Meigs 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* 22,665 100.00% 22,768 100.00%
In Poverty 5,895 26.01% 4,506 19.79%
Not in Poverty 16,770 73.99% 18,262 80.21%
11 Years and Under 3,909 17.25% 3,288 14.44%
In Poverty 1,544 6.81% 885 3.89%
Not in Poverty 2,365 10.43% 2,403 10.55%
12 to 17 Years 2,190 9.66% 2,131 9.36%
In Poverty 589 2.60% 558 2.45%
Not in Poverty 1,601 7.06% 1,573 6.91%
18 to 64 Years 13,322 58.78% 14,132 62.07%
In Poverty 3,102 13.69% 2,595 11.40%
Not in Poverty 10,220 45.09% 11,537 50.67%
65 Years and Above 3,244 14.31% 3,217 14.13%
In Poverty 660 2.91% 468 2.06%
Not in Poverty 2,584 11.40% 2,749 12.07%

* 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