At the close of the 20th century, 

12.4 percent of the U.S. population, or

33.9 million people, reported 1999 family incomes that were below the poverty

thresholds, down from 13.1 percent in

1989.1 The incidence of poverty varied

considerably across regions, states,

counties, and cities, and some groups

experienced higher rates of poverty than

others.

This report, which exhibits data on the

poverty population, is part of a series that

presents population and housing data collected by Census 2000.2 It describes population distributions for the United States,

including characteristics of regions,

states, counties, and places

with populations of 100,000

or more. A description of

how the Census Bureau

measures poverty may be

found on page 2 and the

poverty thresholds used are

in Table 1.

Declines in poverty between

1989 and 1999 were registered for most of the age groups shown

in Figure 1 and Table 2. The poverty rate

for children ( those under 18) declined

by 1.7 percentage points, from 18.3 percent in 1989 to 16.6 percent in 1999. 

Despite declines, the child poverty rate

in 1999 still surpassed rates for adult

age groups. In 1999, for example, the

poverty rate for people 18 to 64 was

11.1 percent, and the poverty rate for

people 65 to 74 and those 75 and over

were 8.5 percent and 11.5 percent,

respectively. Notably, people 18 to 64

experienced an increase in poverty over

the decade.

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S.Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Issued May 2003

C2KBR-19

Poverty: 1999

Census 2000 Brief

By 

Alemayehu Bishaw

and

John Iceland

1 The estimates in this report are

based on responses from a sample

of the population. As with all surveys, estimates may vary from the

actual values because of sampling

variation or other factors. All statements made in this report have

undergone statistical testing and are

significant at the 90-percent confidence level unless otherwise noted. 2 The text of this report discusses data for the United States, including the 50 states and the District of

Columbia. Data for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico are shown in

Table 3 and Figure 3.

Figure 1.

Poverty Rates by Age: 1989 and 1999 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

(For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

All people Under 18 18 to 64 65 to 74 75 and over

1989

1999

12.4

16.6

11.1

8.5

11.5

13.1

18.3

11.0 10.4

16.5
2 U.S. Census Bureau

How poverty is measured.

Poverty statistics presented in

census publications use thresholds prescribed for federal agencies by Statistical Policy Directive

14, issued by the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB).

The original poverty measure was

developed in the Social Security

Administration during 1963-1964.

It was adopted by the Council of

Economic Advisors, and the OMB

subsequently revised it slightly in

1969 and 1981.

The data on poverty status were

derived in part from Census 2000

long form questionnaire items 31

and 32, which provide information

on the amount of income people

receive from various sources.

Poverty status was determined for

everyone except those in institutions, military group quarters, or

college dormitories, and unrelated

individuals under 15 years old.

The current official poverty measure has two components—poverty

thresholds (income levels) and the

family income that is compared

with these thresholds. The official

definition uses 48 thresholds that

take into account family size (from

one person to nine or more) and

the presence and number of family

members under 18 years old (from

no children present to eight or

more children present).

Furthermore, unrelated individuals

and two-person families are differentiated by the age of the reference person (under 65 or 65 and

over). The poverty thresholds are

not adjusted for regional, state, or

local variation in the cost of living.

The dollar amounts of the poverty

thresholds used in this report are

shown in Table 1.

Family income then determines

who is poor. If a family’s total

income is less than the threshold

for the family’s size and composition, the family and everyone in it

are considered poor. If a person is

not living with anyone related by

birth, marriage, or adoption, the

person’s own income is compared

with his or her poverty threshold

as an “unrelated individual.” For

example, the 1999 poverty

threshold for a 3-person family

with one member under age 18

was $13,410. If the total family

income for 1999 was greater than

this threshold, then the family

and all members of the family

were considered to be above the

poverty level. 

The total number of people below

the poverty level is the sum of the

number of people in poor families

and the number of unrelated individuals with incomes below the

poverty threshold. Census 2000

asked people about their income in

the previous calendar year. Poverty

estimates in this report compare

family income in 1999 with the

corresponding 1999 poverty

thresholds.

