Income and Poverty in the United States: 2018

Statistics included within this updated report have been developed from prior Current Population Surveys (CPS) and Annual Social and Economic Supplements (ASEC) carried out by the Census Bureau.

There are two key sections to the report; one on devoted to income, including household income, and wages/earnings, and the other dedicated to on poverty.

The report extensively uses charts and graphs to clearly define the highly segmented statistical findings which provides users an in-depth profile of how the nation is faring from the point of income and poverty as of 2018.

INTRODUCTION 1

Summary of Findings 1

INCOME IN THE UNITED STATES 1

Highlights 1

Household Income 3

Caution for Historical Comparisons 3

Type of Household 4

Race and Hispanic Origin 4

Age of Householder  4

Nativity 5

Region 6

Residence 6

Income Inequality  6

Equivalence-Adjusted Income Inequality  8

Earnings and Work Experience 9

POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES 12

Highlights 12

Race and Hispanic Origin 15

Sex 15

Age15

Nativity 16

Region 16

Residence 17

Work Experience 17

Disability Status 17

Educational Attainment 17

Families 17

Shared Households 18

Depth of Poverty 18

Ratio of Income to Poverty 18

Income Deficit 19

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON INCOME AND POVERTY 19

State and Local Estimates of Income and Poverty 19

Longitudinal Estimates 20

The Supplemental Poverty Measure.20

Interagency Technical Working Group on Evaluating Alternative Measures of Poverty 21

SOURCE AND ACCURACY OF THE ESTIMATES 21

FIGURES

Figure 1. Median Household Income and Percent Change by Selected Characteristics 2

Figure 2. Real Median Household Income by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1967 to 2018 5

Figure 3. Income Distribution Measures and Percent Change Using Money Income and Equivalence-Adjusted Income 7

Figure 4. Median Earnings and Percent Change by Selected Characteristics  9

Figure 5. Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio and Median Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers 15 Years and Older by Sex: 1960 to 2018 10

Figure 6. Total and Full-Time, Year-Round Workers With Earnings by Sex: 1967 to 2018 11

Figure 7. Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2018 12

Figure 8. Poverty Rate and Percentage Point Change by Selected Characteristics: People 13

Figure 9. Poverty Rate and Percentage Point Change by Type of Family Families and People 14

Figure 10. Poverty Rates by Age and Sex 15

Figure 11. Poverty Rates by Age: 1959 to 2018 16

Figure 12. Demographic Makeup of the Population at Varying Degrees of Poverty: 2018 19

APPENDIXES Appendix A. Estimates of Income  23

How Income Is Measured  23

Business Cycles 23

Annual Average Consumer Price Index Research Series (CPI-U-RS) Using Current Methods All Items: 1947 to 2018  24

Cost-of-Living Adjustment  24

Poverty Threshold Adjustment 24

Appendix B. Estimates of Poverty 49

How Poverty Is Calculated 49

Poverty Thresholds for 2018 by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years 49

Weighted Average Poverty Thresholds in 2018 by Size of Family 49

Appendix C. Replicate Weights  69

References 69

Appendix D. Comparison of 2017 Income and Poverty Estimates using the Legacy and Updated Processing Systems 71

Income 72

Poverty 72

Appendix E. Additional Data and Contacts 77

Customized Tables  77

New Data Platform 77

Public Use Microdata. 77

CPS ASEC 77

Taxes and Noncash Benefits 77

Census Data API 77

Topcoding 77

Comments  77

APPENDIX TABLES

Table A-1. Income Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2017 and 2018  25

Table A-2. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2018 26

Table A-3. Income Distribution Measures Using Money Income and Equivalence-Adjusted Income: 2017 and 2018 34

Table A-4. Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2018 35

Table A-5. Selected Measures of Equivalence-Adjusted Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2018 41

Table A-6. Earnings Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2017 and 2018 45

Table A-7. Number and Real Median Earnings of Total Workers and Full-Time, Year-Round Workers by Sex and Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio: 1960 to 2018 46

Table B-1. People in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 2017 and 2018  50

Table B-2. Families and People in Poverty by Type of Family: 2017 and 2018  51

Table B-3. People With Income Below Specified Ratios of Their Poverty Thresholds by Selected Characteristics: 2018  52

Table B-4. Income Deficit or Surplus of Families and Unrelated Individuals by Poverty Status: 2018 53

Table B-5. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2018 54

Table B-6. Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2018 62

Table B-7. Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: 1959 to 2018.  67

Table D-1. Income Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2017 Legacy and Updated Processing Systems 73

Table D-2. Income Distribution Measures Using Money Income and Equivalence-Adjusted Income: 2017 Legacy and Updated Processing Systems 74

Table D-3. Earnings Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2017 Legacy and Updated Processing Systems  75

Table D-4. People in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 2017 Legacy and Updated Processing Systems 76

A valuable resource for policymakers and researchers in government and in the private sector.  Economic policymakers, government workers and contractors, advocates for the less fortunate and minority communities, political candidates, businesses and organizations concerned with statistics related to the income and poverty realities will find this publication essential. Instructors of economics, political science students and professors studying economic demographics will may also find this publication helpful to their research