Issued September 2016

P60-256(RV)

Bernadette D. Proctor, Jessica L. Semega, and Melissa A. Kollar

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015

Current Population Reports
The Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division of the Census Bureau 

recognizes Carmen DeNavas-Walt for her 42 years of service with the Census Bureau. 

Ms. DeNavas-Walt retired in 2015. She was the primary author of the income section 

of the Current Population Reports, Series P-60, for 25 years. Ms. DeNavas-Walt spent 

her career committed to providing timely and accurate estimates of income and 

earnings and to measuring change in these national-level estimates. Her expertise, 

dedication, and guidance will be greatly missed.

The Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division of the Census Bureau also 

recognizes Edward J. Welniak Jr. for his 24 years of service as the Chief of the Income 

Statistics Branch. Mr. Welniak moved to a new position within the Census Bureau in 

2016. Mr. Welniak spent his career providing guidance on and improving the collection of income data in the Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic 

Supplement, the American Community Survey, and two decennial censuses. His 

dedication, professionalism, and institutional knowledge are greatly appreciated.

Jessica L. Semega and Melissa A. Kollar prepared the income sections of this 

report under the direction of Jonathan L. Rothbaum, Chief of the Income Statistics 

Branch. Bernadette D. Proctor prepared the poverty section under the direction 

of Ashley N. Edwards, Chief of the Poverty Statistics Branch. Trudi J. Renwick, 

Assistant Division Chief for Economic Characteristics in the Social, Economic, and 

Housing Statistics Division, provided overall direction. 

David L. Watt and Susan S. Gajewski, Demographic Surveys Division, and

Tim J. Marshall and Lisa Cheok, Associate Directorate Demographic Programs, 

processed the Current Population Survey 2016 Annual Social and Economic 

Supplement file.

Kirk E. Davis, Raymond E. Dowdy, Shawna Evers, Ryan C. Fung, 

Chandararith R. Phe, and Tiffani Whaley programmed and produced the 

historical, detailed, and publication tables under the direction of Hung X. Pham, 

Chief of the Tabulation and Applications Branch, Demographic Surveys Division.

Joseph Croos, Nghiep Huynh, and Rebecca A. Hoop, under the supervision of 

David V. Hornick, all of the Demographic Statistical Methods Division, conducted 

sample review.

Lisa Clement, Survey Director of the Current Population Survey, provided overall 

direction for the survey implementation. Lisa Cheok and Aaron Cantu, Associate 

Directorate Demographic Programs, and Roberto Picha, Agatha Jung, and 

Johanna Rupp of the Information Technology Directorate prepared and programmed 

the computer-assisted interviewing instrument used to conduct the Annual Social and 

Economic Supplement.

Additional people within the U.S. Census Bureau also made significant contributions 

to the preparation of this report. John Hisnanick, Alexander E. Kellner, 

Rachel Lindstrom, Laryssa Mykyta, Jose D. Pacas, Kirby G. Posey, 

Sharon M. Stern, Lewis H. Warren, and Bruce H. Webster, Jr. reviewed the contents.

Census Bureau field representatives and telephone interviewers collected the data. 

Without their dedication, the preparation of this report or any report from the 

Current Population Survey would be impossible.

Linda Chen, Christine Geter, Donna Gillis, and Anthony Richards of 

the Public Information Office provided publication management, graphics 

design and composition, and editorial review for print and electronic media. 

George E. Williams of the Census Bureau’s Administrative and Customer Services 

Division provided printing management.

Acknowledgments
U.S. Department of Commerce

Penny Pritzker, 

Secretary

Bruce H. Andrews,

Deputy Secretary

Economics and Statistics Administration

Justin Antonipillai, 

Counselor, Delegated Duties of Under Secretary for 

Economic Affairs

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

John H. Thompson, 

Director

P60-256(RV)

Income and Poverty in 

the United States: 2015 Issued September 2016
Suggested Citation

Proctor, Bernadette D., Jessica L. Semega, 

and Melissa A. Kollar

 U.S. Census Bureau, 

Current Population Reports, 

P60-256(RV), 

Income and Poverty

 in the United States: 2015,

U.S. Government Printing Office, 

Washington, DC,

2016.

Economics and Statistics

Administration

Justin Antonipillai, 

Counselor, Delegated Duties of Under Secretary for 

Economic Affairs

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

John H. Thompson, 

Director

Nancy A. Potok,

Deputy Director and Chief Operating Officer

Enrique Lamas,

Associate Director for Demographic Programs

David G. Waddington,

Acting Chief, Social, Economic, and Housing Statistics Division

ECONOMICS

AND STATISTICS

ADMINISTRATION
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 iii

Contents

TEXT

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 ...............................1

Introduction .........................................................................................1

Source of Estimates .............................................................................1

Statistical Accuracy ..............................................................................2

State and Local Estimates of Income and Poverty ................................2

Dynamics of Economic Well-Being ........................................................3

Supplemental Poverty Measure ...........................................................4

Income in the United States ................................................................5

Highlights ............................................................................................5

Household Income ...............................................................................7

Type of Household ...............................................................................7

Race and Hispanic Origin .....................................................................7

Age of Householder .............................................................................7

Nativity ................................................................................................7

Region .................................................................................................8

Residence ............................................................................................8

Income Inequality ...............................................................................8

Equivalence-Adjusted Income Inequality ..............................................8

Earnings and Work Experience ...........................................................10

Poverty in the United States ..............................................................12

Highlights ..........................................................................................12

Race and Hispanic Origin ...................................................................12

Age ....................................................................................................14

Sex ....................................................................................................15

Nativity ..............................................................................................15

Region ...............................................................................................15

Residence ..........................................................................................15

Work Experience ................................................................................16

Disability Status .................................................................................16

Educational Attainment ......................................................................16

Families .............................................................................................17

Depth of Poverty ...............................................................................17

Ratio of Income to Poverty ...........................................................17

Income Deficit ..............................................................................18

Shared Households ............................................................................18

Alternative/Experimental Poverty Measures .......................................20

National Academy of Sciences (NAS)-Based Measures ...................20

Research Files ...............................................................................20

CPS Table Creator .........................................................................20

Comments .............................................................................................20
iv Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

TEXT TABLES

Table 1. Income and Earnings Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2014 and 2015 ..........6

Table 2. Income Distribution Measures Using Money Income and Equivalence-Adjusted Income: 

2014 and 2015 ...................................................................................................................9

Table 3. People in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 2014 and 2015 .............................................13

Table 4. Families in Poverty by Type of Family: 2014 and 2015 .........................................................16

Table 5. People With Income Below Specified Ratios of Their Poverty Thresholds by Selected 

Characteristics: 2015 ........................................................................................................17

Table 6. Income Deficit or Surplus of Families and Unrelated Individuals by Poverty Status: 2015 .....19

TEXT FIGURES

Figure 1. Real Median Household Income by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1967 to 2015 ........................5

Figure 2. Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio and Median Earnings of Full-Time, 

 Year-Round Workers 15 Years and Older by Sex: 1960 to 2015 ......................................10

Figure 3. Total and Full-Time, Year-Round Workers With Earnings by Sex: 1967 to 2015 ....................11

Figure 4. Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2015 ...........................................................12

Figure 5. Poverty Rates by Age: 1959 to 2015 ..................................................................................14

Figure 6. Poverty Rates by Age and Sex: 2015...................................................................................15

Figure 7. Demographic Makeup of the Population at Varying Degrees of Poverty: 2015 ....................18
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 v

APPENDIXES

Appendix A. Estimates of Income ............................................................................................. 21

How Income Is Measured ............................................................................................................. 21

Business Cycles ........................................................................................................................... 21

Annual Average Consumer Price Index Research Series (CPI-U-RS) 

Using Current Methods All Items: 1947 to 2015 ...................................................................... 22

Cost-of-Living Adjustment ........................................................................................................... 22

Poverty Threshold Adjustment ..................................................................................................... 22

Appendix B. Estimates of Poverty ............................................................................................. 43

How Poverty Is Calculated ........................................................................................................... 43

Poverty Thresholds for 2015 by Size of Family and Number 

of Related Children Under 18 Years .......................................................................................... 43

Weighted Average Poverty Thresholds in 2015 by Size of Family................................................. 43

Appendix C. Replicate Weights .................................................................................................. 57

References ................................................................................................................................... 57

Appendix D. Additional Data and Contacts ........................................................................... 59

Customized Tables ..................................................................................................................... 59

The CPS Table Creator ............................................................................................................ 59

DataFerrett ............................................................................................................................. 59

Public Use Microdata ................................................................................................................... 59

CPS ASEC .............................................................................................................................. 59

Taxes and Noncash Benefits ................................................................................................... 59

Research Files ......................................................................................................................... 59

Topcoding .................................................................................................................................... 59

Comments ................................................................................................................................... 59

APPENDIX TABLES

Table A-1. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 

 1967 to 2015 ................................................................................................................ 23

Table A-2. Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015 .................................. 31

Table A-3. Selected Measures of Equivalence-Adjusted Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015 ................. 37

Table A-4. Number and Real Median Earnings of Total Workers and Full-Time, 

 Year-Round Workers by Sex and Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio: 1960 to 2015............. 41

Table B-1. Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 

 1959 to 2015 ................................................................................................................ 44

Table B-2. Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015 ....................... 50

Table B-3. Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: 1959 to 2015 .............................................. 56

U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 1

INTRODUCTION

This report presents data on income 

and poverty in the United States 

based on information collected in the 

2016 and earlier Current Population 

Survey Annual Social and Economic 

Supplements (CPS ASEC) conducted by 

the U.S. Census Bureau. 

Summary of findings:

• Real median household income 

increased 5.2 percent between 

2014 and 2015.1 This is the first 

annual increase in median household income since 2007.

• The number of full-time, yearround workers increased by 

2.4 million in 2015.

• The official poverty rate 

decreased by 1.2 percentage 

points between 2014 and 2015. 

• The number of people in poverty 

fell by 3.5 million between 2014 

and 2015.

For most demographic groups, the 

2015 income estimates were statistically higher than the 2014 estimates. 

1 “Real” refers to income after adjusting for 

inflation. All income values are adjusted to 

reflect 2015 dollars. The adjustment is based on 

percentage changes in prices between 2015 and 

earlier years and is computed by dividing the 

annual average Consumer Price Index Research 

Series (CPI-U-RS) for 2015 by the annual average 

for earlier years. The CPI-U-RS values for 1947 

to 2015 are available in Appendix A. Consumer 

prices between 2014 and 2015 increased by 

0.1 percent.

No group shown on Table 1 (see 

page 6) had median income estimates 

statistically lower than the 2014 estimates. A few groups had 2015 real 

median incomes that were not statistically different from 2014 estimates. 

Poverty rates in 2015 decreased for 

most groups. Poverty rates did not 

increase for any major group in 2015. 

Some groups had poverty rates in 

2015 that were not statistically different from 2014.

This report contains two main sections, one focuses on income and 

the other on poverty. Each section 

presents estimates by characteristics 

such as race, Hispanic origin, nativity, 

Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015

Source of Estimates

The data in this report are from the 2016 Current Population Survey (CPS) 

Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) and were collected in the 50 

states and the District of Columbia. The data do not represent residents of 

Puerto Rico and U.S. Island Areas.* The data are based on a sample of about 

95,000 addresses. The estimates in this report are controlled to independent 

national population estimates by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin for March 

2016. Beginning with 2010, estimates are based on 2010 Census population 

counts and are updated annually taking into account births, deaths, emigration, and immigration. 

The CPS is a household survey primarily used to collect employment data. 

The sample universe for the basic CPS consists of the resident civilian noninstitutionalized population of the United States. People in institutions, such 

as prisons, long-term care hospitals, and nursing homes, are not eligible to 

be interviewed in the CPS. Students living in dormitories are included in the 

estimates only if information about them is reported in an interview at their 

parents’ home. Since the CPS is a household survey, people who are homeless 

and not living in shelters are not included in the sample. The sample universe 

for the CPS ASEC is slightly larger than that of the basic CPS since it includes 

military personnel who live in a household with at least one other civilian 

adult, regardless of whether they live off post or on post. All other Armed 

Forces are excluded. For further documentation about the CPS ASEC, see 

<www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf>.

* U.S. Island Areas include American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern 

Mariana Islands, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.
2 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

and region.2 Other topics, such as 

earnings and family poverty rates are 

included only in the relevant section.

2 Federal surveys give respondents the option 

of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two 

basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as 

those who reported Asian and no other race (the 

race-alone or single-race concept) or as those 

who reported Asian regardless of whether they 

also reported another race (the race-alone-or-incombination concept). The body of this report 

(text, figures, and tables) shows data using the 

first approach (race alone). The appendix tables 

show data using both approaches. 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.

In this report, the terms “White, not Hispanic” 

and “non-Hispanic White” are used interchangeably and refer to people who are not Hispanic 

and who reported White and no other race. The 

Census Bureau uses non-Hispanic Whites as the 

comparison group for other race groups and 

Hispanics.

Since Hispanics may be any race, data in this 

report for Hispanics overlap with data for race 

groups. Being Hispanic was reported by 15.0 

percent of White householders who reported only 

one race, 4.3 percent of Black householders who 

reported only one race, and 2.4 percent of Asian 

householders who reported only one race. 

Data users should exercise caution when 

interpreting aggregate results for the Hispanic 

population or for race groups because these 

populations consist of many distinct groups that 

differ in socioeconomic characteristics, culture, 

and recent immigration status. Data were first 

collected for Hispanics in 1972 and for Asians 

and Pacific Islanders in 1987. For further information, see <www.census.gov/programs

-surveys/cps.html>.

The small sample size of the Asian population and the fact that the CPS does not use 

separate population controls for weighting the 

Asian sample to national totals contribute to 

the large variances surrounding estimates for 

this group. As a result, we are unable to detect 

statistically significant differences between some 

estimates for the Asian population. The American 

Community Survey (ACS), based on a much 

larger sample size of the population, is a better 

source for estimating and identifying changes for 

small subgroups of the population.

The householder is the person (or one of the 

people) in whose name the home is owned or 

rented and the person to whom the relationship 

of other household members is recorded. If a 

married couple owns the home jointly, either the 

husband or the wife may be listed as the householder. Since only one person in each household 

is designated as the householder, the number of 

householders is equal to the number of households. This report uses the characteristics of the 

householder to describe the household.