Table 1.

Poverty Thresholds (Annual Dollar Amounts) by Size of Family and Number

of Related Children Under 18 Years Old: 1999

Size of family unit Weighted

average

threshold

Related children under 18 years

None One Two Three Four Five Six Seven

Eight

or

more

One person (unrelated

individual) .................... $8,501

Under 65 years ............. 8,667 8,667

65 years and over ........... 7,990 7,990

Two people ................... 10,869

Householder under 65 years. . 11,214 11,156 11,483

Householder 65 years and

over . . ....................... 10,075 10,070 11,440

Three people ................. 13,290 13,032 13,410 13,423

Four people . . ................ 17,029 17,184 17,465 16,895 16,954

Five people................... 20,127 20,723 21,024 20,380 19,882 19,578

Six people. . .................. 22,727 23,835 23,930 23,436 22,964 22,261 21,845

Seven people ................. 25,912 27,425 27,596 27,006 26,595 25,828 24,934 23,953

Eight people . . ................ 28,967 30,673 30,944 30,387 29,899 29,206 28,327 27,412 27,180

Nine people or more........... 34,417 36,897 37,076 36,583 36,169 35,489 34,554 33,708 33,499 32,208

Note: The weighted average thresholds represent a summary of the poverty thresholds for a given family size. They are not used to

compute official poverty statistics.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION 

OF POVERTY

Poverty rates varied across

regions and states.

Poverty rates varied considerably

across regions (see Table 3).3 The

lowest poverty rate in 1999 was

experienced in the Midwest region

(10.2 percent), while the poverty

rate was 11.4 percent in the

Northeast and 13.0 percent in the

West. Poverty rates in 1999

remained highest in the South

(13.9 percent). Although 35.6 percent of the total population resided

in the South, 40.0 percent of the

population living in poverty

resided there, according to Census

2000 (see Figure 2). 

The variation across the 50 states

and the District of Columbia was

even more pronounced (Table 3).

Among the 50 states, poverty rates

in 1999 ranged from a low of 

6.5 percent in New Hampshire to a

high of 19.9 percent in Mississippi.

The estimated poverty rate for

District of Columbia (20.2 percent)

is not statistically different from

Mississippi.

The three states with the highest

poverty rates in 1989 (Mississippi,

Louisiana, and New Mexico) all

experienced significant declines in

poverty over the 1990s, yet

remained the three highest. 

None of the three states with the

lowest poverty rates in 1989 (New

Hampshire, Connecticut, and New

Jersey) experienced declines in

poverty; two of them—Connecticut

and New Jersey—experienced

increases. Nevertheless, New

Hampshire and Connecticut

remained among the three states

with the lowest poverty rates in

1999, along with Minnesota.

Clusters of low and high

poverty counties were evident

in 1999.

Figure 3 shows how poverty rates

varied among U.S. counties in 1999.

The lighter-shaded counties, such

as those that predominate in the

Midwest, along the coast in the

Northeast, and in some mountain

states, had lower-than-average

poverty rates. In contrast, the darker-shaded counties in the South and

Southwest had higher-than-average

poverty rates. High-poverty counties were clustered in Appalachia

(such as in West Virginia and

Eastern Kentucky), in the Mississippi

delta area, along the border in

Southwest Texas, and in some

American Indian tribal areas in

states close to the Canadian border

and the Southwest.

Some places had lower

poverty rates than others.

Tables 4 and 5 show the places

with the lowest and highest poverty

rates in 1999 among places with a

Table 2.

