Nueces 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* 286,131 100.00% 308,352 100.00%
In Poverty 59,528 20.80% 56,097 18.19%
Not in Poverty 226,603 79.20% 252,255 81.81%
11 Years and Under 58,807 20.55% 57,223 18.56%
In Poverty 17,102 5.98% 14,779 4.79%
Not in Poverty 41,705 14.58% 42,444 13.76%
12 to 17 Years 28,385 9.92% 30,075 9.75%
In Poverty 7,369 2.58% 6,633 2.15%
Not in Poverty 21,016 7.34% 23,442 7.60%
18 to 64 Years 171,220 59.84% 187,411 60.78%
In Poverty 29,455 10.29% 29,370 9.52%
Not in Poverty 141,765 49.55% 158,041 51.25%
65 Years and Above 27,719 9.69% 33,643 10.91%
In Poverty 5,602 1.96% 5,315 1.72%
Not in Poverty 22,117 7.73% 28,328 9.19%

* 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