The CPS is the longest-running survey 

conducted by the Census Bureau. The 

CPS ASEC asks detailed questions 

categorizing income into over 50 

sources. The key purpose of the CPS 

ASEC is to provide timely and detailed 

estimates of income and poverty and 

to measure change in these nationallevel estimates. The CPS ASEC is the 

official source of the national poverty 

Statistical Accuracy

Most of the data from the CPS ASEC were collected in March (with some 

data collected in February and April). The estimates in this report (which 

may be shown in text, figures, and tables) are based on responses from 

a sample of the population and may differ from actual values because 

of sampling variability or other factors. As a result, apparent differences 

between the estimates for two or more groups may not be statistically 

significant. All comparative statements have undergone statistical testing 

and are significant at the 90 percent confidence level unless otherwise 

noted. In this report, the variances of estimates were calculated using both 

the Successive Difference Replication (SDR) method and the Generalized 

Variance Function (GVF) approach. (See Appendix C for a more extensive 

discussion of these methods.) Further information about the source and 

accuracy of the estimates is available at <www2.census.gov/library

/publications/2016/demo/p60-256sa.pdf>.

State and Local Estimates of Income and Poverty

The Census Bureau presents annual estimates of median household 

income and poverty by state and other smaller geographic units based 

on data collected in the American Community Survey (ACS). Single-year 

estimates are available for geographic units with populations of 65,000 

or more. Estimates of income and poverty for all geographic units, including census tracts and block groups, are available by pooling 5 years of 

ACS data. 

The Census Bureau’s Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) 

program produces annual estimates of a select set of income and poverty 

measures. Using statistical models, SAIPE produces estimates of median 

household income and poverty for states and all counties, as well as 

population and poverty estimates for school districts. The SAIPE approach 

combines data from a variety of sources, including administrative records, 

population estimates, the decennial census, and the ACS, to provide consistent and reliable single-year estimates. In general, SAIPE estimates have 

lower variances than ACS estimates but are released later because they 

incorporate ACS data in the models. 

The 2014 income and poverty estimates from this program are available 

at <www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/index.html>. Estimates for 2015 will 

be available later this year.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 3

estimates calculated in accordance 

with the Office of Management and 

Budget’s Statistical Policy Directive 14 

(Appendix B).

The Census Bureau also reports 

income and poverty estimates based 

on data from the American Community 

Survey (ACS). The ACS is part of the 

2020 Census program and eliminates 

the need for a long-form census 

questionnaire. The ACS offers broad, 

comprehensive information on social, 

economic, and housing topics and provides this information at many levels 

of geography.

Since the CPS ASEC produces more 

complete and thorough estimates 

of income and poverty, the Census 

Bureau recommends that people use 

it as the data source for national 

estimates. State-level estimates of 

income, poverty, and other economic characteristics from the ACS 

are found in American FactFinder at 

<http://factfinder.census.gov>. For 

more information on state and local 

estimates, see the text box “State 

and Local Estimates of Income and 

Poverty.”

The CPS ASEC provides reliable estimates of the net change, from one 

year to the next, in the overall distribution of economic characteristics such 

as income and earnings. It does not, 

however, show how these characteristics change for the same person, 

family, or household. Longitudinal 

measures of income and poverty based 

on following the same people over 

time are available from the Survey 

of Income and Program Participation 

(SIPP). Estimates derived from SIPP data 

answer questions such as:

• What percentage of households 

move up or down the income 

distribution over time?

• How many people remain in 

poverty over time?

The text box “Dynamics of Economic 

Well-Being” provides more information 

about the SIPP.

The income and poverty estimates 

shown in this report are based solely 

on money income before taxes and 

do not include the value of noncash 

benefits, such as those provided by 

the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance 

Program (SNAP), Medicare, Medicaid, 

public housing, or employer-provided 

fringe benefits.

Dynamics of Economic Well-Being

The Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) 

provides monthly data about labor force participation and income sources and amounts. The data yield 

insights into the dynamic nature of these experiences 

and the economic mobility of U.S. residents. For example, the data demonstrate that using a longer time frame 

to measure poverty (e.g., 4 years) yields, on average, a 

lower poverty rate than the annual measures presented 

in this report, while using a shorter time frame (e.g., 

2 months) yields higher poverty rates. Some specific 

findings include:

• Income data from the 2008 SIPP panel suggested 

that between 2009 and 2012 households experienced less economic mobility than found in earlier 

SIPP panels. Overall, 57.1 percent of households 

remained in the same income quintile between 

2009 and 2012, while the remaining 42.9 percent of 

households experienced either an upward or downward movement across the income distribution.

• Households with householders who had lower levels 

of education were more likely to remain in, or move 

into, a lower quintile than households whose householders had higher levels of education.

• During the 4-year period from 2009 to 2012, 34.5 

percent of the population had at least one spell of 

poverty lasting 2 or more months.

• Chronic poverty over the 4-year period from 2009 to 

2012 was relatively uncommon, with 2.7 percent of 

the population living in poverty all 48 months.

More information based on these data is available in 

the Census Bureau’s P70 Series Reports, as well as in 

table packages and working papers. For more information, see <www.census.gov/programs-surveys/sipp

/publications.html>.

The U.S. Census Bureau has recently reengineered the 

SIPP. The redesigned 2014 SIPP panel addresses the 

same topic areas of the earlier SIPP panels although 

collection methods and reference periods vary. For more 

information, see <www.census.gov/sipp/>.
4 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Since the publication of the first official U.S. poverty estimates in 1964, 

there has been a continuing debate 

about the best approach to measuring income and poverty in the United 

States. Recognizing that alternative 

estimates of income and poverty can 

provide useful information to the public as well as to the federal government, the U.S. Office of Management 

and Budget’s (OMB) Chief Statistician 

formed the Interagency Technical 

Working Group on Developing a 

Supplemental Poverty Measure. This 

group asked the Census Bureau, in 

cooperation with the U.S. Bureau of 

Labor Statistics (BLS), to develop a 

new measure that would enhance 

understanding of the economic wellbeing of American families and how 

federal policies affect those living in 

poverty. Since November 2011, the 

Census Bureau has released annual 

estimates of the Supplemental Poverty 

Measure (SPM).3 Since September 

2015, the SPM has been released the 

same day as the official poverty estimates, available at <www.census

.gov/hhes/povmeas/methodology

/supplemental/index.html>. The text 

box “Supplemental Poverty Measure” 

provides more information about this 

initiative.

3 See <www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas

/methodology/supplemental/research/Short

_ResearchSPM2010.pdf>.

Supplemental Poverty Measure 

In 2010, an interagency technical working group (which included 

representatives from the Bureau of Labor Statistics [BLS], the Census 

Bureau, the Economics and Statistics Administration, the Council of 

Economic Advisers, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 

and the Office of Management and Budget) issued a series of suggestions 

to the Census Bureau and the BLS on how to develop the Supplemental 

Poverty Measure (SPM). Their suggestions drew on the recommendations of a 1995 National Academy of Science report and the extensive 

research on poverty measurement conducted over the past 15 years. See 

<www.census.gov/library/visualizations/2014/demo/poverty

_measure-how.html>.

The new measure based on these suggestions serves as an additional 

indicator of economic well-being and provides a deeper understanding of 

economic conditions and policy effects. The new measure creates a more 

complex statistical picture incorporating deductions such as tax payments, work expenses, and medical costs in its family resource estimates 

as well as additions to reflect noncash resource transfers, such as housing subsidies and food assistance programs. Thresholds used in the new 

measure are produced by the BLS and derived from Consumer Expenditure 

Survey data on spending for basic necessities (food, shelter, clothing, and 

utilities) and are adjusted for geographic differences in the cost of housing. The new thresholds are not intended to assess eligibility for government programs.

The Census Bureau began publishing annual poverty estimates using the 

new approach in November 2011. SPM estimates for 2015 will be released 

in a separate report, The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2015, Current 

Population Reports, P60-258, U.S. Census Bureau, September 2016 at 

<www2.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-258.pdf>. 
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 5

INCOME IN THE UNITED STATES

Highlights

• Median household income was 

$56,516 in 2015, an increase in 

real terms of 5.2 percent from 

the 2014 median of $53,718 

(Figure 1 and Table 1). This is the 

first annual increase in median 

household income since 2007, 

the year before the most recent 

recession. 

• The real median income of 

non-Hispanic White, Black, and 

Hispanic-origin households 

increased 4.4 percent, 4.1 percent, and 6.1 percent, respectively, between 2014 and 2015.4

This is the first annual increase 

4 The differences between the 2014–2015 

percentage changes in median income for nonHispanic White, Black, and Hispanic households 

were not statistically significant.

in median household income for 

non-Hispanic White and Black 

households since 2007. For Asian 

households the 2014 to 2015 

percentage change in real median 

income was not statistically 

significant (Table 1).

• The real median income of 

households maintained by a 

foreign-born person increased 

by 5.3 percent, while the median 

income of households maintained 

by a native-born person increased 

4.4 percent between 2014 and 

2015 (Table 1).5, 6

• Real median household income 

increased for all regions 

(Northeast, Midwest, South, and 

West) between 2014 and 2015 

(Table 1).

5 Native-born households are those in which 

the householder was born in the United States, 

Puerto Rico, the U.S. Island Areas of Guam, 

the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana 

Islands, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands 

of the United States or was born in a foreign 

country but had at least one parent who was a 

U.S. citizen. All other households are considered 

foreign born regardless of the date of entry 

into the United States or citizenship status. 

The CPS does not interview households in Puerto 

Rico. Of all householders, 85.1 percent were 

native born; 7.8 percent were foreign-born, 

naturalized citizens; and 7.1 percent were not 

U.S. citizens.

6 The difference between the 2014–2015 

percentage change in median income for 

households maintained by a foreign-born person 

and a native-born person was not statistically 

significant.

Figure 1.

Real Median Household Income by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1967 to 2015

Note: The data for 2013 and beyond reflect the implementation of the redesigned income questions. The data points are placed at the 

midpoints of the respective years. Median household income data are not available prior to 1967. For more information on recessions, 

see Appendix A. For more information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

<www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1968 to 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

2015 dollars Recession

0

10,000

20,000

30,000

40,000

50,000

60,000

70,000

80,000

1959 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

$77,166

$62,950

$56,516

$45,148

$36,898

All races

White, not Hispanic 

Black

Asian

Hispanic (any race) 
6 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 1.

Income and Earnings Summary Measures by Selected Characteristics: 2014 and 2015

(Income in 2015 dollars. Households and people as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling 

error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Characteristic

2014 2015

Percentage change* in 

real median income 

(2015 less 2014)

Number 

(thousands)

Median income (dollars)

Number 

(thousands)

Median income (dollars)

Estimate

Margin of 

error1 Estimate (±)

Margin of 

error1 (±) Estimate

Margin of 

error1 (±)

HOUSEHOLDS

 All households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124,587 53,718 645 125,819 56,516 528 *5.2 1.60

Type of Household

Family households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,716 68,504 815 82,184 72,165 608 *5.3 1.46

Married-couple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,010 81,118 677 60,251 84,626 983 *4.3 1.32

Female householder, no husband present . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,544 36,192 682 15,622 37,797 995 *4.4 3.17

Male householder, no wife present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,162 53,746 1,644 6,310 55,861 1,595 3.9 4.37

Nonfamily households . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,871 32,084 466 43,635 33,805 776 *5.4 2.82

Female householder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,728 26,703 523 23,093 29,022 822 *8.7 3.74

Male householder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,143 39,226 1,118 20,542 40,762 745 *3.9 3.51

Race2 and Hispanic Origin of Householder

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98,679 56,932 585 99,313 60,109 627 *5.6 1.58

White, not Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,228 60,325 606 84,445 62,950 892 *4.4 1.76

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,437 35,439 759 16,539 36,898 845 *4.1 2.96

Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,040 74,382 3,470 6,328 77,166 2,791 3.7 5.47

Hispanic (any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,239 42,540 849 16,667 45,148 1,012 *6.1 2.97

Age of Householder

Under 65 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94,640 60,531 443 94,820 63,344 822 *4.6 1.53

15 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,370 34,645 1,297 6,361 36,108 1,333 4.2 5.41

25 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,075 54,305 1,316 20,047 57,366 1,121 *5.6 2.98

35 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,121 66,770 1,025 21,222 71,417 958 *7.0 2.01

45 to 54 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,566 70,913 1,365 23,294 73,857 1,867 *4.2 3.23

55 to 64 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,509 60,649 1,126 23,896 62,802 1,471 *3.5 2.84

65 years and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,946 36,938 585 30,998 38,515 772 *4.3 2.75

Nativity of Householder

Native born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,191 54,741 713 107,081 57,173 558 *4.4 1.68

Foreign born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,396 49,649 1,142 18,738 52,295 1,126 *5.3 3.23

Naturalized citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,735 59,329 2,239 9,856 61,982 1,325 4.5 4.55

Not a citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,661 40,842 780 8,881 45,137 1,722 *10.5 4.39

Region

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,179 59,278 2,266 22,347 62,182 1,342 *4.9 4.15

Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,459 54,330 1,367 27,455 57,082 1,336 *5.1 3.30

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,040 49,712 838 47,822 51,174 622 *2.9 2.04

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,909 57,754 1,320 28,195 61,442 945 *6.4 2.84

Residence3

Inside metropolitan statistical areas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,009 55,920 582 107,615 59,258 780 N N

Inside principal cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,578 47,905 974 42,615 51,378 646 N N

Outside principal cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,431 61,671 626 65,000 64,144 952 N N

Outside metropolitan statistical areas4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,578 45,534 859 18,204 44,657 1,543 N N

EARNINGS OF FULL-TIME, YEAR-ROUND WORKERS

Men with earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,455 50,441 218 63,887 51,212 225 *1.5 0.60

Women with earnings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,226 39,667 719 47,211 40,742 241 *2.7 1.86

Female-to-male earnings ratio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . X 0.79 0.014 X 0.80 0.005 1.2 1.80

* An asterisk preceding an estimate indicates change is statistically different from zero at the 90 percent confidence level.

X Not applicable.