Poverty Rates by Age: 1989 and 1999

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Characteristic

1989 1999

Percentage

point change,

1999 less

Total* 1989

Below poverty level

Total*

Below poverty level

Number Percent Number Percent

All people .................... 241,977,859 31,742,864 13.1 273,882,232 33,899,812 12.4 –0.7

Under 18 years ............. 62,605,519 11,428,916 18.3 70,925,261 11,746,858 16.6 –1.7

Under 5 years ........... 17,978,025 3,617,099 20.1 18,726,688 3,412,025 18.2 –1.9

5 years................. 3,626,098 714,726 19.7 3,909,962 689,664 17.6 –2.1

6 to 11 years ........... 21,187,263 3,870,105 18.3 24,587,815 4,148,573 16.9 –1.4

12 to 17 years ........... 19,814,133 3,226,986 16.3 23,700,796 3,496,596 14.8 –1.5

18 to 64 years . . ............ 149,809,693 16,533,363 11.0 169,610,423 18,865,180 11.1 0.1

65 to 74 years . . ............ 17,932,656 1,857,468 10.4 18,253,226 1,550,969 8.5 –1.9

75 years and over ........... 11,629,991 1,923,117 16.5 15,093,322 1,736,805 11.5 –5.0

* Total refers to the number of people in the poverty universe (not the total population). For more details, see the text box on how poverty is measured.

Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: 1990 census and Census 2000 Summary File 3.

3 The Northeast region includes the states

of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New

Hampshire, New Jersey, New York,

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. The

Midwest region includes the states of Illinois,

Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota,

Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio,

South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The South

region includes the states of Alabama,

Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia,

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi,

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina,

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and

the District of Columbia, a state equivalent.

The West region includes the states of Alaska,

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho,

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah,

Washington, and Wyoming.
4 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 3.

State and Regional Poverty Rates: 1989 and 1999

(For information on confidentiality, protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, refer to

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

State

1989 1999

Percentage

point change

1999 less

Total* 1989

Below poverty level

Total*

Below poverty level

Number Percent Number Percent

United States ........... 241,977,859 31,742,864 13.1 273,882,232 33,899,812 12.4 –0.7

Regions

Northeast ................. 49,352,506 5,214,372 10.6 52,039,565 5,919,007 11.4 0.8

Midwest .................. 58,035,788 6,971,020 12.0 62,613,918 6,360,113 10.2 –1.9

South .................... 83,106,946 13,065,294 15.7 97,437,335 13,569,265 13.9 –1.8

West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,482,619 6,492,178 12.6 61,791,414 8,051,427 13.0 0.4

State

Alabama.................. 3,945,798 723,614 18.3 4,334,919 698,097 16.1 –2.2

Alaska ................... 532,474 47,906 9.0 612,961 57,602 9.4 0.4

Arizona................... 3,584,399 564,362 15.7 5,021,238 698,669 13.9 –1.8

Arkansas ................. 2,292,037 437,089 19.1 2,600,117 411,777 15.8 –3.2

California ................. 29,003,219 3,627,585 12.5 33,100,044 4,706,130 14.2 1.7

Colorado ................. 3,212,550 375,214 11.7 4,202,140 388,952 9.3 –2.4

Connecticut ............... 3,188,125 217,347 6.8 3,300,416 259,514 7.9 1.0

Delaware ................. 645,399 56,223 8.7 759,117 69,901 9.2 0.5

District of Columbia ......... 570,826 96,278 16.9 541,657 109,500 20.2 3.3

Florida ................... 12,641,486 1,604,186 12.7 15,605,367 1,952,629 12.5 –0.2

Georgia .................. 6,299,654 923,085 14.7 7,959,649 1,033,793 13.0 –1.7

Hawaii ................... 1,071,352 88,408 8.3 1,178,795 126,154 10.7 2.4

Idaho .................... 985,553 130,588 13.3 1,263,205 148,732 11.8 –1.5

Illinois.................... 11,143,856 1,326,731 11.9 12,095,961 1,291,958 10.7 –1.2

