Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in The United States: 2008

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Census Bureau
announced today that real median household income in the United States fell
3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303. This breaks a
string of three years of annual income increases and coincides with the
recession that started in December 2007.

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The nation's official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent, up from 12.5
percent in 2007. There were 39.8 million people in poverty in 2008, up from
37.3 million in 2007.

Meanwhile, the number of people without health insurance coverage rose from
45.7 million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008, while the percentage remained
unchanged at 15.4 percent.

These findings are contained in the report Income, Poverty, and Health
Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008. The following results for the
nation were compiled from information collected in the 2009 Current Population
Survey (CPS) Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC):

Income
Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to people reporting a single race
only. Hispanics can be of any race.)
* Between 2007 and 2008, the real median income of non-Hispanic white
households declined 2.6 percent (to $55,530); for blacks, it declined 2.8
percent (to $34,218); for Asians, it declined 4.4 percent (to $65,637); and
for Hispanics, it declined 5.6 percent (to $37,913). Except for the difference
between the declines for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic households, all other
differences between the declines were not statistically significant.
Regions
* Between 2007 and 2008, real median household income declined in the South by
4.9 percent (to $45,590), declined in the Midwest by 4.0 percent (to
$50,112) and declined in the West by 2.0 percent (to $55,085). Income in the
Northeast was statistically unchanged ($54,346). The apparent differences in
the declines in median household income between the South and Midwest, and the
Midwest and West were not statistically significant. The apparent difference
between the median household incomes for the West and Northeast was not
statistically significant.

Nativity
* Native- and foreign-born households, including those maintained by a
naturalized citizen, had declines in real median income between 2007 and 2008.
Income was statistically unchanged for households maintained by a noncitizen.
The decline for native-born households was 3.5 percent; the decline for
foreign-born households was 5.3 percent; and the decline for those maintained
by a naturalized citizen was 4.8 percent. The apparent differences among the
declines in median income for native-born, foreign-born and naturalized
citizen households were not statistically significant.

Earnings
* In 2008, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round was 77
percent of that for corresponding men, not statistically different from the
2007 ratio.
* The real median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round declined by
1.0 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $46,846 to $46,367. For women, the
corresponding drop was 1.9 percent, from $36,451 to $35,745.

Income Inequality
* Income inequality was statistically unchanged between 2007 and 2008, as
measured by shares of aggregate household income by quintiles and the Gini
index. The Gini index was 0.466 in 2008. (The Gini index is a measure of
household income inequality; 0 represents perfect income equality and 1
perfect inequality.)

Poverty

Overview
* The increase in the poverty rate between 2007 and 2008 was the first
statistically significant annual increase since 2004. The 2008 poverty rate
(13.2 percent) was the highest since 1997.
* In 2008, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were
10.3 percent and 8.1 million, respectively, up from 9.8 percent and 7.6
million in 2007.
* For married-couple families, both the poverty rate and the number in poverty
increased -- 5.5 percent (3.3 million) in 2008, up from 4.9 percent (2.8
million) in 2007. Both measures, however, showed no statistical change in 2008
for female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (28.7 percent and 4.2
million) and for male-householder-no wife-present families (13.8 percent and
723,000).

Thresholds
* As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation
using the Consumer Price Index, the weighted average poverty threshold for a
family of four in 2008 was $22,025; for a family of three, $17,163; for a
family of two, $14,051; and for unrelated individuals, $10,991.

Race and Hispanic Origin(Race data refer to people reporting a single race
only. Hispanics can be of any race.)
* In 2008, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic whites (8.6 percent in
2008, up from 8.2 percent in 2007), Asians (11.8 percent in 2008, up from 10.2
percent in 2007) and Hispanics (23.2 percent in 2008, up from 21.5 percent in
2007). The poverty rate in 2008 was statistically unchanged for blacks (24.7
percent).

Age
* The poverty rate increased for children younger than 18 (19.0 percent in
2008, up from 18.0 percent in 2007) and people 18 to 64 (11.7 percent in 2008,
up from 10.9 percent in 2007), while it remained statistically unchanged for
people 65 and older (9.7 percent).
* Similar to the patterns observed for the poverty rate in 2008, the number of
people in poverty increased for children younger than 18 (14.1 million in
2008, up from 13.3 million in 2007) and people 18 to 64 (22.1 million in 2008,
up from 20.4 million in 2007) but remained statistically unchanged for seniors
65 and older (3.7 million).