N Not comparable. 1

 A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. This number, when added to and 

subtracted from the estimate, forms the 90 percent confidence interval. Margins of error shown in this table are based on standard errors calculated using replicate weights. For more information, see 

“Standard Errors and Their Use” at <www2.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256sa.pdf>. 2

 Federal surveys give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who 

reported Asian and no other race (the race-alone or single-race concept) or as 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 first approach (race alone). 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. 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 available from Census 

2010 through American FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2010. Data for American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other Pacific Islanders, 

and those reporting two or more races are not shown separately. 3

 Once a decade, the CPS ASEC transitions to a new sample design and updates all metropolitan statistical area delineations. As a result, the metropolitan/nonmetropolitan estimates for 2014 and 

2015 are not comparable. Users may want to use the American Community Survey estimates for metropolitan/nonmetropolitan comparisons. 4

 The “Outside metropolitan statistical areas” category includes both micropolitan statistical areas and territory outside of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. For more information, see 

“About Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas” at <www.census.gov/population/metro/>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2015 and 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 7

• The number of men and women 

working full time, year round 

with earnings increased by 1.4 

million and 1 million, respectively, between 2014 and 2015 

(Table 1).7

• The real median earnings of men 

and women who worked full time, 

year round between 2014 and 

2015 increased by 1.5 percent 

and 2.7 percent, respectively 

(Table 1).8

• The 2015 female-to-male earnings ratio was 0.80, not statistically different from the 2014 ratio 

(Table 1 and Figure 2). 

Household Income

Median household income was 

$56,516 in 2015, a 5.2 percent 

increase from the 2014 median in real 

terms, but 1.6 percent lower than the 

median in 2007, the year before the 

most recent recession, and 2.4 percent lower than the median household 

income peak that occurred in 1999 

(Figure 1 and Table A-1).9

Type of Household

Real median incomes in 2015 of 

family households, $72,165, and 

nonfamily households, $33,805, 

increased 5.3 percent and 5.4 percent, 

respectively, from their 2014 medians 

(Table 1).10 This is the first annual 

increase in median household income 

for family households since 2007. The 

most recent increase for nonfamily 

households was in 2009.

7 The difference between the 2014–2015 

increase in the number of male and female fulltime, year-round workers with earnings was not 

statistically significant. 8 The difference between the 2014–2015 

percentage change in median earnings for men 

and women who worked full time, year round 

was not statistically significant. 9 The difference between the 1999 and 2007 

median household incomes was not statistically significant. The difference between the 

2007–2015 and 1999–2015 percentage changes 

(–1.6 percent and –2.4 percent, respectively) 

was not statistically significant. 10 The difference between the 2014–2015 

percentage change in median income for family 

and nonfamily households was not statistically 

significant.

For family households, married-couple 

households had the highest median 

income in 2015 ($84,626), followed 

by households maintained by men 

with no wife present ($55,861). Those 

maintained by women with no husband present had the lowest median 

income ($37,797).

Race and Hispanic Origin

The real median income of nonHispanic White ($62,950), Black 

($36,898), and Hispanic-origin 

($45,148) households increased 

4.4 percent, 4.1 percent, and 6.1 percent, respectively, between 2014 and 

2015.11 Among the race groups, Asian 

households had the highest median 

income in 2015 ($77,166), though 

the 2014 to 2015 percentage change 

in their real median income was not 

statistically significant (Table 1 and 

Figure 1). Non-Hispanic White and 

Black households last experienced an 

annual increase in median income in 

2007. Asian household’s last annual 

increase was in 1999. For Hispanic 

households, the most recent annual 

increase was in 2013.

Comparing the 2015 real median 

income of non-Hispanic White households with that of other households 

shows that the ratio of Asian to 

non-Hispanic White income was 1.23, 

the ratio of Black to non-Hispanic 

White income was 0.59, and the ratio 

of Hispanic to non-Hispanic White 

income was 0.72. Between 1972 and 

2015, the changes in the Black to nonHispanic White income ratio and the 

Hispanic to non-Hispanic White income 

ratio were not statistically significant. 

The 2015 Asian to non-Hispanic White 

income ratio was not statistically different from the 1987 ratio.12

11 The differences between the 2014–2015 

percentage changes in median income for nonHispanic White, Black, and Hispanic households 

were not statistically different. 12 The first year that income data for the 

Hispanic and non-Hispanic White populations 

were collected in the CPS ASEC was 1972. 

Income data for the Asian population was first 

available in 1987.

Age of Householder

Households maintained by householders aged 25 and over had their 

real median income increase between 

2014 and 2015. Specifically, households maintained by householders 

aged 45 to 54 had the highest median 

income in 2015 ($73,857), followed 

by those with householders aged 35 

to 44 ($71,417), those with householders aged 55 to 64 ($62,802), 

householders aged 25 to 34 

($57,366), and householders 65 and 

older ($38,515). Households maintained by householders aged 15 to 24 

years had the lowest median income 

($36,108), not statistically different 

from 2014 (Table 1).

Nativity

Between 2014 and 2015, the real 

median income of households maintained by a foreign-born person 

increased 5.3 percent, from $49,649 

to $52,295. The median income of 

households maintained by a nativeborn person increased 4.4 percent, 

from $54,741 to $57,173.13 The 

2015 median income of households 

maintained by a noncitizen ($45,137) 

increased 10.5 percent from 2014; 

while the median income of households maintained by a naturalized 

citizen ($61,982), was not statistically different from the 2014 median 

(Table 1).

In 2015, households maintained by a 

naturalized citizen ($61,982) had the 

highest median household income, 

followed by households maintained 

by a native-born person ($57,173). 

Households maintained by a noncitizen had the lowest median household 

income ($45,137) (Table 1).

13 The difference between the 2014–2015 

percentage change in median income for 

households maintained by a foreign-born person 

(5.3 percent) and a native-born person (4.4 percent) was not statistically significant.
8 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Region14

Households in all regions experienced an increase in real median 

income between 2014 and 2015. 

Median household income increased 

4.9 percent in the Northeast, 5.1 

percent in the Midwest, 2.9 percent 

in the South, and 6.4 percent in the 

West.15 Households with the highest 

median household incomes were in 

the Northeast ($62,182) and the West 

($61,442), followed by the Midwest 

($57,082) and the South ($51,174) 

(Table 1).16

Residence

Households within metropolitan statistical areas had a real median income 

of $59,258 in 2015 (Table 1). The real 

median income of households inside 

principal cities of metropolitan statistical areas was $51,378 in 2015.17

In 2015, households inside metropolitan statistical areas but outside the 

principal cities had the highest median 

income ($64,144), while households 

outside metropolitan statistical areas 

had the lowest ($44,657). 

14 The Northeast region includes Connecticut, 

Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New 

Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 

and Vermont. The Midwest region includes 

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, 

Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The South 

region includes 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 Alaska, 

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, 

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, 

Washington, and Wyoming. 15 The differences between the 2014–2015 

percentage changes in median household income 

for all regions, except for the difference between 

the South and West, were not statistically 

significant. 16 The difference between the 2015 median 

household incomes for the Northeast and the 

West was not statistically significant 17 Once a decade, the CPS ASEC transitions to 

a new sample design and updates all metropolitan statistical area delineations. As a result, the 

metropolitan/nonmetropolitan estimates for 

2014 and 2015 are not comparable. Users may 

want to use the American Community Survey 

estimates for metropolitan/nonmetropolitan 

comparisons.

Income Inequality 

The Census Bureau reports various measures of income inequality: 

(1) the Gini index; (2) the shares of 

aggregate household income received 

by quintiles; (3) the ratio of income 

percentiles; (4) the Theil index; (5) the 

mean logarithmic deviation of income 

(MLD); and (6) the Atkinson measure.18 The Gini index is a statistical 

measure of income inequality ranging from 0 to 1, with a measure of 

1 indicating perfect inequality (one 

household having all the income and 

the rest having none) and a measure 

of 0 indicating perfect equality (all 

households having an equal share 

of income). The Theil index and the 

MLD are similar to the Gini index in 

that they are single statistics that 

summarize the dispersion of income 

across the entire income distribution. 

The Atkinson measure is useful in 

determining which end of the income 

distribution contributed most to 

inequality.

The money income Gini index was 

0.479 in 2015, not statistically different from 2014. Changes in inequality 

between 2014 and 2015 were not 

significant as measured by the shares 

of aggregate household income by 

quintiles. On the other hand, in 2015, 

the 90th to 10th percentile income 

ratio was 12.23, a 4.7 percent decline 

from 12.83 in 2014. Changes in 

inequality between 2014 and 2015 

were not statistically significant as 

measured by the other indicators: the 

Theil index, the MLD, or the Atkinson 

measure (Table 2 and A-2).

Since 1993, the earliest year available for comparable measures of 

income inequality, the Gini index 

18 For an explanation of these inequality 

measures, see James Foster, Suman Seth, Michael 

Lokshin, and Zurab Sajaia, A Unified Approach 

to Measuring Poverty and Inequality: Theory and 

Practice, World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013, 

<https://openknowledge.worldbank.org

/bitstream/handle/10986/13731

/9780821384619.pdf>.

was up 5.5 percent (Table A-2).19, 20, 21

Comparing changes in household 

income at selected percentiles shows 

that income inequality has increased 

from 1999 (the year that household 

income peaked before the 2001 recession) to 2015 (Table A-2). Incomes 

at the 50th and 10th percentiles 

declined 2.4 percent and 9.9 percent, 

respectively, while income at the 

90th percentile increased 5.7 percent 

between 1999 and 2015. Since 1999, 

the 90th to 10th percentile income 

ratio (10.42 in 1999 and 12.23 in 

2015) has increased 17.4 percent.

Households in the lowest quintile had 

incomes of $22,800 or less in 2015. 

Households in the second quintile 

had incomes between $22,801 and 

$43,511, those in the third quintile 

had incomes between $43,512 and 

$72,001, and those in the fourth quintile had incomes between $72,002 

and $117,002. Households in the 

highest quintile had incomes of 

$117,003 or more. The top 5 percent 

of households in the income distribution had incomes of $214,463 

or more. 

Equivalence-Adjusted Income 

Inequality

Another way to measure income 

inequality is to use an equivalenceadjusted income estimate that takes 

into consideration the number of 

people living in the household and 

how these people share resources and 

take advantage of economies of scale. 

For example, the money-incomebased distribution treats an income of 

19 Exercise caution when making direct comparisons with years earlier than 1993 because 

of substantial methodological changes in the 

1994 CPS ASEC. In that year, the Census Bureau 

introduced computer-assisted interviewing and 

increased income reporting limits. 20 For further discussion of how high incomes 

reported in the CPS ASEC affect income distribution measures, see Jessica Semega and Ed 

Welniak, “Evaluating the Impact of Unrestricted 

Income Values on Income Distribution Measures 

Using the Current Population Survey’s Annual 

Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC),” April 

2007, <www.census.gov/library/working

-papers/2007/demo/semega-01.html>. 21 The calculated percentage change is different due to rounded components.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 9

$30,000 for a single-person household and a family household similarly, while the equivalence-adjusted 

income of $30,000 for a single-person 

household would be more than twice 

the equivalence-adjusted income of 

$30,000 for a family household with 

two adults and two children. The 

equivalence adjustment used here is 

based on a three-parameter scale22

that reflects:

1. On average, children consume 

less than adults.

2. As family size increases, expenses 

do not increase at the same rate.

3. The increase in expenses is larger 

for a first child of a single-parent 

22 The three-parameter scale used here is 

the same as the one used in the Supplemental 

Poverty Measure. For details on the derivation of the three-parameter scale, see Liana 

Fox, The Supplemental Poverty Measure: 2015, 

Current Population Reports, P60-258, U.S. 

Census Bureau, September 2016 <www2.census

.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-258

.pdf>.

family than the first child of a 

two-adult family. 

Table 2 shows several income inequality measures, including aggregate 

income shares and the Gini index, 

using both money income and equivalence-adjusted income for 2014 and 

2015. For both 2014 and 2015, the 

Gini index was lower when based on 

an equivalence-adjusted income estimate than on the traditional moneyincome estimate, suggesting a more 

equal income distribution. Generally, 

the income shares in the lower 

quintiles are higher with equivalenceadjusted income than money income 

while the reverse is true for the higher 

quintiles. This redistribution would 

be expected because the lower end of 

the income distribution has a higher 

concentration of single-person households and smaller family sizes than 

those at the upper end of the distribution. Thus, equivalence-adjusting 

increases the relative income of 

people living in lower-income groups.

Based on equivalence-adjusted 

income, changes in inequality 

between 2014 and 2015 were not statistically significant as measured by 

the Gini index and the Theil index, but 

income inequality decreased as measured by the MLD and the Atkinson 

measures (Table 2).23 The equivalenceadjusted Gini index was 0.462 in 

2015, and the Theil index was 0.396. 

The share of aggregate equivalenceadjusted income in the lowest quintile 

increased 3.0 percent between 2014 

and 2015 while the changes in the 

other quintiles were not statistically 

significant. The MLD was 0.623 in 

2015, a 3.8 percent decrease from 

2014. The Atkinson measure calculated with e=0.75 decreased 1.8 

percent between 2014 and 2015. 

Table A-3 shows equivalence-adjusted 

measures of the income distribution 

23 Income inequality decreased for the 

Atkinson measure calculated with e=0.75, but 

the difference was not statistically significant for 

the Atkinson measure calculated with e=0.25 and 

e=0.50.

Table 2. 

Income Distribution Measures Using Money Income and Equivalence-Adjusted Income: 

2014 and 2015

(For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs

-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Measure

2014 2015 Percentage change2,*

Money 

income 

Equivalenceadjusted 

income

Money

income 

Equivalenceadjusted 

income

Money 

income 

Equivalenceadjusted 

income

Estimate

Margin 

of error1

(±)

Estimate

Margin 

of error1

(±)

Estimate

Margin 

of error1

(±)

Estimate

Margin 

of error1

(±)

Estimate

Margin 

of error1

(±)

Estimate

Margin 

of error1

(±)

 Shares of Aggregate Income by 

Percentile

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 0.05 3.3 0.05 3.1 0.05 3.4 0.06 1.9 2.31 *3.0 2.37

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 0.08 9.0 0.08 8.2 0.09 9.0 0.09 0.3 1.46 0.6 1.31

Middle quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.3 0.11 14.8 0.11 14.3 0.12 14.8 0.11 0.5 1.12 0.4 1.05

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.2 0.15 22.9 0.14 23.2 0.15 22.9 0.14 0.1 0.89 –0.1 0.86

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.2 0.33 50.0 0.32 51.1 0.32 49.8 0.33 –0.4 0.88 –0.4 0.92

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.9 0.39 21.8 0.39 22.1 0.38 21.8 0.38 0.9 2.53 0.4 2.55

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . 0.480 0.0034 0.464 0.0033 0.479 0.0033 0.462 0.0035 –0.3 0.98 –0.5 1.03

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . 0.611 0.0120 0.648 0.0126 0.596 0.0111 0.623 0.0117 –2.4 2.49 *–3.8 2.44

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.419 0.0090 0.397 0.0088 0.420 0.0085 0.396 0.0085 0.2 2.95 –0.1 3.12

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.102 0.0018 0.096 0.0018 0.101 0.0017 0.096 0.0017 –0.2 2.43 –0.6 2.56

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.200 0.0030 0.192 0.0029 0.199 0.0028 0.190 0.0029 –0.6 2.02 –1.1 2.11

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.307 0.0040 0.301 0.0039 0.303 0.0038 0.295 0.0040 –1.1 1.74 *–1.8 1.77

* An asterisk preceding an estimate indicates change is statistically different from zero at the 90 percent confidence level. 1

 A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. This number, 

when added to and subtracted from the estimate, forms the 90 percent confidence interval. Margins of error shown in this table are based on standard errors calculated using 

replicate weights. For more information, see “Standard Errors and Their Use” at <www2.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256sa.pdf>. 2

 Calculated estimate may be different due to rounded components.