Indiana ................... 5,372,388 573,632 10.7 5,894,295 559,484 9.5 –1.2

Iowa ..................... 2,676,958 307,420 11.5 2,824,435 258,008 9.1 –2.3

Kansas................... 2,391,824 274,623 11.5 2,605,429 257,829 9.9 –1.6

Kentucky ................. 3,582,459 681,827 19.0 3,927,047 621,096 15.8 –3.2

Louisiana ................. 4,101,071 967,002 23.6 4,334,094 851,113 19.6 –3.9

Maine ................... 1,189,534 128,466 10.8 1,240,893 135,501 10.9 NS

Maryland ................. 4,660,591 385,296 8.3 5,164,376 438,676 8.5 0.2

Massachusetts ............. 5,812,415 519,339 8.9 6,138,444 573,421 9.3 0.4

Michigan.................. 9,077,016 1,190,698 13.1 9,700,622 1,021,605 10.5 –2.6

Minnesota ................ 4,259,456 435,331 10.2 4,794,144 380,476 7.9 –2.3

Mississippi ................ 2,502,902 631,029 25.2 2,750,677 548,079 19.9 –5.3

Missouri .................. 4,970,573 663,075 13.3 5,433,293 637,891 11.7 –1.6

Montana.................. 776,793 124,853 16.1 878,789 128,355 14.6 –1.5

Nebraska ................. 1,530,947 170,616 11.1 1,660,527 161,269 9.7 –1.4

Nevada .................. 1,178,396 119,660 10.2 1,962,948 205,685 10.5 0.3

New Hampshire ............ 1,075,703 69,104 6.4 1,199,322 78,530 6.5 NS

New Jersey ............... 7,563,170 573,152 7.6 8,232,588 699,668 8.5 0.9

New Mexico ............... 1,484,339 305,934 20.6 1,783,907 328,933 18.4 –2.2

New York . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,481,762 2,277,296 13.0 18,449,899 2,692,202 14.6 1.6

North Carolina ............. 6,397,185 829,858 13.0 7,805,328 958,667 12.3 –0.7

North Dakota .............. 613,969 88,276 14.4 619,197 73,457 11.9 –2.5

Ohio ..................... 10,574,315 1,325,768 12.5 11,046,987 1,170,698 10.6 –1.9

Oklahoma................. 3,051,515 509,854 16.7 3,336,224 491,235 14.7 –2.0

Oregon................... 2,775,907 344,867 12.4 3,347,667 388,740 11.6 –0.8

Pennsylvania .............. 11,536,049 1,283,629 11.1 11,879,950 1,304,117 11.0 –0.1

Rhode Island .............. 964,376 92,670 9.6 1,010,000 120,548 11.9 2.3

South Carolina ............. 3,368,125 517,793 15.4 3,883,329 547,869 14.1 –1.3

South Dakota .............. 670,383 106,305 15.9 727,425 95,900 13.2 –2.7

Tennessee ................ 4,743,685 744,941 15.7 5,539,896 746,789 13.5 –2.2

Texas .................... 16,580,286 3,000,515 18.1 20,287,300 3,117,609 15.4 –2.7

Utah ..................... 1,694,357 192,415 11.4 2,195,034 206,328 9.4 –2.0

Vermont .................. 541,372 53,369 9.9 588,053 55,506 9.4 –0.4

Virginia................... 5,968,596 611,611 10.2 6,844,372 656,641 9.6 –0.7

Washington ............... 4,741,003 517,933 10.9 5,765,201 612,370 10.6 –0.3

West Virginia .............. 1,755,331 345,093 19.7 1,763,866 315,794 17.9 –1.8

Wisconsin................. 4,754,103 508,545 10.7 5,211,603 451,538 8.7 –2.0

Wyoming ................. 442,277 52,453 11.9 479,485 54,777 11.4 –0.4

Puerto Rico ................ 3,494,544 2,057,377 58.9 3,769,782 1,818,687 48.2 –10.6

* Total refers to the number of people in the poverty universe (not the total populations). For more details, see the text box on how poverty is measured.

NS Not statistically different from zero at the 90-percent confidence level.

