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

US Census: Income, Poverty and Health Insurance, 2010

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  • U.S. Poverty rate, at 15 percent, is the highest since 1993, By Sabrina Tavernise, New York Times: “The percentage of Americans living in poverty last year rose to the highest level since 1993, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday, fresh evidence that the disappointing economic recovery has done nothing for the country’s poorest citizens. Another 2.6 million people slipped below the poverty line in 2010, meaning 46.2 million people now live in poverty in the United States, the highest number in the 52 years the Census Bureau has been tracking it, said Trudi Renwick, chief of the Poverty Statistic Branch at the Census Bureau. That figure represented 15.1 percent of the population, up from 14.3 percent in 2009, and 11.7 percent at the beginning of the decade in 2001. The poverty line in 2010 for a family of four was $22,113…”
  • U.S. poverty rate reaches 15.1 percent, By Michael A. Fletcher, September 13, 2011, Washington Post: “The nation’s poverty rate spiked to 15.1 percent in 2010, the highest level since 1993, the Census Bureau reported on Tuesday, providing vivid new evidence about the country’s inability to escape the lingering effects of the recession. About 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty last year, marking an increase of 2.6 million over 2009 and the fourth consecutive annual increase in poverty…”
  • U.S. Poverty rate up, household income down, By Arlette Saenz, September 13, 2011, ABC News: “An estimated 46.2 million Americans lived in poverty last year, or 15.1 percent, the highest rate since 1993, new data from the Census Bureau released today showed. Median household income declined at the same time and the number of people without health insurance coverage rose, highlighting the consequences of the recent recession…”
  • Household income falls, poverty rate rises, By Conor Dougherty, September 13, 2011, Wall Street Journal: “The income of the average American worker-long the envy of much of the world-has dropped for the third year in a row and is now roughly where it was in 1996, adjusted for inflation. The U.S. poverty rate, meanwhile, has continued to rise. America’s median household income-what the statistical middle of the pack earns in a year-fell 2.3% to $49,445, adjusted for inflation, according to the Census Bureau’s annual snapshot of living standards. The figure has fallen each year since 2007 as high unemployment and a tougher job market has made it harder for working Americans to get bigger paychecks…”
  • Nearly 1 in 6 Americans in poverty, Census says, By Hope Yen (AP), September 13, 2011, Houston Chronicle: “The ranks of the nation’s poor have swelled to a record 46.2 million – nearly 1 in 6 Americans – as the prolonged pain of the recession leaves millions still struggling and out of work. And the number without health insurance has reached 49.9 million, the most in over two decades. The figures are in a Census Bureau report, released Tuesday, that offers a somber snapshot of the economic well-being of U.S. households for last year when joblessness hovered above 9 percent for a second year. The rate is still 9.1 percent at the start of an election year that’s sure to focus on the economy and President Barack Obama’s stewardship of it…”
  • Poverty rate rises in America, By Annalyn Censky, September 13, 2011, CNNMoney.com: “Amid a still struggling economy, more people in America fell below the poverty line last year, according to new census data released Tuesday. The nation’s poverty rate rose to 15.1% in 2010, its highest level since 1993. In 2009, 14.3% of people in America were living in poverty…”
  • No change in number of uninsured Americans, By Kirsten Stewart, September 13, 2011, Salt Lake Tribune: “The rate of Americans without health insurance held firm last year, propped up by stubbornly high unemployment. From 2009 to 2010 there was no statistically significant change in the number of Americans without coverage, which rose from 49 million to 49.9 million, new census figures show. That’s 16.3 percent, or one out of every five U.S. citizens…”