Source: U. S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2015 and 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.
10 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

as well as the Gini index, MLD, Theil 

index, and Atkinson measures for 

income years 1967 to 2015. 

Earnings and Work Experience

The 2015 real median earnings of 

men ($51,212) and women ($40,742) 

who worked full time, year round 

increased 1.5 percent and 2.7 percent, 

respectively, between 2014 and 2015 

(Table 1 and Figure 2).24, 25 This is the 

first significant annual increase in 

24 A full-time, year-round worker is a person 

who worked at least 35 hours per week (full 

time) and at least 50 weeks during the previous 

calendar year (year round). For school personnel, 

summer vacation is counted as weeks worked if 

they are scheduled to return to their job in the 

fall. For detailed information on work experience, see Table PINC-05, “Work Experience in 

2015—People 15 Years Old and Over by Total 

Money Earnings in 2015, Age, Race, Hispanic 

Origin, and Sex” at <www.census.gov/data

/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty

/cps-pinc/pinc-05.html>. 25 The difference between the 2014–2015 

percentage change in median earnings for men 

and women who worked full time, year round 

was not statistically significant.

median earnings for men or women 

since 2009. The 2015 female-to-male 

earnings ratio was 0.80, not statistically different from 2014. The femaleto-male earnings ratio has not experienced a statistically significant annual 

increase since 2007.

Between 2014 and 2015 the total 

number of people with earnings, 

regardless of work experience, 

increased by about 3.3 million. The 

number of men and women full-time, 

year-round workers increased by 1.4 

million and 1 million, respectively, 

Ratio in percent Recession

80 percent

Female-to-male earnings ratio

Earnings of men

Earnings of women

Earnings in thousands (2015 dollars)

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1959 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Figure 2.

Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio and Median Earnings of Full-Time, Year-Round Workers

15 Years and Older by Sex: 1960 to 2015

Note: The data for 2013 and beyond reflect the implementation of the redesigned income questions. The data points are placed at 

the midpoints of the respective years. Data on earnings of full-time, year-round workers are not readily available before 1960. 

For more information on recessions, see Appendix A. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, 

and definitions, see <www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1961 to 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

$51,212

$40,742
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 11

between 2014 and 2015 (Figure 3 and 

Table A-4).26 An estimated 73.9 percent of working men with earnings 

and 61.3 percent of working women 

with earnings worked full time, year 

26 The difference between the 2014–2015 

increase in the number of men and women fulltime, year-round workers was not statistically 

significant.

round in 2015, not statistically different from 2014.

In real terms, the 2015 median earnings of full-time, year-round working 

women in 2015 were 1.5 percent 

higher than their 2007 median, the 

year before the most recent recession. 

The real median earnings of full-time, 

year-round working men were not 

statistically different in 2015 than 

in 2007.

Figure 3.

Total and Full-Time, Year-Round Workers With Earnings by Sex: 1967 to 2015

Note: The data for 2013 and beyond reflect the implementation of the redesigned income questions. The data points are placed at the midpoints 

of the respective years. Data on number of workers are not readily available before 1967. Data are for people aged 15 and older beginning in 

1980 and people aged 14 and older for previous years. Before 1989, data are for civilian workers only. For more information on recessions, 

see Appendix A. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see 

<www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1968 to 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

Numbers in millions Recession

86.4 million

77.0 million

63.9 million

47.2 million

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

1959 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Female full-time, year-round 

workers

Male workers

Female workers

Male full-time, year-round 

workers
12 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

POVERTY IN THE UNITED STATES27

Highlights

• The official poverty rate in 2015 

was 13.5 percent, down 1.2 percentage points from 14.8 percent 

in 2014 (Figure 4 and Table 3).28

• In 2015 there were 43.1 million 

people in poverty, 3.5 million 

less than in 2014 (Figure 4 and 

Table 3). 

27 The Office of Management and Budget 

determined the official definition of poverty 

in Statistical Policy Directive 14. Appendix B 

provides a more detailed description of how the 

Census Bureau calculates poverty. 28 All percentages shown in this report 

are rounded to one decimal place but differences between estimates are calculated using 

unrounded numbers. Therefore, published 

estimates of the differences may not equal the 

result of subtracting the rounded numbers. In 

this report, the change in the poverty rate for all 

people is presented as –1.2 percentage points, 

resulting from using the more precise estimates 

of 13.54 percent for 2015 and 14.77 percent 

for 2014. 

• The 2015 poverty rate was 1.0 

percentage point higher than in 

2007, the year before the most 

recent recession (Figure 4).

• For most demographic groups, 

2015 poverty rates and estimates 

of the number of people in poverty decreased from 2014 (Table 3 

and Table 4). 

• Between 2014 and 2015, poverty 

rates decreased for all three major 

age groups. The poverty rate for 

children under age 18 dropped 

1.4 percentage points, from 21.1 

percent to 19.7 percent. Rates for 

people aged 18 to 64 dropped 

1.1 percentage points, from 13.5 

percent to 12.4 percent. Poverty 

rates for people aged 65 and 

older decreased 1.1 percentage 

points, from 10.0 percent to 8.8 

percent (Table 3 and Figure 5).29

Race and Hispanic Origin

For non-Hispanic Whites the poverty 

rate decreased to 9.1 percent in 2015, 

down from 10.1 percent in 2014. The 

number in poverty decreased to 17.8 

million, down from 19.7 million. The 

poverty rate for non-Hispanic Whites 

was lower than the poverty rates for 

other racial groups. Non-Hispanic 

Whites accounted for 61.4 percent of 

the total population and 41.2 percent 

of people in poverty (Table 3). 

29 Since unrelated individuals under 15 are 

excluded from the poverty universe, there were 

364,000 fewer children in the poverty universe 

than in the total civilian noninstitutionalized 

population.

Figure 4.

Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2015

Note: The data for 2013 and beyond reflect the implementation of the redesigned income questions. The data points are placed at 

the midpoints of the respective years. For information on recessions, see Appendix A. For information on confidentiality protection, 

sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see <www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

Numbers in millions Recession

43.1 million

13.5 percent

Number in poverty

Poverty rate

Percent 

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0

5

10

15

20

25

1959 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 13

Table 3.

People in Poverty by Selected Characteristics: 2014 and 2015

(Numbers in thousands, margin of error in thousands or percentage points as appropriate. People as of March of the following year. For information on 

confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Characteristic

2014 2015 Change in poverty 

(2015 less 2014)2,*

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Number

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Number Percent

PEOPLE

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315,804 46,657 857 14.8 0.3 318,454 43,123 926 13.5 0.3 *–3,534 *–1.2

Family Status

In families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256,308 32,615 741 12.7 0.3 258,121 29,893 844 11.6 0.3 *–2,722 *–1.1

Householder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,730 9,467 228 11.6 0.3 82,199 8,589 243 10.4 0.3 *–879 *–1.1

Related children under age 18 . . . . . . . . 72,383 14,987 403 20.7 0.6 72,558 13,962 441 19.2 0.6 *–1,025 *–1.5

 Related children under age 6 . . . . . . . 23,470 5,504 197 23.5 0.8 23,459 4,923 201 21.0 0.8 *–582 *–2.5

In unrelated subfamilies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,558 668 104 42.9 5.0 1,344 559 81 41.6 4.9 –109 –1.3 

Reference person . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 652 266 40 40.8 4.8 563 231 34 41.0 4.9 –35 0.1 

Children under age 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 832 388 63 46.6 5.6 701 321 49 45.9 5.5 –67 –0.8 

Unrelated individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,937 13,374 372 23.1 0.6 58,988 12,671 417 21.5 0.6 *–702 *–1.6

Race3 and Hispanic Origin

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244,253 31,089 640 12.7 0.3 245,536 28,566 705 11.6 0.3 *–2,523 *–1.1

 White, not Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,208 19,652 524 10.1 0.3 195,450 17,786 548 9.1 0.3 *–1,867 *–1.0

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,112 10,755 363 26.2 0.9 41,625 10,020 416 24.1 1.0 *–735 *–2.1

Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,790 2,137 208 12.0 1.2 18,241 2,078 189 11.4 1.0 –59 –0.6 

Hispanic (any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,504 13,104 427 23.6 0.8 56,780 12,133 444 21.4 0.8 *–971 *–2.2

Sex

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154,639 20,708 443 13.4 0.3 156,009 19,037 470 12.2 0.3 *–1,671 *–1.2

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161,164 25,949 524 16.1 0.3 162,445 24,086 548 14.8 0.3 *–1,863 *–1.3

Age

Under age 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,556 15,540 406 21.1 0.5 73,647 14,509 449 19.7 0.6 *–1,031 *–1.4

Aged 18 to 64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196,254 26,527 533 13.5 0.3 197,260 24,414 566 12.4 0.3 *–2,114 *–1.1

Aged 65 and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,994 4,590 176 10.0 0.4 47,547 4,201 203 8.8 0.4 *–389 *–1.1

Nativity

Native born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273,628 38,871 774 14.2 0.3 275,398 35,973 811 13.1 0.3 *–2,898 *–1.1

Foreign born . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,175 7,786 285 18.5 0.6 43,056 7,150 329 16.6 0.7 *–636 *–1.9

Naturalized citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,731 2,347 146 11.9 0.7 20,084 2,255 151 11.2 0.7 –92 –0.7 

Not a citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,444 5,439 241 24.2 0.9 22,973 4,895 284 21.3 1.0 *–544 *–2.9

Region

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,725 7,020 341 12.6 0.6 55,779 6,891 387 12.4 0.7 –129 –0.2 

Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,130 8,714 358 13.0 0.5 67,030 7,849 377 11.7 0.6 *–865 *–1.3

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118,193 19,531 466 16.5 0.4 119,955 18,305 604 15.3 0.5 *–1,227 *–1.3

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74,756 11,391 454 15.2 0.6 75,690 10,079 421 13.3 0.6 *–1,312 *–1.9

Residence4

Inside metropolitan statistical areas . . . . . 265,788 38,416 895 14.5 0.3 274,046 35,718 932 13.0 0.3 N N

Inside principal cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99,182 18,708 664 18.9 0.6 103,617 17,368 649 16.8 0.6 N N

Outside principal cities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166,606 19,708 659 11.8 0.3 170,429 18,350 695 10.8 0.4 N N

Outside metropolitan statistical areas5 . . . 50,016 8,241 526 16.5 0.7 44,408 7,405 638 16.7 0.8 N N

Work Experience

 Total, aged 18 to 64 . . . . . . . . . . . 196,254 26,527 533 13.5 0.3 197,260 24,414 566 12.4 0.3 *–2,114 *–1.1

All workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147,712 10,155 270 6.9 0.2 150,229 9,457 297 6.3 0.2 *–698 *–0.6

Worked full-time, year-round . . . . . . . . . 103,379 3,091 148 3.0 0.1 105,695 2,537 136 2.4 0.1 *–554 *–0.6

Less than full-time, year-round......... 44,332 7,064 231 15.9 0.5 44,534 6,920 263 15.5 0.6 –144 –0.4 

Did not work at least 1 week . . . . . . . . . . . 48,542 16,372 424 33.7 0.7 47,031 14,957 399 31.8 0.7 *–1,415 *–1.9

Disability Status6

 Total, aged 18 to 64 . . . . . . . . . . . 196,254 26,527 533 13.5 0.3 197,260 24,414 566 12.4 0.3 *–2,114 *–1.1

With a disability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,429 4,403 195 28.5 1.1 15,276 4,358 191 28.5 1.1 –45 Z 

With no disability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179,905 22,055 471 12.3 0.3 181,069 20,000 526 11.0 0.3 *–2,056 *–1.2

Educational Attainment

 Total, aged 25 and older . . . . . . . 212,132 25,163 485 11.9 0.2 215,015 22,957 526 10.7 0.2 *–2,207 *–1.2

No high school diploma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,582 7,098 218 28.9 0.8 23,453 6,171 240 26.3 0.8 *–928 *–2.6

High school, no college . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,575 8,898 279 14.2 0.4 62,002 8,016 277 12.9 0.4 *–882 *–1.3

Some college, no degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,031 5,719 207 10.2 0.4 57,660 5,550 200 9.6 0.3 –169 *–0.6

Bachelor’s degree or higher . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,945 3,449 168 5.0 0.2 71,900 3,221 176 4.5 0.2 *–228 *–0.5

* An asterisk preceding an estimate indicates change is statistically different from zero at the 

90 percent confidence level.

N Not comparable.

Z Represents or rounds to zero. 1

 A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in 

relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. This number, when added to and subtracted from the estimate, forms the 90 percent confidence interval. Margins of error shown in this table 

are based on standard errors calculated using replicate weights. For more information, see “Standard 

Errors and Their Use” at <www2.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256sa.pdf>. 2

 Details may not sum to totals because of rounding. 3

 Federal surveys give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two 

basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who 

reported Asian and no other race (the race-alone or single-race concept) or as 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 first approach (race alone). 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. 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 available 

from Census 2010 through American FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people reported more than one 

race in Census 2010. Data for American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians and Other 

Pacific Islanders, and those reporting two or more races are not shown separately. 4

 Once a decade, the CPS ASEC transitions to a new sample design and updates all metropolitan statistical area delineations. As a result, the metropolitan/nonmetropolitan estimates for 2014 

and 2015 are not comparable. Users may want to use the American Community Survey estimates 

for metropolitan/nonmetropolitan comparisons. 5

 The “Outside metropolitan statistical areas” category includes both micropolitan statistical 

areas and territory outside of metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas. For more information, 

see “About Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas” at <www.census.gov/population/metro/>. 6

 The sum of those with and without a disability does not equal the total because disability 

status is not defined for individuals in the Armed Forces.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2015 and 2016 Annual Social and 

Economic Supplements.
14 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

The poverty rate for Blacks decreased 

to 24.1 percent in 2015, down from 

26.2 percent in 2014. The number 

in poverty decreased to 10.0 million, 

down from 10.8 million. For Asians, 

the 2015 poverty rate and the number in poverty were 11.4 percent 

and 2.1 million; neither estimate was 

statistically different from 2014. The 

poverty rate decreased for Hispanics 

to 21.4 percent in 2015, down from 

23.6 percent in 2014. The number 

of Hispanics in poverty decreased to 

12.1 million, down from 13.1 million.