Note: Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: 1990 census and Census 2000 Summary File 3.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

population of 100,000 or more.4

Naperville, Illinois, had the lowest

poverty rate—2.2 percent—among

these places (Table 4). Of the 10

places with the lowest poverty rates

in Table 4, five were in the West

(Gilbert, AZ; Westminister, CO;

Thousand Oaks, CA; Arvada, CO;

and Peoria, AZ), four were in the

Midwest (Naperville, IL; Livonia, MI;

Overland Park, KS; and Sterling

Heights, MI), one was in the South

(Plano, TX), and none were in the

Northeast.

Brownsville, Texas, had the highest

poverty rate at 36.0 percent. Five of

the 10 places listed in Table 5 were

in the South (Brownsville is accompanied by Laredo, TX; Miami, FL;

Athens-Clarke, GA; and New

Orleans, LA). Four were in the

Northeast (Hartford, CT; Providence,

RI; Newark, NJ; and Syracuse, NY),

and only one in the West (San

Bernardino, CA). None were in the

Midwest.

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS ON

THE POVERTY POPULATION 

Poverty rates varied by race

and Hispanic origin.

Census 2000 asked respondents to

report one or more races. With the

exception of the Two or more races

group, all race groups discussed in

this report refer to people who indicated only one racial identity

among the six major categories:

White, Black or African American,

American Indian and Alaska Native,

Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other

Pacific Islander, and Some other

race.5 The use of the single-race

population in this report does not

imply that it is the preferred

method of presenting or analyzing

data. The Census Bureau uses a

variety of approaches.6

Non-Hispanic Whites had the lowest

poverty rate (8.1 percent) in 1999.

The poverty rates for Asians 

(12.6 percent) and Native Hawaiians

or Other Pacific Islanders (17.7 percent) were somewhat higher (see

Table 6). Poverty rates were higher

still among Blacks or African

Americans (24.9 percent) and

American Indians and Alaska

Natives (25.7 percent). Poverty rates

for those who were of Some other

race (24.4 percent) or Two or more

races (18.2 percent) were also higher than the national average 

(12.4 percent).7

People who were Hispanic or

Latino (who may be of any race)

also had a high poverty rate 

(22.6 percent) compared with the

national average.8

4 Census 2000 showed 245 places in the

United States with 100,000 or more population. They included 238 incorporated places

(including four city-county consolidations)

and seven census designated places that

were not legally incorporated. For a list of

these places by state, see www.census.gov/

population/www/cen2000/phc-t6.html.

Figure 2.

Distribution of People and Poverty by 

Region in Census 2000

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3.

(Percent in each region. For information on confidentiality 

protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Northeast Midwest South West

19.0

17.5

22.9

18.8

35.6

40.0

22.5 23.8

Total population

Poverty population

5 For further information on each of the

six major race groups and the Two or more

races population, see reports from the Census

2000 Brief series (C2KBR/01), available on the

Census 2000 Web site at www.census.gov/

population/www/cen2000/briefs.html. 6 This report draws heavily on Summary

File 3, a Census 2000 product that can be

accessed through American FactFinder,

available from the Census Bureau’s Web site,

www.census.gov. Information on people who

reported more than one race, such as “White

and American Indian and Alaska Native” or

“Asian and Black or African American,” is

forthcoming in Summary File 4, which will

also be available through American

FactFinder later in 2003. 7 All the poverty rates for the race groups

mentioned above differ statistically from

each other except the poverty rates of

Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders

and people who reported Two or more races. 8 Because Hispanics may be of any race,

data in this report for Hispanics overlap with

data for racial groups. Based on Census 2000

sample data, the proportion of Hispanics was

8.0 percent for Whites, 1.9 percent for Blacks,

14.6 percent for American Indians and Alaska

Natives, 1.0 percent for Asians, 9.5 percent

for Pacific Islanders, 97.1 percent for those

reporting Some other race, and 31.1 percent

for those reporting Two or more races.
6 U.S. Census Bureau 16.0 and over 12.4 to 15.9 10.0 to 12.3 Less than 10.0 Poverty Rates: 1999 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Census 2000 Summary File 3. American Factfinder at factfinder.census.gov provides census data and mapping tools. Percent of individuals living below the poverty level by state 26.0 or more 17.0 to 25.9 12.4 to 16.9 8.5 to 12.3 Less than 8.5 U.S. percent 12.4 U.S. percent 12.4 (Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf) Figure 3. 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles 0 100 Miles Percent of individuals living below the poverty level by county
U.S. Census Bureau 7

Poverty rates varied by family

type and number of children.