Nativity
* Among the native-born population, 12.6 percent (33.3 million) were in
poverty in 2008, up from 11.9 percent (31.1 million) in 2007.
* Among the foreign-born population, the poverty rate and the number in
poverty increased to 17.8 percent and 6.5 million in 2008, up from 16.5
percent and 6.2 million, respectively, in 2007. The poverty rate in 2008 for
naturalized citizens, 10.2 percent, was statistically unchanged from 2007,
while the poverty rate for those who were not U.S. citizens rose to 23.3
percent in 2008, up from 21.3 percent in 2007.

Regions
* The Midwest and West experienced increases in both their poverty rate and
the number in poverty. The Midwest poverty rate increased to 12.4 percent (8.1
million) in 2008, up from 11.1 percent (7.2 million) in 2007, and the West
poverty rate increased to 13.5 percent (9.6 million) in 2008, up from 12.0
percent (8.4 million) in 2007. The poverty rates for the Northeast (11.6
percent) and the South (14.3 percent) were both statistically unchanged.

Health Insurance Coverage

Overview
* The number of people with health insurance increased from 253.4 million in
2007 to 255.1 million in 2008.
* The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 45.7
million in 2007 to 46.3 million in 2008.
* Between 2007 and 2008, the number of people covered by private health
insurance decreased from 202.0 million to 201.0 million, while the number
covered by government health insurance climbed from 83.0 million to 87.4
million. The number covered by employment-based health insurance declined from
177.4 million to 176.3 million.
* The number of uninsured children declined from 8.1 million (11.0 percent) in
2007 to 7.3 million (9.9 percent) in 2008. Both the uninsured rate and number
of uninsured children are the lowest since 1987, the first year that
comparable health insurance data were collected.
* Although the uninsured rate for children in poverty declined from 17.6
percent in 2007 to 15.7 percent in 2008, children in poverty were more likely
to be uninsured than all children.

Race and Hispanic Origin (Race data refer to those reporting a single race
only. Hispanics can be of any race.)
* The uninsured rate and number of uninsured for non-Hispanic whites increased
in 2008 to 10.8 percent and 21.3 million, from 10.4 percent and 20.5 million
in 2007. The uninsured rate and number of uninsured for blacks in 2008,
meanwhile, were not statistically different from 2007, at 19.1 percent and 7.3
million. The uninsured rate for Asians in 2008 rose to 17.6 percent, up from
16.8 percent.
* The percentage of uninsured Hispanics decreased to 30.7 percent in 2008,
from 32.1 percent in 2007. The number of uninsured Hispanics was not
statistically different in 2008, at 14.6 million.
* Based on a three-year average (2006-2008), 31.7 percent of people who
reported American Indian and Alaska Native as their race were without
coverage. The three-year average uninsured rate for Native Hawaiians and Other
Pacific Islanders was 18.5 percent.

Nativity

* The uninsured rates for the native-born and foreign-born populations were
statistically unchanged at 12.9 percent and 33.5 percent, respectively, in
2008. Among the foreign-born population, the uninsured rates for both
naturalized citizens (18.0 percent) and noncitizens (44.7 percent) were
statistically unchanged.

Regions

* At 11.6 percent, the Northeast and the Midwest had lower uninsured rates in
2008 than the West (17.4 percent) and the South (18.2 percent). The 2008 rates
for the Northeast, Midwest and South were not statistically different from
their respective 2007 rates. The uninsured rate for the West increased to 17.4
percent in 2008, up from 16.9 percent in 2007.

The CPS ASEC is subject to sampling and nonsampling errors. All comparisons
made in the report have been tested and found to be statistically significant
at the 90 percent confidence level, unless otherwise noted.

For additional information on the source of the data and accuracy of the
estimates for the CPS, visit .

Public Information Office
301-763-3030/763-3691
301-763-3762 (fax)
e-mail: pio@census.gov

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

U.S. Census Bureau Public Information Office, +1-301-763-3030,
+1-301-763-3691, +1-301-763-3762 (fax), pio@census.gov