Age

In 2015, poverty rates and numbers in poverty declined for all three 

major age groups. Poverty in 2015 

decreased for people aged 18 to 

64, to 12.4 percent and 24.4 million, down from 13.5 percent and 

26.5 million in 2014. For people aged 

65 and older, the 2015 poverty rate 

declined to 8.8 percent in 2015 from 

10.0 percent in 2014, while the number in poverty declined to 4.2 million, 

down from 4.6 million (Table 3 and 

Figure 5).

For children under age 18, 19.7 percent and 14.5 million were in poverty 

in 2015, down from 21.1 percent 

and 15.5 million in 2014. Children 

represented 23.1 percent of the total 

population in 2015 and 33.6 percent 

of the people in poverty. 

Related children are people under 

age 18 related to the householder 

by birth, marriage, or adoption, who 

are not themselves householders or 

spouses of householders.30 The poverty rate and the number in poverty 

for related children under age 18 

were 19.2 percent and 14.0 million 

in 2015, down from 20.7 percent and 

15.0 million in 2014. For related children in married-couple families, 9.8 

percent and 4.8 million were in poverty in 2015, down from 10.6 percent 

and 5.2 million in 2014. For related 

children in families with a female 

householder, 42.6 percent and 7.9 

million were in poverty in 2015, down 

from 46.5 percent and 8.5 million in 

30 Official poverty estimates for people 

under the age of 18 are compiled in two ways: 

estimates for all people under the age of 18 and 

estimates for related children. In 2015, estimates 

for all people under the age of 18 included an 

additional 1.1 million individuals. About 701,000 

were members of unrelated subfamilies. The rest 

were unrelated individuals between the ages of 

15 and 17, householders and spouses of householders under 18 years of age.

Figure 5.

Poverty Rates by Age: 1959 to 2015

Note: The data for 2013 and beyond reflect the implementation of the redesigned income questions. The data points are placed at 

the midpoints of the respective years. Data for people aged 18 to 64 and aged 65 and older are not available from 1960 to 1965. 

For information on recessions, see Appendix A. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, 

and definitions, see <www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements. 

Percent 

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

1959 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Recession

12.4 percent

8.8 percent

19.7 percent

Aged 18 to 64

Under age 18

Aged 65 and older
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 15

2014. The 2015 poverty estimates for 

related children in male householder 

families were 25.9 percent and 1.3 

million, not statistically different from 

2014.31

The poverty rate and the number in 

poverty for related children under 

age 6 were 21.0 percent and 4.9 million in 2015, down from 23.5 percent 

and 5.5 million in 2014. About half 

(49.5 percent) of related children 

under age 6 in families with a female 

householder were in poverty. This 

was more than four times the rate of 

their counterparts in married-couple 

families (10.1 percent).

Sex

In 2015, 12.2 percent of males were 

in poverty, down from 13.4 percent in 

2014. About 14.8 percent of females 

were in poverty in 2015, down from 

16.1 percent in 2014 (Table 3).

Gender differences in poverty rates 

were more pronounced for those aged 

18 to 64. The poverty rate for women 

aged 18 to 64 was 14.2 percent while 

the poverty rate for men aged 18 to 

64 was 10.5 percent. The poverty rate 

for women aged 65 and older was 

10.3 percent while the poverty rate 

for men aged 65 and older was 7.0 

percent.32 For children under age 18, 

the 19.9 percent poverty rate for girls 

was not statistically different from the 

19.5 percent poverty rate for boys 

(Figure 6). 

Nativity

Of all people, 86.5 percent were 

native born and 13.5 percent were 

foreign born. The poverty rate and the 

31 In the text of this report, families with a 

female householder with no husband present are 

referred to as families with a female householder. 

Families with a male householder with no wife 

present are referred to as families with a male 

householder. 32 The poverty rate for females aged 65 and 

older was not statistically different from the 

poverty rate for males aged 18 to 64.

number in poverty for the native-born 

population decreased to 13.1 percent and 36.0 million in 2015, down 

from 14.2 percent and 38.9 million in 

2014. Among the foreign-born population, 16.6 percent and 7.2 million 

lived in poverty in 2015, down from 

18.5 percent and 7.8 million in 2014 

(Table 3).

Within the foreign-born population 

in 2015, 46.6 percent were naturalized U.S. citizens, while the remaining 

were not citizens of the United States. 

The poverty rate and the number 

in poverty in 2015 for foreign-born 

naturalized citizens was 11.2 percent, 

and 2.3 million, not statistically different from 2014. The poverty rate 

and the number in poverty for those 

who were not U.S. citizens decreased 

in 2015 to 21.3 percent, down from 

24.2 percent in 2014. The number 

in poverty decreased to 4.9 million, 

down from 5.4 million.

Region

In 2015, the poverty rate and the 

number in poverty decreased in three 

of the four regions. The 2015 poverty rate and number in poverty for 

the Northeast was 12.4 percent and 

6.9 million, not statistically different from 2014. In 2015, the Midwest 

poverty rate declined to 11.7 percent 

from 13.0 percent in 2014, while 

the number in poverty decreased to 

7.8 million from 8.7 million. For the 

South, the 2015 poverty rate was 

15.3 percent, down from 16.5 percent 

in 2014, while the number in poverty decreased to 18.3 million from 

19.5 million. The poverty rate for the 

West in 2015 was 13.3 percent, down 

from 15.2 percent in 2014, while the 

number in poverty decreased to 10.1 

million from 11.4 million. The South 

had the highest poverty rate in 2015 

relative to the other three regions 

(Table 3).33

Residence

Inside metropolitan statistical areas, 

the poverty rate was 13.0 percent 

in 2015, with 35.7 million people in 

33 The difference in the poverty rates for the 

Northeast and the Midwest was not statistically 

significant.

Figure 6.

Poverty Rates by Age and Sex: 2015

(In percent)

Female

Male

19.9 

19.5

14.2

7.0

10.3

10.5

Under

 age 18

Aged

18 to 64

Aged

65 and older

Note: For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, 

and definitions, see <www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

 
16 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

poverty. Among those living outside 

metropolitan statistical areas, the 

poverty rate was 16.7 percent in 

2015, with 7.4 million people living in 

poverty.

The 2015 poverty rate for those living 

inside metropolitan statistical areas 

but not in principal cities was 10.8 

percent. The number of people in poverty was 18.4 million. Among those 

who lived in principal cities, the 2015 

poverty rate was 16.8 percent. The 

number in poverty was 17.4 million. 

Within metropolitan statistical areas, 

people in poverty were more likely to 

live in principal cities. In 2015, 37.8 

percent of all people living in metropolitan areas lived in principal cities, 

while 48.6 percent of poor people in 

metropolitan areas lived in principal 

cities (Table 3).

As a result of the 2016 CPS ASEC 

transition to a new sample design and 

updated metropolitan statistical area 

delineations, comparisons from the 

2015 ASEC to the 2016 ASEC are not 

appropriate.

Work Experience

In 2015, 6.3 percent of workers aged 

18 to 64 were in poverty, a decline 

from 6.9 percent in 2014. For those 

who worked full time, year round, 

2.4 percent were in poverty in 2015, 

down from 3.0 percent in 2014. 

Those working less than full time, 

year round had a poverty rate in 2015 

of 15.5 percent, which was not statistically different from 2014 (Table 3).

Among those aged 18 to 64 who 

did not work at least 1 week during 

the calendar year, the poverty rate 

decreased to 31.8 percent in 2015 

from 33.7 percent in 2014 (Table 3). 

Those who did not work at least 

1 week in 2015 represented 23.8 

percent of all people aged 18 to 64, 

while they made up 61.3 percent of 

people aged 18 to 64 in poverty.

Disability Status

For people aged 18 to 64 with a disability, the 2015 poverty rate (28.5 

percent) and number in poverty (4.4 

million) were not statistically different 

from 2014. For people aged 18 to 64 

without a disability, the poverty rate 

and the number in poverty decreased 

to 11.0 percent and 20.0 million in 

2015, down from 12.3 percent and 

22.1 million in 2014.

Among people aged 18 to 64, those 

with a disability represented 7.7 

percent of all people, compared with 

17.9 percent of people aged 18 to 64 

in poverty.

Educational Attainment

In 2015, 26.3 percent (6.2 million) of 

people aged 25 and older without a 

high school diploma were in poverty, 

a decline from 28.9 percent (7.1 million) in 2014. The 2015 poverty rate 

for those with a high school diploma 

but with no college was 12.9 percent 

(8.0 million), down from 14.2 percent (8.9 million) in 2014. For those 

with some college but no degree, 

9.6 percent were in poverty in 2015, 

a decline from 10.2 percent in 2014. 

The number of these individuals 

in poverty remained unchanged at 

5.6 million in 2015 (Table 3).

Among people with at least a bachelor’s degree, 4.5 percent were in poverty in 2015, a decline from 5.0 percent in 2014. The number in poverty 

decreased to 3.2 million, down from 

3.4 million in 2014 (Table 3). People 

with at least a bachelor’s degree in 

2015 represented 33.4 percent of all 

people aged 25 and older, compared 

with 14.0 percent of people aged 25 

and older in poverty.

Table 4.

Families in Poverty by Type of Family: 2014 and 2015

(Numbers in thousands, margin of error in thousands or percentage points as appropriate. Families as of March of the following year. For information on 

confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Characteristic

2014 2015 Change in poverty 

(2015 less 2014)2,*

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Number

Margin of 

error1 (±) Percent

Margin of 

error1 (±) Number Percent

FAMILIES

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,730 9,467 228 11.6 0.3 82,199 8,589 243 10.4 0.3 *–879 *–1.1

Type of Family

Married-couple............. 60,015 3,735 141 6.2 0.2 60,258 3,245 142 5.4 0.2 *–489 *–0.8

Female householder, 

no husband present........ 15,553 4,764 171 30.6 0.9 15,630 4,404 160 28.2 0.9 *–360 *–2.5

Male householder, 

no wife present . . . . . . . . . . 6,162 969 69 15.7 1.0 6,311 939 71 14.9 1.0 –29 –0.8 

* An asterisk preceding an estimate indicates change is statistically different from zero at the 90 percent confidence level. 1

 A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. This number, when 

added to and subtracted from the estimate, forms the 90 percent confidence interval. Margins of error shown in this table are based on standard errors calculated using replicate 

weights. For more information, see “Standard Errors and Their Use” at <www2.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256sa.pdf>. 2

 Details may not sum to totals because of rounding.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2015 and 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 17

Families

The poverty rate for families in 2015 

was 10.4 percent, representing 8.6 

million families, a decline from 11.6 

percent and 9.5 million families in 

2014 (Table 4).

For married-couple families, the 

poverty rate decreased to 5.4 percent 

and the number in poverty decreased 

to 3.2 million in 2015, down from 6.2 

percent and 3.7 million in 2014. The 

poverty rate and the number in poverty also decreased for families with 

a female householder to 28.2 percent 

and 4.4 million in 2015, down from 

30.6 percent and 4.8 million in 2014. 

For families with a male householder, 

neither the poverty rate nor the number in poverty showed any statistical 

change between 2014 and 2015. For 

families with a male householder, 

14.9 percent were in poverty in 2015, 

representing 939,000 families.

Depth of Poverty

Categorizing a person as “in poverty” 

or “not in poverty” is one way to 

describe his or her economic situation. The income-to-poverty ratio and 

measures of income deficit or surplus 

describe additional aspects of economic well-being. While the poverty 

rate shows the proportion of people 

with income below the relevant poverty threshold, the income-to-poverty 

ratio gauges the depth of poverty and 

shows how close a family’s income is 

to its poverty threshold. The incometo-poverty ratio is reported as a 

percentage that compares a family’s or 

an unrelated person’s income with the 

applicable threshold. For example, a 

family with an income-to-poverty ratio 

of 125 percent has income that is 25 

percent above its poverty threshold.

The income deficit or surplus shows 

how many dollars a family’s or an individual’s income is below (or above) 

their poverty threshold. For those 

with an income deficit, the measure is 

an estimate of the dollar amount necessary to raise a family’s or a person’s 

income to their poverty threshold.

Ratio of Income to Poverty

Table 5 presents the number and 

the percentage of people with specified income-to-poverty ratios—those 

Table 5.

People With Income Below Specified Ratios of Their Poverty Thresholds by Selected 

Characteristics: 2015

(Numbers in thousands, margin of error in thousands or percentage points as appropriate. People as of March of the following year. For information on 

confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Characteristic

Total

Income-to-poverty ratio1

Under 0.50 Under 1.25 Under 1.50 Under 2.00

Number

Margin of 

error2

(±)

Percent

Margin of 

error2

(±) Number

Margin of 

error2

(±)

Percent

Margin of 

error2

(±) Number

Margin of 

error2

(±)

Percent

Margin of 

error2

(±) Number

Margin of 

error2

(±)

Percent

Margin of 

error2

(±)

 All people . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318,454 19,444 589 6.1 0.2 56,912 1,048 17.9 0.3 71,681 1,116 22.5 0.3 100,894 1,198 31.7 0.4

Age

Under age 18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,647 6,537 300 8.9 0.4 18,725 475 25.4 0.6 23,117 492 31.4 0.7 30,756 493 41.8 0.7

Aged 18 to 64 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197,260 11,572 388 5.9 0.2 31,632 636 16.0 0.3 39,226 701 19.9 0.4 55,348 772 28.1 0.4

Aged 65 and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,547 1,335 127 2.8 0.3 6,556 263 13.8 0.6 9,338 302 19.6 0.6 14,789 345 31.1 0.7

Sex

Male . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156,009 8,484 314 5.4 0.2 25,208 529 16.2 0.3 31,989 579 20.5 0.4 45,868 645 29.4 0.4

Female . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162,445 10,960 350 6.7 0.2 31,705 619 19.5 0.4 39,693 640 24.4 0.4 55,025 669 33.9 0.4

Race3 and Hispanic Origin

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245,536 12,555 445 5.1 0.2 38,504 839 15.7 0.3 49,245 866 20.1 0.4 71,104 978 29.0 0.4

 White, not Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . 195,450 8,355 365 4.3 0.2 24,091 658 12.3 0.3 31,256 692 16.0 0.4 46,475 823 23.8 0.4

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,625 4,549 276 10.9 0.7 12,538 453 30.1 1.1 15,180 438 36.5 1.1 19,843 456 47.7 1.1

Asian . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,241 1,133 151 6.2 0.8 2,638 209 14.5 1.1 3,275 228 18.0 1.2 4,465 256 24.5 1.4

Hispanic (any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,780 4,839 275 8.5 0.5 16,328 510 28.8 0.9 20,278 522 35.7 0.9 27,921 523 49.2 0.9

Family Status

In families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 258,121 12,464 516 4.8 0.2 40,272 954 15.6 0.4 51,477 1,029 19.9 0.4 74,400 1,119 28.8 0.4

Householder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82,199 3,666 148 4.5 0.2 11,603 278 14.1 0.3 14,822 309 18.0 0.4 21,812 337 26.5 0.4

Related children under age 18 . . . 72,558 6,121 293 8.4 0.4 18,106 466 25.0 0.6 22,399 489 30.9 0.7 29,927 493 41.2 0.7

 Related children under age 6 . . 23,459 2,341 154 10.0 0.6 6,296 214 26.8 0.9 7,747 230 33.0 1.0 10,291 230 43.9 1.0

In unrelated subfamilies . . . . . . . . . . 1,344 396 75 29.4 4.8 662 87 49.3 5.1 791 97 58.8 5.1 961 107 71.5 4.4

Unrelated individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,988 6,585 285 11.2 0.4 15,978 461 27.1 0.6 19,414 508 32.9 0.6 25,532 591 43.3 0.6

1

 The estimates for people with income below 100 percent of their poverty thresholds (under 1.00) can be found in Table 3. 2

 A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. This number, when added to and subtracted from 

the estimate, forms the 90 percent confidence interval. Margins of error shown in this table are based on standard errors calculated using replicate weights. For more information, see “Standard Errors and Their 

Use” at <www2.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256sa.pdf>. 3

 Federal surveys give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who 

reported Asian and no other race (the race-alone or single-race concept) or as 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 first approach (race alone). 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. 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 available from Census 

2010 through American FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2010. Data for American Indians and Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islanders, 

and those reporting two or more races are not shown separately.

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

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
18 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

below 50 percent of poverty (“Under 

0.50”), those below 125 percent of 

poverty (“Under 1.25”), those below 

150 percent of poverty (“Under 1.50”), 

and those below 200 percent of poverty (“Under 2.00”).

In 2015, 19.4 million people reported 

family income below one-half of 

their poverty threshold. They represented 6.1 percent of all people 

and 45.1 percent of those in poverty. Approximately 17.9 percent of 

individuals had family income below 

125 percent of their threshold, 22.5 

percent had family income below 150 

percent of their poverty threshold 

while 31.7 percent had family income 

below 200 percent of their threshold 

(Table 5).

Of the 19.4 million people in 2015 

with family income below one-half of 

their poverty threshold, 6.5 million 

were children under age 18, 11.6 million were aged 18 to 64, and 1.3 million were aged 65 and older (Table 5). 

The demographic makeup of the 

population differs at varying degrees 

of poverty (Figure 7). In 2015 children 

represented:

• 23.1 percent of the overall 

population.

• 19.7 percent of the people in 

families with income above 200 

percent of their poverty threshold 

(Figure 7).

• 28.1 percent of people in families 

with income between 100 percent 

and 200 percent of their poverty 

threshold.

• 33.6 percent of the population in 

families with income below 50 

percent of their poverty threshold.

By comparison, people aged 65 and 

older represented:

• 14.9 percent of the overall 

population.

• 15.1 percent of the people in 

families with income above 200 

percent of their poverty threshold 

(Figure 7).

• 18.3 percent of the people in 

families with income between 100 

percent and 200 percent of their 

poverty threshold.

• 6.9 percent of people in families 

with income below 50 percent of 

their poverty threshold.

Income Deficit

The income deficit for families in 

poverty (the difference in dollars 

between a family’s income and its 

poverty threshold) averaged $10,118 

in 2015, which was not statistically 

different from the inflation-adjusted 

2014 estimate. The average income 

deficit was larger for families with a 

female householder ($10,759) than 

for married-couple families ($9,456) 

(Table 6).

The average per capita income deficit 

was also larger for families with a 

female householder ($3,219) than for 

married-couple families ($2,501).34

For unrelated individuals, the average 

income deficit for those in poverty 

was $6,873 in 2015. The $6,658 

deficit for women was lower than the 

$7,151 deficit for men.

Shared Households

Shared households are defined as 

households that include at least one 

“additional” adult, a person aged 18 

or older, who is not the householder, 

spouse, or cohabiting partner of the 

householder. Adults aged 18 to 24 

who are enrolled in school are not 

counted as additional adults.

34 The income deficit per capita is computed 

by dividing the average deficit by the average 

number of people in that type of family. Since 

families with a female householder were smaller 

on average than married-couple families, the 

larger per capita deficit for female householder 

families reflects their smaller average family size 

as well as their lower average family income.

Figure 7.

Demographic Makeup of the Population at Varying Degrees 

of Poverty: 2015

Below 50%

From 50% to 99%

From 100% to 199%

200% and above

Population with

income-to-poverty ratios

Total

Children under

age 18

(In percent)

23.1 61.9 14.9

65.2 15.1

18.3

12.1

6.9

53.5

54.2

59.5

19.7

28.1

33.7

33.6

People aged 

18 to 64 

People aged 

65 and older

Note: For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see <www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf>.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 19

In 2016, the percentage and number of shared households remained 

higher than in 2007, the year before 

the most recent recession.35 In 2007, 

17.0 percent of all households were 

shared households, totaling 19.7 million shared households. In 2016, 19.1 

percent of all households were shared 

households, totaling 24.1 million 

shared households.

From 2015 to 2016, changes in the 

percentage and number of shared 

households were not significant. 

35 While poverty estimates are based on 

income in the previous calendar year, estimates 

of living arrangements, including shared households, reflect household composition at the time 

of the survey. The CPS ASEC is collected during 

the months of February, March, and April of 

each year.

Changes in the percentage and 

number of additional adults residing 

in shared households were also not 

significant. 

In 2016, an estimated 27.2 percent 

(11.9 million) of adults aged 25 to 34 

were additional adults in someone 

else’s household, representing an 

increase from 25.8 percent (11.1 million) in 2015. Of young adults aged 

25 to 34, 16.0 percent (7.0 million) 

lived with their parents in 2016, an 

increase from 15.1 percent (6.5 million) in 2015.

It is difficult to assess the precise 

impact of household sharing on 

overall poverty rates. Adults aged 25 

to 34 living with their parents in 2016 

had an official 2015 poverty rate of 

6.8 percent (when the entire family’s 

income is compared with the threshold that includes the young adult as 

a member of the family). However, if 

poverty status had been determined 

using only the young adult’s own 

income, 39.4 percent of those aged 

25 to 34 would have been below the 

poverty threshold for a single person 

under age 65. However, although 

6.6 percent of families including at 

least one adult child of the householder were in poverty in 2015, the 

poverty rate for these families would 

have increased to 12.0 percent if the 

young adult were not living in the 

household.

Table 6.

Income Deficit or Surplus of Families and Unrelated Individuals by Poverty Status: 2015

(Numbers of families and unrelated individuals in thousands, deficits and surpluses and their margin of error in dollars. For information on 

confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Characteristic

Total

Size of deficit or surplus Average deficit 

or surplus 

(dollars)

Deficit or 

surplus per 

capita (dollars)

Under

$1,000 

$1,000 

to 

$2,499

$2,500 

to 

$4,999

$5,000 

to 

$7,499

$7,500 

to 

$9,999

$10,000 

to 

$12,499

$12,500 

to 

$14,999

$15,000 

or 

more

Estimate

Margin of 

error1

(±)

Estimate

Margin of 

error1

(±)

Below Poverty Threshold, Deficit

All families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,589 482 836 1,304 1,184 886 806 840 2,251 10,118 178 2,907 54

Married-couple families . . . . . . . . . 3,245 242 376 556 410 339 239 350 732 9,456 303 2,501 83

Families with a female householder, 

no husband present . . . . . . . . . . . 4,404 180 339 603 637 448 484 423 1,290 10,759 236 3,219 73

Families with a male householder, 

no wife present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 939 60 121 145 138 99 82 66 230 9,402 611 3,041 180

Unrelated individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,671 1,312 1,985 2,347 1,209 897 4,921 Z Z 6,873 110 6,873 110

Above Poverty Threshold, Surplus

All families . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,610 621 903 1,568 1,659 1,851 1,909 1,805 63,295 82,483 938 26,603 333

Married-couple families . . . . . . . . . 57,013 307 456 725 920 1,057 1,139 1,141 51,267 92,683 1,162 29,509 397

Families with a female householder, 

no husband present . . . . . . . . . . . 11,225 242 341 672 543 568 574 475 7,811 42,299 1,212 14,057 434

Families with a male householder, 

no wife present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,372 72 106 171 196 226 196 189 4,217 58,203 2,792 20,326 1,059

Unrelated individuals . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,317 1,064 1,426 3,171 2,469 2,963 2,252 2,834 30,139 37,608 780 37,608 780

Z Represents or rounds to zero. 1

 A margin of error is a measure of an estimate’s variability. The larger the margin of error in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. This number, when 

added to and subtracted from the estimate, forms the 90 percent confidence interval. Margins of error shown in this table are based on standard errors calculated using replicate 

weights. For more information, see “Standard Errors and Their Use” at <www2.census.gov/library/publications/2016/demo/p60-256sa.pdf>.

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

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.
20 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Alternative/Experimental 

Poverty Measures

The poverty estimates in this report 

compare the official poverty thresholds to money income before taxes, 

not including the value of noncash 

benefits. This money income measure does not completely capture 

the economic well-being of individuals and families, and there are many 

questions about the adequacy of the 

official poverty thresholds. Families 

and individuals also derive economic 

well-being from noncash benefits, 

such as food and housing subsidies, 

and their disposable income is determined by both taxes paid and tax 

credits received. The official poverty 

thresholds developed more than 50 

years ago do not take into account rising standards of living or such things 

as childcare expenses, other workrelated expenses, variations in medical costs across population groups, 

or geographic differences in the 

cost of living. For more details, see 

the text box “Supplemental Poverty 

Measure” on page 4. Poverty estimates using the Supplemental Poverty 

Measure (SPM) address many of these 

concerns. For more information on 

SPM estimates for 2015 see <www2

.census.gov/library/publications

/2016/demo/p60-258.pdf>. 

National Academy of Sciences (NAS)-

Based Measures

The Census Bureau also computes 

alternative poverty measures based 

on the 1995 recommendations of 

the National Academy of Sciences 

(NAS) Panel on Poverty and Family 

Assistance. The NAS-based measures, 

which use both alternative poverty 

thresholds and an expanded income 

definition, provide a consistent 

time series available from 1999 to 

the present <www.census.gov

/prod/2001pubs/p60-216.pdf>.36

The estimates for 2015 for the NASbased measures can be found at 

<www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas

/data/nas/tables/index.html>.

Research Files

The Census Bureau makes available 

microdata research files that provide 

the variables used to construct SPM 

estimates and NAS-based alternative 

measures at <www.census.gov/hhes

/povmeas/data/public-use.html>. An 

expanded version of the CPS ASEC 

public use file includes estimates of 

the value of taxes and noncash benefits at <http://thedataweb.rm.census

.gov/ftp/cps_ftp.html>. 

CPS Table Creator

CPS Table Creator is a Web-based tool 

designed to help researchers explore 

alternative income and poverty 

measures. The tool is available at 

<www.census.gov/cps/data

/cpstablecreator.html>. Table Creator 

allows researchers to produce poverty and income estimates for various demographic groups using their 

own combinations of threshold and 

resource definitions and to see the 

incremental impact of the addition 

or subtraction of a single resource 

element. 

36 However, many of the elements of these 

measures are no longer being updated.

Researchers can also estimate poverty rates using alternative poverty 

thresholds. Many other countries use 

relative poverty measures with thresholds that are based on a percentage 

of median or mean income.37 Table 

Creator allows researchers to estimate 

poverty rates using a relative poverty 

threshold calculated as any percentage of mean or median equivalence 

adjusted income. For example, using 

poverty thresholds based on 50 

percent of median income rather than 

the official poverty thresholds would 

increase the overall poverty rate 

from 14.8 percent to 22.9 percent 

in 2014.38

COMMENTS

The Census Bureau welcomes the 

comments and advice of data and 

report users. If you have suggestions 

or comments on this report, please 

write to:

Trudi J. Renwick

Assistant Division Chief, 

Economic Characteristics

Social, Economic, and Housing

Statistics Division

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, D.C. 20233-8500

Or send e-mail to: 

trudi.j.renwick@census.gov

37 For example, the Organization for Economic 

Cooperation and Development (OECD) uses 

a poverty threshold of 50 percent of median 

income. The European Union defines poverty 

as an income below 60 percent of the national 

median equalized disposable income after social 

transfers. 38 This example used the OECD Equivalence 

Scale (1) to adjust the thresholds for family size 

and composition. 
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 21

APPENDIX A. ESTIMATES OF INCOME

How Income Is Measured

For each person 15 years and older 

in the sample, the Annual Social and 

Economic Supplement (ASEC) asks 

questions on the amount of money 

income received in the preceding calendar year from each of the following 

sources: 

1. Earnings 

2. Unemployment compensation 

3. Workers’ compensation 

4. Social security 

5. Supplemental security income 

6. Public assistance 

7. Veterans’ payments 

8. Survivor benefits 

9. Disability benefits 

10. Pension or retirement income 

11. Interest 

12. Dividends 

13. Rents, royalties, and estates and 

trusts 

14. Educational assistance 

15. Alimony 

16. Child support 

17. Financial assistance from outside 

of the household 

18. Other income 

It should be noted that although the 

income statistics refer to receipts during the preceding calendar year, the 

demographic characteristics, such as 

age, labor force status, and household 

composition, are as of the survey date. 

The income of the household does not 

include amounts received by people 

who were members during all or part 

of the previous year if these people no 

longer resided in the household at the 

time of the interview. The ASEC collects income data for people who

are current residents but did not 

reside in the household during the 

previous year.

Data on income collected in the ASEC 

by the Census Bureau cover money 

income received (exclusive of certain 

money receipts such as capital gains) 

before payments for personal income 

taxes, social security, union dues, 

Medicare deductions, etc. Therefore, 

money income does not reflect the 

fact that some families receive noncash benefits, such as Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance/food stamps, 

health benefits, subsidized housing, 

and goods produced and consumed 

on the farm. In addition, money 

income does not reflect the fact that 

noncash benefits are also received by 

some nonfarm residents, which often 

take the form of the use of business 

transportation and facilities, full or 

partial payments by business for 

retirement programs, medical and 

educational expenses, etc. Data users 

should consider these elements when 

comparing income levels. Moreover, 

readers should be aware that for many 

different reasons there is a tendency 

in household surveys for respondents 

to underreport their income. Based on 

an analysis of independently derived 

income estimates, the Census Bureau 

determined that respondents report 

income earned from wages or salaries 

more accurately than other sources of 

income, and that the reported wage 

and salary income is nearly equal to 

independent estimates of aggregate 

income.

Business Cycles

Business cycle peaks and troughs used 

to delineate the beginning and end of 

recessions, as shown in the text box 

above, are determined by the National 

Bureau of Economic Research, a private 

research organization. The data points 

in the time series charts in this report 

use July as a reference.

Business Cycles

Peak month Year Trough month Year

November 1948 October 1949

July 1953 May 1954

August 1957 April 1958

April 1960 February 1961

December 1969 November 1970

November 1973 March 1975

January 1980 July 1980

July 1981 November 1982

July 1990 March 1991

March 2001 November 2001

December 2007 June 2009

Source: National Bureau of Economic Research

 Cambridge, MA 02138

 <www.nber.org>
22 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Annual Average Consumer Price Index Research Series (CPI-U-RS) 

Using Current Methods All Items: 1947 to 2015

Year CPI-U-RS1

 index

(December 1977 = 100) Year CPI-U-RS1

 index

(December 1977 = 100)

1947 . . . . . . . . . . . 37.5 1982 . . . . . . . . . . . 147.6

1948 . . . . . . . . . . . 40.5 1983 . . . . . . . . . . . 153.8

1949 . . . . . . . . . . . 40.0 1984 . . . . . . . . . . . 160.2

1950 . . . . . . . . . . . 40.5 1985 . . . . . . . . . . . 165.7

1951 . . . . . . . . . . . 43.7 1986 . . . . . . . . . . . 168.7

1952 . . . . . . . . . . . 44.5 1987 . . . . . . . . . . . 174.4

1953 . . . . . . . . . . . 44.8 1988 . . . . . . . . . . . 180.8

1954 . . . . . . . . . . . 45.2 1989 . . . . . . . . . . . 188.6

1955 . . . . . . . . . . . 45.0 1990 . . . . . . . . . . . 197.9

1956 . . . . . . . . . . . 45.7 1991 . . . . . . . . . . . 205.1

1957 . . . . . . . . . . . 47.2 1992 . . . . . . . . . . . 210.3

1958 . . . . . . . . . . . 48.5 1993 . . . . . . . . . . . 215.5

1959 . . . . . . . . . . . 48.9 1994 . . . . . . . . . . . 220.0

1960 . . . . . . . . . . . 49.7 1995 . . . . . . . . . . . 225.3

1961 . . . . . . . . . . . 50.2 1996 . . . . . . . . . . . 231.4

1962 . . . . . . . . . . . 50.7 1997 . . . . . . . . . . . 236.4

1963 . . . . . . . . . . . 51.4 1998 . . . . . . . . . . . 239.6

1964 . . . . . . . . . . . 52.1 1999 . . . . . . . . . . . 244.7

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . 52.9 2000 . . . . . . . . . . . 253.0

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . 54.4 2001 . . . . . . . . . . . 260.1

1967 . . . . . . . . . . . 56.1 2002 . . . . . . . . . . . 264.3

1968 . . . . . . . . . . . 58.3 2003 . . . . . . . . . . . 270.2

1969 . . . . . . . . . . . 60.9 2004 . . . . . . . . . . . 277.5

1970 . . . . . . . . . . . 63.9 2005 . . . . . . . . . . . 286.9

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . 66.7 2006 . . . . . . . . . . . 296.2

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . 68.7 2007 . . . . . . . . . . . 304.6

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . 73.0 2008 . . . . . . . . . . . 316.3

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . 80.3 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . 315.2

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . 86.9 2010 . . . . . . . . . . . 320.3

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . 91.9 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . 330.4

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . 97.7 2012 . . . . . . . . . . . 337.3

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . 104.4 2013 . . . . . . . . . . . 342.2

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . 114.3 2014 . . . . . . . . . . . 347.8

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . 127.1 2015 . . . . . . . . . . . 348.2

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . 139.2

1 The Census Bureau uses the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Price Index Research Series 

(CPI-U-RS) for 1977 through 2015. The Census Bureau derived the CPI-U-RS for years before 1977 by 

applying the 1977 CPI-U-RS-to-CPI-U ratio to the 1947-to-1976 CPI-U.

Note: Data users can compute the percentage changes in prices between earlier years’ data and 

2015 data by dividing the annual average CPI-U-RS for 2015 by the annual average for the earlier 

year(s).

For more information on the CPI-U-RS, see <www.bls.gov/cpi/cpiurs.htm>.

Cost-of-Living Adjustment

In order to accurately assess changes 

in income and earnings over time, 

an adjustment for changes in the 

cost of living is required. The Census 

Bureau uses the research series of 

the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U-RS), 

provided by the U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics for 1977 through 2015, 

to adjust for changes in the cost of 

living. The index used to make the 

constant dollar conversions is shown 

in the text box “Annual Average 

Consumer Price Index Research Series 

(CPI-U-RS) Using Current Methods All 

Items: 1947 to 2015.”

Poverty Threshold Adjustment

The Office of Management and 

Budget’s (OMB) Statistical Policy 

Directive 14 directed the Census 

Bureau to use the CPI-U to update 

the poverty thresholds each year 

for changes in the cost of living. 