Between 1989 and 1999, the

poverty rate for all families fell

from 10.0 percent to 9.2 percent,

but poverty rates varied by family

type and the presence of children

(see Table 7).

The poverty rate for all marriedcouple families in 1999 (4.9 percent) was lower than the rate for

male householder families with no

spouse present (13.6 percent) and

female householder families with

no spouse present (26.5 percent).

Among the latter group, the

poverty rate for families with related children under 18 was higher

still, at 34.3 percent in 1999,

although this figure represented a

decline from 42.3 percent in 1989.

ABOUT CENSUS 2000

Uses of poverty statistics

The U.S. Census Bureau’s statistics

on poverty provide an important

measure of the country’s economic

well-being and are sometimes used

nonstatistically to assess the need

or eligibility for various types of

public assistance. Funds for food,

health care, and legal services are

distributed to local agencies based

on data about elderly people with

low incomes. Data about poor children are used to apportion Title I

funds to counties and school

districts. Under the Low-Income

Home Energy Assistance Program,

income and poverty data are used

to allocate funds for home energy

aid among areas. Other statutory

applications include the Head Start

Act, the Child Welfare and Services

Program, the Vocational and

Applied Technology Act, and the

Public Housing/Section 8

Certificate and Housing Voucher

Allocation Programs. 

Accuracy of the Estimates

The data contained in this report

are based on the sample of

households who responded to the

Census 2000 long form.

Nationally, approximately 1 out of

every 6 housing units was included

in this sample. As a result, the

sample estimates may differ somewhat from the100-percent figures

that would have been obtained if

all housing units, people within

those housing units, and people

living in group quarters had been

enumerated using the same questionnaires, instructions, enumerators, and so forth. The sample

estimates also differ from the

Table 4.

Places of 100,000 or More With the Lowest

Poverty Rates: 1999

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Places with 100,000 or more

Total*

Below poverty level 90-percent

confidence interval

Number Percent Lower Upper

Naperville city, IL............... 126,420 2,809 2.2 2.0 2.4

Livonia city, MI................. 99,202 3,136 3.2 3.0 3.4

Overland Park city, KS.......... 147,185 4,730 3.2 2.9 3.5

Gilbert town, AZ................ 109,547 3,529 3.2 2.9 3.5

Plano city, TX.................. 221,149 9,500 4.3 4.0 4.6

Westminster city, CO ........... 100,436 4,726 4.7 4.3 5.1

Thousand Oaks city, CA ........ 115,302 5,714 5.0 4.6 5.4

Arvada city, CO . . .............. 101,860 5,307 5.2 4.8 5.6

Sterling Heights city, MI ......... 123,568 6,480 5.2 4.9 5.5

Peoria city, AZ . . ............... 107,094 5,627 5.3 4.9 5.7

*Total refers to the number of people in the poverty universe (not the total population). For more

details, see the text box on how poverty is measured.

Note: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from

one another or from rates for other geographic areas not listed in this table.

Source: Census 2000 Summary File 3.

Table 5.

Places of 100,000 or More With the Highest

Poverty Rates: 1999

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

City and State

Total*

Below poverty level

90-percent

confidence interval

Number Percent Lower Upper

Brownsville city, TX............. 138,169 49,701 36.0 35.2 36.8

Hartford city, CT ............... 116,756 35,741 30.6 29.9 31.3

Laredo city, TX. . ............... 174,070 51,493 29.6 29.0 30.2

Providence city, RI ............. 160,243 46,688 29.1 28.5 29.7

Miami city, FL.................. 352,916 100,405 28.5 28.1 28.9

Newark city, NJ ................ 261,451 74,263 28.4 27.9 28.9

Athens-Clarke County, GA . . .... 93,161 26,337 28.3 27.4 29.2

New Orleans city, LA ........... 468,453 130,896 27.9 27.5 28.3

San Bernardino city, CA......... 180,100 49,691 27.6 27.0 28.2

Syracuse city, NY .............. 137,234 37,485 27.3 26.6 28.0

*Total refers to the number of people in the poverty universe (not the total population). For more

details, see the text box on how poverty is measured.

