Supplemental Poverty Measure2013
Kathleen S. ShortApril 13, 2015
Thanks are extended to the many individuals who assisted in the research on developing the first supplemental poverty measure for the U.S. The views expressed in this research, including those related to statistical, methodological, technical, or operational issues, are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official positions or policies of the Census Bureau, or the views of other staff members. The author accepts responsibility for all errors. This paper is released to inform
interested parties of ongoing research and to encourage discussion of work in progress. This paper reports the results of research and analysis undertaken by Census Bureau staff. It has undergone more limited review than official publications.
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Official Poverty Measure
•Released September 16, 2014•First adopted in 1969•Continues under OMB Statistical Directive 14•The 2013 official poverty rate for the nation was 14.5 percent, down from 15.0 percent in 2012. •There were 45.3 million people in poverty, not statistically different from last year.
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Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM)
Observations from the Interagency Technical Working Group - 2010•Will not replace the official poverty measure•Will not be used for resource allocation or program eligibility•Census Bureau and BLS responsible for improving and updating the measure•Continued research and improvement•Based on National Academy of Sciences expert panel recommendations Measuring Poverty: A New Approach (Citro and Michael, 1995)
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2009 2010 2011 2012 2013$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
Official and SPM Thresholds 2009 to 2012
Official SPM Owners with mortgages SPM Owners without mortgages SPM Renters
Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Expenditure Survey, 2006 to 2014
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Owner with Mortgage Owner without a Mortgage Renter$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$25,639
$21,397$25,144
$27,600
$22,716
$27,029
2013 SPM Poverty Thresholds
NationalSacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area
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Owner with Mortgage Owner without a Mortgage Renter$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$25,639
$21,397
$25,144
$35,649
$28,133
$34,767
2013 SPM Poverty Thresholds
NationalSan Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area
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Owner with Mortgage Owner without a Mortgage Renter$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$25,639
$21,397$25,144$25,860
$21,546
$25,357
2013 SPM Poverty Thresholds
National CALIFORNIA Nonmetro
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Owner with Mortgage Owner without a Mortgage Renter$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$25,639
$21,397$25,144$24,799
$20,832$24,336
2013 SPM Poverty Thresholds
National CALIFORNIA Metro
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SNAP School lunch
WIC Housing subsidy/cap
LIHEAP Ref. tax credits
+/- Taxes be-fore credits
FICA Work ex-penses
Childcare MOOP Child sup-port paid
$billions 38.5 11 2.8 23 1.7 58.6 NaN -846 -523.4 -240.2 -45.4 -530.9 -18.1
-900.0
-700.0
-500.0
-300.0
-100.0
100.0
Additions and Subtractions from OPM to SPM: 2013
**Includes unrelated individuals under the age of 15.Source: Current Population Survey, 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
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SNAP School lunch
WIC Housing subsidy/cap
LIHEAP Ref. tax cred-its
+/- Taxes be-fore credits
FICA Work ex-penses
Childcare MOOP Child sup-port paid
$billions 25.2 4.2 1.2 17.3 0.9 21 NaN -5.1 -10.7 -13.8 -1.7 -32.8 -1.3
-35.0
-25.0
-15.0
-5.0
5.0
15.0
25.0
Additions and Subtractions from OPM to SPM of Official Poor: 2013
**Includes unrelated individuals under the age of 15.Source: Current Population Survey, 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
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Poverty Rates 2013 For most groups, SPM rates are higher than official poverty rates The SPM shows lower poverty rates for
Children Individuals included in new SPM resource units Blacks Renters Individuals living outside metropolitan areas Individuals covered by only public health insurance Those with a work disability
Official and SPM poverty rates for females, people in female householder units, the native born, and those living in the South or Midwest, and those not working at least one week are not statistically different.
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Official** SPM0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
9.34.4
11.012.0
12.1 21.5
10.4
16.7
29.1
33.2
28.0
12.2
Distribution of children by ratio of income to poverty threshold: 2013
4.0 or more2.0 to 3.991.5 to 1.991.0 to 1.490.5 to 1.0less than .5
** Includes unrelated indiviuals under age 15.Source: Current Population Survey, 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
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Official** SPM0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
2.7 4.86.8
9.8
11.5
17.212.1
13.3
33.0
33.9
33.8
20.9
Distribution of people over age 64 by ratio of income to poverty thresholds: 2012
4.0 or more2.0 to 3.991.5 to 1.991.0 to 1.490.5 to 1.0less than .5
**Includes unrelated individuals under the age of 15.Source: Current Population Survey, 2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
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SPM: 2012 to 2013
In 2013 the SPM rate was 15.5 percent, an 0.5 percentage point decline from 2012
The number poor was 48.7 million , unchanged from 2012 Between the two years, poverty rates were not different for most groups except
for --- Increases for
Those with private health insurance Decreases for
Children Those in married-couple families Hispanics Foreign born and non-citizens Renters Residing in principal cities or in the Northeast Those with public health insurance only and the uninsured
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Interagency Technical Working Group on Developing
a Supplemental Poverty Measure (ITWG)
The ITWG laid out a research agenda
As with any statistic regularly published by a Federal statistical agency, the Working Group expects that changes in this measure over time will be decided upon in a process led by research methodologists and statisticians within the Census Bureau in consultation with BLS and with other appropriate data agencies and outside experts, and will be based on solid analytical evidence.
Among the elements designated by the ITWG for further development were methods to
include noncash benefits in the thresholds improving geographic adjustments for price differences across areas improving methods to estimate work-related expenses (commuting costs) evaluating methods for subtracting MOOP expenses having to do with the
uninsured