The U.S. Census Bureau released Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: 2017 on December 3. These data provide annual estimates of income and poverty for all U.S. counties and school districts. The Estimates show that U.S. counties have vast disparities of poverty rates, and most have the same or worse poverty rates than they did ten years ago. The Census Bureau provides an interactive map and data access options so users can further explore the Bureau’s findings.
The poverty rate for U.S. counties ranges from 3.0% to 56.7%. Between 2016 and 2017, the poverty rate decreased in 6.5% of counties (205) and increased in 1.7% of counties (52). Comparing 2017 to 2007, 7.5% of counties (237) have had increases in their poverty rates and 3.2% (100) have had decreases. Meanwhile, 89.3% of counties (2,804) have had no statistically significant change in their poverty rates from ten years ago.
Median household incomes by U.S. county range from $22,679 to $136,191. Since 2007, the year before the Great Recession, median household incomes have increased in 11.2% of counties (352) and declined in 7.5% (237). More than eighty-one percent of counties had no statistically significant change in median household incomes from 2007.
Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: 2017 is available at: https://bit.ly/2RvauHi
An interactive map of poverty rates, median incomes, and other data access options are available at: https://bit.ly/2DWm5LE