Alexander County

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors, including income and family size and structure. For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a “poor” family’s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000
1990 2000
Number Percent Number Percent
Total Population* 10,529 100.00% 9,008 100.00%
In Poverty 3,395 32.24% 2,352 26.11%
Not in Poverty 7,134 67.76% 6,656 73.89%
11 Years and Under 1,985 18.85% 1,491 16.55%
In Poverty 1,031 9.79% 566 6.28%
Not in Poverty 954 9.06% 925 10.27%
12 to 17 Years 1,070 10.16% 964 10.70%
In Poverty 369 3.50% 394 4.37%
Not in Poverty 701 6.66% 570 6.33%
18 to 64 Years 5,609 53.27% 5,024 55.77%
In Poverty 1,477 14.03% 1,165 12.93%
Not in Poverty 4,132 39.24% 3,859 42.84%
65 Years and Above 1,865 17.71% 1,529 16.97%
In Poverty 518 4.92% 227 2.52%
Not in Poverty 1,347 12.79% 1,302 14.45%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.

Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).

Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy