How is poverty status related to age? Official data for age groups
In 2014, the nation’s official poverty rate was 15%. The
poverty rates by age groups ranged from 10% to 21%.
Poverty rates by age were:
21% of people under age 18
14% of people 18 to 64 years of age
10% of people 65 years of age and over
The Census Bureau also provides information on how the
poverty rate by age has changed over time (PDF).
Another way to think about the relationship between poverty and
age is to look at how the age distribution of people in poverty
compares to that of the population as a whole.
By that measure, in 2014 children comprise a greater share
of the population in poverty than their share of the general
population; while other age groups are underrepresented.
Source:
DeNavas-Walt, Carmen, and Bernadette D. Proctor,
Income and Poverty in the United States: 2014. U.S. Census
Bureau. Current Population Reports P60-252, U.S. Government
Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2015. (PDF)
Accessed 10/14/2015
The official poverty statistics, which have been in use since the
1960s, calculate poverty status by comparing a family’s or
an individual’s cash income to their poverty threshold.