Note: Because of sampling error, the estimates in this table may not be significantly different from

one another or from rates for other geographic areas not listed in this table.

Source: Census 2000 Summary File 3.
8 U.S. Census Bureau

values that would have been

obtained from different samples of

housing units, people within those

housing units, and people living in

group quarters. The deviation of a

sample estimate from the average

of all possible samples is called the

sampling error. 

In addition to the variability that

arises from the sampling

procedures, both sample data and

100-percent data are subject to

nonsampling error. Nonsampling

error may be introduced during any

of the various complex operations

used to collect and process data.

Such errors may include: not enumerating every household or every

person in the population, failing to

obtain all required information from

the respondents, obtaining incorrect

or inconsistent information, and

recording information incorrectly.

In addition, errors can occur during

the field review of the enumerators’

work, during clerical handling of

the census questionnaires or during

the electronic processing of the

questionnaires.

Nonsampling error may affect the

data in two ways: (1) errors that

are introduced randomly will

increase the variability of the data

and, therefore, should be reflected

in the standard errors; and (2)

errors that tend to be consistent in

one direction will bias both sample

and 100-percent data in that direction. For example, if respondents

consistently tend to under report

their incomes, then the resulting

estimates of households or

families by income category will

tend to be understated for the

higher income categories and overstated for the lower income categories. Such biases are not reflected in the standard errors.

While it is impossible to completely

eliminate error from an operation

as large and complex as the decennial census, the Census Bureau

attempts to control the sources of

such error during the data collection and processing operations.

The primary sources of error and

the programs instituted to control

error in Census 2000 are described

in detail in Summary File 3

Technical Documentation under

Chapter 8, “Accuracy of the Data,”

located at www.census.gov/prod/

cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf. 

All statements in this Census 2000

Brief have undergone statistical

testing, and all comparisons are

significant at the 90-percent confidence level, unless otherwise

noted. The estimates in tables

maps, and other figures may vary

from actual values due to sampling

and nonsampling errors. As a

result, estimates in one category

may not be significantly different

from estimates assigned to a different category. Further information on the accuracy of the data is

located at www.census.gov/prod/

cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf. For further

information on the computation

and use of standard errors, contact

the Decennial Statistical Studies

Division at 301-763-4242. 

For More Information

The Census 2000 Summary File 3

data are available from the

American Factfinder on the

Internet (factfinder.census.gov).

They were released on a state-bystate basis during 2002. For information on confidentiality protection, nonsampling error, sampling

error, and definitions, also see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/

doc/sf3.pdf, or contact the

Customer Services Center at 

301-763-INFO (4636).

Information on population and

housing topics is presented in the

Census 2000 Brief series, located

on the Census Bureau’s Web site at

www.census.gov/population/www/

cen2000/briefs.html. This series,

which will be completed in 2003,

presents information on race,

Hispanic origin, age, sex, household type, housing tenure, and

social, economic, and housing

Table 6.

