Nearly a quarter of the state’s 38 million residents (8.9 million) live in poverty, a new Census Bureau report says, a level virtually unchanged since the agency first began reporting on the method’s effects…”
  • Is poverty in Mass. worse than we thought?, By Evan Horowitz, October 16, 2014, Boston Globe: “The real poverty rate in Massachusetts may be higher than we thought, according to a new and improved poverty assessment released this morning by the Census Bureau. Whereas the so-called ‘official’ rate puts state poverty at 11.5 percent, the new more comprehensive measure suggests that actually 1 of every 7 people in Massachusetts lives in poverty, or 13.8 percent…”
  • Over 48 million Americans live in poverty, By Patrick Gillespie, October 16, 2014, CNN Money: “Over 48 million Americans live in poverty, according to a special report by the Census Bureau Thursday. It provides an alternative look at the worst off people in the nation than the official numbers that come out in September. Government programs such as food stamps do help some people, especially children, but even so 16% of American children are living in poverty, according to the supplemental report…”