Volume 13, No.3, July 2002

Children in Poverty: 2000 Census Data

The highest proportion of persons living below the poverty line is children under age 18 (Chart 1). Although the proportion of children below the poverty line decreased from 1990 to 2000, more than 15 percent of Missouri's children in 1999 were living in homes with an income below the poverty line. That is a much higher proportion than either adults or senior citizens (Table 1).

Chart 1

Table 1

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Poverty rates vary greatly among children depending on their living arrangements. Children in families headed by a single mother are the most vulnerable. A third of Missouri mother-only families with children under age 18 and almost half of mother-only families with children under age 5 live in poverty. At the same time, while mother-only families with preschool children are the most likely to live in poverty, these families experienced the greatest improvement during the 1990s. The rate declined from 58.2 percent to 46.6 percent.

What is the Federal Poverty Level?

Families and unrelated individuals are classified as being above or below the poverty level using the poverty index originated at the Social Security Administration in 1964 and revised by Federal Interagency Committees in 1969 and 1980. The poverty index is based solely on money income and does not reflect noncash benefits such as food stamps, Medicaid, public housing, etc. received by many low-income households. Whether the income of a family or household is above or below the poverty level depends on income and the number of persons in the household. The poverty thresholds are updated every year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index.

The 2000 Census of Population reports the number of households, families and persons whose income was below the poverty level in 1999 - the income year reported in the 2000 Census. In 2000, the poverty threshold for a family of two adults and two children was $17,463.

For the 2000 Census, poverty status was determined for 97.5 percent of Missouri children under 18. The remaining 36,311 (2.5 percent) were either 15-17 year olds who were not living with relatives, or "unrelated" children under 15 such as foster children and children living in group quarters. Although a small percentage, these children are our most vulnerable.

Variations in Child Poverty Rates

Although 15.3 percent of Missouri children were living in households having an income below the poverty line in 2000 the percentage of poor children ranged from a low of 4.9 percent in St. Charles County to a high of 43.2 percent in Pemiscot. Maps 1 and 2 show that counties in the southeast Ozarks and Bootheel regions continue to have the highest child poverty rates in the state.

Map 1 click map for larger version

Map 2 click map for larger version

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Related Articles

• Missouri Children and Youth (Under Age 18) Living in Households with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline, 1990-2000
• American Attitudes About Poverty and the Poor
• Poverty Rates Vary Widely Across the United States