Table 1
Poverty among Individuals by the
Official Poverty Measure, 2008

Characteristic

No.
(in 000)

Poverty
Rate (%)

All

 39,829 13.2

Age
   Under 18 14,068 19.0
   18–64 22,105 11.7
   65 and over 3,656 9.7

Race/Ethnicity*
   White, not Hispanic 17,027 8.6
   Black alone or in combination 9,379 24.7
   Hispanic origin+ 10,987 23.2
   Asian alone or in combination* 1,576 11.8

Region of Residence
   Northeast  6,295 11.6
   Midwest 8,120 12.4
   South 15,862 14.3
   West 9,552 13.5

 

*Federal surveys now allow respondents to report more than one race, which makes possible two basic ways of defining a race group. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who reported Asian and no other race (the single-race concept) or those who reported Asian regardless of whether they also reported another race (the race-alone-or-in-combination concept). This table shows data using the race-alone approach, though the Census Bureau notes, "The use of the single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches."

+Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Source: U.S. Census, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008, P60-236.