Poverty of Individuals by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1999

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Characteristic

Total*

Below poverty level

90-percent

confidence

interval

Number Percent Lower Upper

All people ....................... 273,882,232 33,899,812 12.4 12.4 12.4

Race

White alone. . . ................. 206,259,768 18,847,674 9.1 9.1 9.1

Black or African American alone. . 32,714,224 8,146,146 24.9 24.9 24.9

American Indian and Alaska

Native alone .................. 2,367,505 607,734 25.7 25.6 25.8

Asian alone. . . ................. 9,979,963 1,257,237 12.6 12.5 12.7

Native Hawaiian and Other

Pacific Islander alone . ......... 364,909 64,558 17.7 17.4 18.0

Some other race alone.......... 15,100,625 3,687,589 24.4 24.3 24.5

Two or more races ............. 7,095,238 1,288,874 18.2 18.1 18.3

Hispanic or Latino (of any race) .... 34,450,868 7,797,874 22.6 22.6 22.6

White alone, not Hispanic or Latino. 189,785,997 15,414,119 8.1 8.1 8.1

*Total refers to the number of people in the poverty universe (not the total population). For more

details, see the text box on how poverty is measured.

Source: Census 2000 Summary File 3.
characteristics such as ancestry,

income, and housing costs.

For additional information on poverty, including reports and survey

data, visit the Census Bureau’s

Internet site on at www.census.gov/

hhes/www/poverty.html. To find

information about the availability of

data products, including reports,

CD-ROMs, and DVDs, call the

Customer Services Center at 

301-763-INFO (4636), or e-mail 

webmaster@census.gov.

U.S. Census Bureau 9

Table 7.

Poverty Rates of Families by Family Type and Presence of Children: 1989 and 1999

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see

www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf)

Characteristic

1989 1999 Percentage

point

change,

1999 less

Total* 1989

Below poverty level

Total*

Below poverty level

Number Percent Number Percent

All families ........................... 65,049,428 6,487,515 10.0 72,261,780 6,620,945 9.2 –0.8

Married-couple family ................ 51,718,214 2,849,984 5.5 55,458,451 2,719,059 4.9 –0.6

With related children under 18

years ........................... 25,258,549 1,834,332 7.3 26,898,972 1,767,368 6.6 –0.7

Under 5 years only .............. 5,578,878 377,041 6.8 5,276,884 329,946 6.3 –0.5

Under 5 years and 5 to 17 years. . 5,555,442 634,771 11.4 5,819,401 618,283 10.6 –0.8

5 to 17 years only ............... 14,124,229 822,520 5.8 15,802,687 819,139 5.2 –0.6

No related children under 18 years . . 26,459,665 1,015,652 3.8 28,559,479 951,691 3.3 –0.5

Other family ........................ 13,331,214 3,637,531 27.3 16,803,329 3,901,886 23.2 –4.1

Male householder, no spouse

present ......................... 2,949,560 407,330 13.8 4,302,568 585,970 13.6 –0.2

With related children under 18

years . . . ...................... 1,494,956 291,572 19.5 2,526,727 448,039 17.7 –1.8

Under 5 years only ............ 364,548 81,314 22.3 584,265 113,215 19.4 –2.9

Under 5 years and 5 to 17

years ....................... 218,849 67,882 31.0 375,284 99,326 26.5 –4.6

5 to 17 years only . . . . . . . . . . . . . 911,559 142,376 15.6 1,567,178 235,498 15.0 –0.6

No related children under 18

years . . . ...................... 1,454,604 115,758 8.0 1,775,841 137,931 7.8 –0.2

Female householder, no spouse

present ......................... 10,381,654 3,230,201 31.1 12,500,761 3,315,916 26.5 –4.6

With related children under 18

years . . . ...................... 6,783,155 2,866,941 42.3 8,575,028 2,940,459 34.3 –8.0

Under 5 years only ............ 1,177,366 592,836 50.4 1,437,173 589,201 41.0 –9.4

Under 5 years and 5 to 17

years ....................... 1,354,965 859,782 63.5 1,583,239 812,292 51.3 –12.1

5 to 17 years only ............. 4,250,824 1,414,323 33.3 5,554,616 1,538,966 27.7 –5.6

No related children under 18

years . . . ...................... 3,598,499 363,260 10.1 3,925,733 375,457 9.6 –0.5

* Total refers to the number of people in the poverty universe (not the total population). For more details, see the text box on how poverty is measured.

Note: Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: 1990 census and Census 2000 Summary File 3.


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