These thresholds are compared to 

current year (unadjusted for inflation) money income. If, alternatively, 

the CPI-U-RS index had been used to 

inflation-adjust poverty thresholds 

from previous years, current poverty 

rates would be lower. This is because 

the CPI-U-RS results in a smaller cost 

of living adjustment over time than 

the CPI-U.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 23 Table A-1. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Households as of March of the following year. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. Before 2010, standard errors were calculated using the generalized variance function. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf) Race and Hispanic origin of householder and year Number (thousands) Percentage distribution Median income (dollars) Mean income (dollars) Total Under $15,000 $15,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 to $199,999 $200,000 and over Estimate Standard error Estimate Standard error ALL RACES 2015.............. 125,819 100.0 11.6 10.5 10.0 12.7 16.7 12.1 14.1 6.2 6.1 56,516 321 79,263 403 2014.............. 124,587 100.0 12.6 10.9 10.1 13.1 17.0 11.5 13.4 5.7 5.6 53,718 392 75,825 447 20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123,931 100.0 12.5 11.2 9.8 13.1 17.1 11.9 12.9 5.9 5.7 54,525 665 76,513 676 20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122,952 100.0 12.5 11.2 10.3 13.5 17.4 12.1 12.6 5.4 5.0 52,850 281 73,915 508 2012.............. 122,459 100.0 12.7 11.4 10.4 13.5 17.4 11.8 12.8 5.2 4.8 52,666 216 73,577 435 2011.............. 121,084 100.0 12.7 11.0 10.9 13.6 17.5 11.4 12.7 5.4 4.8 52,751 265 73,431 388 20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119,927 100.0 12.4 11.3 10.6 13.1 17.2 12.2 13.0 5.4 4.8 53,568 353 73,262 391 20094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117,538 100.0 11.6 10.8 10.5 13.8 17.3 12.4 13.3 5.4 4.9 54,988 235 75,093 268 2008.............. 117,181 100.0 11.6 10.7 10.3 13.8 17.2 12.5 13.6 5.5 4.8 55,376 151 75,325 266 2007.............. 116,783 100.0 11.1 10.4 10.2 12.9 17.9 12.3 14.4 5.6 5.2 57,423 160 77,286 270 2006.............. 116,011 100.0 10.9 10.3 9.6 14.3 17.6 12.5 13.9 5.7 5.3 56,663 243 78,257 302 2005.............. 114,384 100.0 11.4 10.6 9.7 13.7 17.8 12.6 13.6 5.4 5.1 56,224 188 76,878 290 20045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113,343 100.0 11.3 10.4 10.5 13.3 17.6 12.8 13.7 5.6 4.8 55,629 246 75,871 286 2003.............. 112,000 100.0 11.4 10.5 10.0 13.2 17.7 12.6 14.1 5.4 4.9 55,823 242 76,118 278 2002.............. 111,278 100.0 11.0 10.4 10.3 13.3 17.8 12.9 14.2 5.3 4.8 55,871 183 76,217 286 2001.............. 109,297 100.0 10.7 10.3 10.1 13.6 17.8 12.7 14.4 5.2 5.2 56,531 173 77,924 311 20006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108,209 100.0 10.4 10.1 9.8 13.5 18.0 13.1 14.3 5.7 5.0 57,790 182 78,634 310 19997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106,434 100.0 10.2 10.3 9.7 13.7 18.0 13.1 14.3 5.4 5.1 57,909 270 77,889 404 1998.............. 103,874 100.0 11.0 10.4 9.7 13.7 18.5 13.0 14.1 5.1 4.5 56,510 334 75,359 407 1997.............. 102,528 100.0 11.6 10.7 10.1 13.7 18.7 13.0 13.4 4.8 4.1 54,506 252 73,193 409 1996.............. 101,018 100.0 11.7 11.3 10.2 14.3 18.0 13.6 12.6 4.7 3.6 53,407 269 70,909 397 19958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99,627 100.0 11.8 11.6 10.3 14.3 18.9 12.8 12.6 4.2 3.5 52,664 304 69,451 380 19949 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98,990 100.0 12.7 11.7 10.6 14.1 18.6 12.5 12.1 4.2 3.4 51,065 233 68,268 367 199310 . . . . . . . . . . . . 97,107 100.0 13.1 11.5 10.6 14.6 18.6 12.6 12.0 4.0 3.1 50,478 236 66,938 362 199211 . . . . . . . . . . . . 96,426 100.0 13.2 11.7 10.5 14.5 18.9 13.1 11.7 3.8 2.7 50,725 240 64,309 270 1991.............. 95,669 100.0 12.8 11.1 10.5 14.7 19.4 12.8 12.1 3.8 2.6 51,145 246 64,380 265 1990.............. 94,312 100.0 12.4 10.8 9.9 14.9 20.0 13.2 12.2 3.8 2.9 52,684 269 65,810 278 1989.............. 93,347 100.0 12.1 10.7 9.9 14.6 19.6 13.5 12.6 4.0 3.0 53,367 294 67,425 294 1988.............. 92,830 100.0 12.7 10.5 10.6 14.0 19.7 13.5 12.4 3.8 2.8 52,432 256 65,513 293 198712 . . . . . . . . . . . . 91,124 100.0 13.1 10.7 10.2 14.4 19.7 13.2 12.3 3.6 2.6 52,032 246 64,708 266 1986.............. 89,479 100.0 13.4 10.8 10.3 14.5 20.0 13.2 11.9 3.6 2.4 51,388 266 63,487 258 198513 . . . . . . . . . . . . 88,458 100.0 13.6 11.0 10.9 14.8 20.4 12.9 11.3 3.1 2.1 49,631 269 61,079 242 198414 . . . . . . . . . . . . 86,789 100.0 13.4 11.7 11.2 14.9 20.2 12.9 10.7 3.0 1.9 48,720 222 59,694 220 1983.............. 85,407 100.0 14.0 11.8 11.3 15.6 20.3 12.6 10.0 2.7 1.7 47,283 215 57,507 215 1982.............. 83,918 100.0 14.2 11.7 11.2 15.8 20.6 12.4 9.9 2.5 1.6 47,585 215 57,347 212 1981.............. 83,527 100.0 13.7 11.7 11.7 15.0 21.1 13.1 10.0 2.3 1.4 47,712 250 57,000 208 1980.............. 82,368 100.0 13.5 11.5 11.2 15.3 21.5 13.2 9.9 2.5 1.4 48,518 249 57,704 211 197915 . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,776 100.0 13.1 11.2 10.9 15.0 21.3 14.0 10.3 2.7 1.6 50,146 238 59,569 225 1978.............. 77,330 100.0 12.9 11.5 10.9 14.5 22.1 13.6 10.4 2.5 1.5 50,242 203 59,134 227 1977.............. 76,030 100.0 13.3 12.1 10.8 15.5 21.8 13.5 9.5 2.2 1.4 48,370 182 57,380 175 197616 . . . . . . . . . . . . 74,142 100.0 13.3 12.1 11.1 15.6 22.2 13.4 9.0 2.0 1.2 48,066 178 56,538 174 197517 . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,867 100.0 13.7 12.3 11.1 16.1 22.4 12.7 8.7 1.9 1.2 47,281 192 55,211 172 197417, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . 71,163 100.0 13.2 11.4 11.0 16.3 22.5 13.3 9.0 2.1 1.2 48,553 186 56,779 178 1973.............. 69,859 100.0 13.2 11.5 10.0 15.5 22.6 13.7 9.7 2.2 1.6 50,141 191 57,987 176 197219 . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,251 100.0 13.6 11.1 10.5 15.8 22.9 13.5 9.1 2.1 1.4 49,148 188 57,202 177 197120 . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,676 100.0 14.5 11.0 11.2 16.7 23.6 12.5 7.8 1.6 1.1 47,130 183 54,203 172 1970.............. 64,778 100.0 14.5 10.6 10.9 17.1 23.7 12.5 7.8 1.7 1.1 47,593 174 54,497 174 1969.............. 63,401 100.0 14.4 10.5 10.7 17.2 24.5 12.4 7.7 1.5 1.1 47,965 177 54,568 172 1968.............. 62,214 100.0 14.7 10.9 10.9 18.7 24.3 11.7 6.5 1.3 0.9 46,245 167 52,320 167 196721 . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,813 100.0 16.0 11.3 11.4 19.5 23.2 10.5 5.7 1.4 1.0 44,335 161 49,586 161 See footnotes at end of table.
24 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau Table A-1. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Households as of March of the following year. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. Before 2010, standard errors were calculated using the generalized variance function. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf) Race and Hispanic origin of householder and year Number (thousands) Percentage distribution Median income (dollars) Mean income (dollars) Total Under $15,000 $15,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 to $199,999 $200,000 and over Estimate Standard error Estimate Standard error WHITE ALONE22 2015.............. 99,313 100.0 9.9 10.1 9.9 12.7 16.9 12.6 15.0 6.6 6.4 60,109 381 82,226 470 2014.............. 98,679 100.0 10.9 10.5 9.8 13.1 17.5 12.1 14.0 6.0 6.1 56,931 355 78,981 524 20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98,807 100.0 10.8 10.9 9.6 12.9 17.5 12.6 13.4 6.3 6.0 57,740 526 79,190 771 20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97,774 100.0 10.8 10.7 10.0 13.4 17.9 12.8 13.2 5.7 5.4 56,226 432 77,169 554 2012.............. 97,705 100.0 10.8 11.0 10.3 13.4 17.8 12.4 13.5 5.6 5.2 55,442 396 76,821 479 2011.............. 96,964 100.0 10.8 10.5 10.7 13.7 18.0 11.9 13.3 5.8 5.2 55,027 237 76,735 445 20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96,306 100.0 10.6 11.0 10.4 13.2 17.5 12.7 13.8 5.7 5.2 56,213 275 76,545 440 20094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95,489 100.0 9.9 10.5 10.2 13.8 17.8 12.9 14.0 5.7 5.2 57,291 170 77,930 300 2008.............. 95,297 100.0 10.1 10.4 10.0 13.5 17.6 13.0 14.3 5.8 5.2 57,588 167 78,371 302 2007.............. 95,112 100.0 9.5 10.2 10.0 12.8 18.2 12.7 15.1 5.9 5.6 59,575 176 80,398 306 2006.............. 94,705 100.0 9.4 9.9 9.4 14.1 17.8 13.1 14.6 6.0 5.6 59,569 173 81,239 339 2005.............. 93,588 100.0 9.8 10.2 9.5 13.8 18.1 13.2 14.2 5.8 5.5 58,928 257 80,056 331 20045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92,880 100.0 9.8 10.1 10.2 13.1 17.9 13.3 14.5 5.9 5.2 58,545 230 78,937 325 2003.............. 91,962 100.0 9.9 10.2 9.9 13.3 17.9 13.0 14.8 5.8 5.3 58,804 231 79,366 318 2002.............. 91,645 100.0 9.6 10.0 10.1 13.0 18.0 13.5 15.0 5.6 5.1 59,398 241 79,265 323 WHITE23 2001.............. 90,682 100.0 9.3 10.1 9.8 13.5 18.0 13.1 15.2 5.5 5.6 59,596 280 81,008 348 20006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90,030 100.0 9.2 9.8 9.5 13.5 18.2 13.6 15.0 6.0 5.4 60,441 267 81,550 350 19997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88,893 100.0 8.8 10.0 9.6 13.6 18.3 13.6 15.1 5.6 5.5 60,227 305 80,719 457 1998.............. 87,212 100.0 9.4 9.9 9.5 13.7 18.8 13.5 14.9 5.4 4.9 59,456 298 78,777 464 1997.............. 86,106 100.0 10.1 10.3 9.9 13.6 19.0 13.4 14.1 5.1 4.5 57,403 364 76,448 465 1996.............. 85,059 100.0 10.0 10.9 10.0 14.3 18.4 14.1 13.2 5.0 3.9 55,918 289 73,724 436 19958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,511 100.0 10.1 11.1 10.2 14.3 19.3 13.5 13.2 4.6 3.8 55,276 289 72,219 419 19949 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83,737 100.0 10.9 11.3 10.5 14.1 19.2 13.1 12.9 4.4 3.7 53,857 302 71,277 415 199310 . . . . . . . . . . . . 82,387 100.0 11.2 11.0 10.3 14.6 19.3 13.3 12.7 4.2 3.4 53,256 310 69,939 404 199211 . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,795 100.0 11.1 11.1 10.4 14.5 19.4 13.8 12.5 4.1 3.0 53,329 258 67,213 300 1991.............. 81,675 100.0 10.8 10.7 10.4 14.9 19.9 13.5 12.9 4.1 2.8 53,595 260 67,099 292 1990.............. 80,968 100.0 10.5 10.3 9.8 15.0 20.5 13.8 12.9 4.1 3.1 54,950 252 68,465 306 1989.............. 80,163 100.0 10.2 10.3 9.8 14.6 20.1 14.1 13.2 4.4 3.3 56,137 273 70,233 325 1988.............. 79,734 100.0 10.8 9.9 10.4 14.0 20.5 14.1 13.1 4.1 3.0 55,429 327 68,307 322 198712 . . . . . . . . . . . . 78,519 100.0 11.1 10.2 10.1 14.4 20.5 13.9 13.1 3.9 2.8 54,822 276 67,474 291 1986.............. 77,284 100.0 11.6 10.3 10.1 14.6 20.6 13.9 12.6 3.8 2.6 54,026 262 66,131 283 198513 . . . . . . . . . . . . 76,576 100.0 11.8 10.5 10.7 14.9 21.0 13.5 12.0 3.3 2.3 52,341 279 63,586 267 198414 . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,328 100.0 11.7 11.1 11.0 15.1 21.0 13.6 11.4 3.2 2.1 51,398 259 62,157 241 1983.............. 74,376 100.0 12.1 11.3 11.1 15.9 21.1 13.2 10.6 2.9 1.9 49,586 224 59,894 233 1982.............. 73,182 100.0 12.5 11.1 11.0 16.0 21.2 13.0 10.6 2.8 1.7 49,817 226 59,711 234 1981.............. 72,845 100.0 11.9 11.1 11.5 15.1 21.8 13.8 10.7 2.5 1.6 50,411 233 59,389 225 1980.............. 71,872 100.0 11.9 10.8 11.0 15.4 22.3 13.9 10.6 2.7 1.5 51,186 263 60,032 230 197915 . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,766 100.0 11.5 10.5 10.6 15.1 22.0 14.7 10.9 2.9 1.8 52,577 250 61,917 247 1978.............. 68,028 100.0 11.4 11.0 10.7 14.5 22.7 14.3 11.0 2.7 1.7 52,230 230 61,325 247 1977.............. 66,934 100.0 11.9 11.3 10.5 15.5 22.6 14.3 10.0 2.3 1.5 50,865 214 59,622 192 197616 . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,353 100.0 11.9 11.4 10.9 15.7 22.8 14.1 9.6 2.2 1.4 50,351 208 58,713 189 197517 . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,392 100.0 12.3 11.7 10.9 16.1 23.1 13.3 9.3 2.0 1.3 49,445 180 57,251 188 197417, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . 62,984 100.0 11.8 10.7 10.6 16.3 23.3 14.0 9.7 2.2 1.3 50,777 191 58,882 191 1973.............. 61,965 100.0 11.9 10.8 9.7 15.4 23.3 14.5 10.4 2.4 1.7 52,550 200 60,229 191 197219 . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,618 100.0 12.3 10.4 10.1 15.8 23.8 14.1 9.7 2.3 1.5 51,561 198 59,427 193 197120 . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,463 100.0 13.1 10.4 10.8 16.8 24.4 13.2 8.3 1.8 1.2 49,296 188 56,166 183 1970.............. 57,575 100.0 13.2 10.0 10.5 17.2 24.6 13.1 8.3 1.8 1.2 49,571 191 56,404 185 1969.............. 56,248 100.0 13.1 9.8 10.2 17.2 25.4 13.2 8.2 1.7 1.2 50,057 183 56,593 189 1968.............. 55,394 100.0 13.5 10.1 10.5 18.9 25.4 12.4 7.0 1.4 1.0 48,151 179 54,201 179 196721 . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,188 100.0 14.7 10.5 11.0 19.8 24.3 11.1 6.1 1.4 1.0 46,234 168 51,398 174 See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 25 Table A-1. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Households as of March of the following year. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. Before 2010, standard errors were calculated using the generalized variance function. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf) Race and Hispanic origin of householder and year Number (thousands) Percentage distribution Median income (dollars) Mean income (dollars) Total Under $15,000 $15,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 to $199,999 $200,000 and over Estimate Standard error Estimate Standard error WHITE ALONE, NOT HISPANIC22 2015.............. 84,445 100.0 9.3 9.6 9.4 12.2 16.7 13.0 15.9 7.1 6.9 62,950 542 85,585 531 2014.............. 84,228 100.0 10.4 10.0 9.4 12.6 17.4 12.3 14.8 6.5 6.7 60,325 368 82,560 580 20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84,432 100.0 10.1 10.3 8.8 12.5 17.8 13.0 14.2 6.8 6.5 61,387 542 82,652 863 20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83,641 100.0 10.0 10.2 9.6 12.9 18.0 13.2 14.0 6.2 5.9 59,292 622 80,731 642 2012.............. 83,792 100.0 10.0 10.4 9.8 13.0 17.9 12.8 14.3 6.0 5.7 58,851 371 80,359 532 2011.............. 83,573 100.0 10.1 10.1 10.2 13.2 18.0 12.3 14.1 6.3 5.7 58,397 346 80,161 504 20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83,314 100.0 9.8 10.5 9.8 12.8 17.5 13.1 14.6 6.1 5.7 59,204 485 79,721 500 20094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83,158 100.0 9.3 9.9 9.7 13.6 17.8 13.2 14.8 6.2 5.6 60,163 308 80,908 330 2008.............. 82,884 100.0 9.4 9.9 9.6 12.9 17.7 13.5 15.1 6.2 5.7 61,130 248 81,575 334 2007.............. 82,765 100.0 8.9 9.7 9.5 12.4 18.0 13.0 16.0 6.4 6.2 62,781 282 83,657 337 2006.............. 82,675 100.0 8.9 9.4 9.1 13.6 17.7 13.4 15.4 6.4 6.2 61,626 221 84,340 373 2005.............. 82,003 100.0 9.3 9.7 9.2 13.2 18.0 13.6 15.0 6.2 5.9 61,635 209 83,261 368 20045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,628 100.0 9.3 9.7 9.7 12.7 17.7 13.6 15.2 6.3 5.6 61,371 281 81,884 356 2003.............. 81,148 100.0 9.4 9.7 9.4 12.8 17.9 13.3 15.6 6.2 5.7 61,569 298 82,330 349 2002.............. 81,166 100.0 9.2 9.6 9.6 12.6 18.0 13.8 15.8 6.0 5.5 61,788 242 81,833 348 WHITE, NOT HISPANIC23 2001.............. 80,818 100.0 9.0 9.6 9.5 13.1 17.9 13.3 15.9 5.8 6.0 61,989 257 83,595 379 20006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,527 100.0 8.8 9.3 9.1 13.1 18.1 13.8 15.7 6.4 5.8 62,790 252 84,032 377 19997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79,819 100.0 8.3 9.5 9.2 13.2 18.3 13.9 15.7 5.9 5.9 62,834 397 83,366 494 1998.............. 78,577 100.0 8.7 9.5 9.1 13.3 18.9 13.9 15.6 5.7 5.2 61,675 355 81,299 497 1997.............. 77,936 100.0 9.3 9.9 9.5 13.4 19.0 13.9 14.8 5.4 4.8 59,767 312 78,897 N 1996.............. 77,240 100.0 9.4 10.4 9.6 14.1 18.6 14.6 13.9 5.3 4.2 58,365 400 75,954 N 19958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76,932 100.0 9.3 10.5 9.8 14.1 19.6 13.9 13.9 4.9 4.0 57,458 300 74,575 447 19949 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,004 100.0 10.2 10.9 10.3 13.9 19.4 13.4 13.4 4.7 3.9 55,595 294 73,092 434 199310 . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,697 100.0 10.5 10.6 10.1 14.4 19.5 13.7 13.2 4.5 3.6 55,216 323 71,783 428 199211 . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,107 100.0 10.5 10.8 10.1 14.3 19.6 14.2 13.1 4.3 3.2 55,119 341 68,920 318 1991.............. 75,625 100.0 10.3 10.4 10.2 14.7 20.1 13.8 13.4 4.2 3.0 54,875 270 68,538 306 1990.............. 75,035 100.0 10.0 9.9 9.6 14.9 20.6 14.1 13.3 4.3 3.3 56,206 262 69,981 317 1989.............. 74,495 100.0 9.7 10.0 9.6 14.4 20.2 14.4 13.7 4.5 3.4 57,344 281 71,639 351 1988.............. 74,067 100.0 10.2 9.6 10.2 13.9 20.6 14.4 13.6 4.2 3.2 56,956 335 69,702 327 198712 . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,120 100.0 10.6 9.8 9.9 14.2 20.7 14.2 13.6 4.0 2.9 56,329 313 68,793 319 1986.............. 72,067 100.0 11.1 9.9 9.9 14.5 20.7 14.2 13.0 4.0 2.8 55,254 285 67,444 310 198513 . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,540 100.0 11.4 10.1 10.6 14.8 21.2 13.8 12.4 3.5 2.4 53,518 273 64,824 294 198414 . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,586 100.0 11.1 10.8 10.8 15.0 21.1 13.8 11.7 3.4 2.2 52,465 291 63,237 283 1983.............. 69,648 100.0 11.6 11.0 11.0 15.8 21.3 13.5 10.9 3.1 2.0 50,860 256 61,467 263 1982.............. 69,214 100.0 12.1 10.8 10.9 15.9 21.4 13.3 10.9 2.9 1.8 50,652 255 60,588 259 1981.............. 68,996 100.0 11.6 10.9 11.3 14.9 21.9 14.1 11.0 2.6 1.6 51,139 260 60,137 250 1980.............. 68,106 100.0 11.6 10.6 10.9 15.2 22.4 14.1 10.9 2.7 1.5 52,093 108 60,821 274 197915 . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,203 100.0 11.3 10.3 10.4 15.0 22.1 14.9 11.2 3.0 1.8 53,318 295 62,633 274 1978.............. 64,836 100.0 11.2 10.8 10.5 14.3 22.8 14.5 11.3 2.8 1.8 53,214 280 62,049 267 1977.............. 63,721 100.0 11.7 11.1 10.4 15.3 22.7 14.6 10.3 2.4 1.6 51,874 292 60,359 285 197616 . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,365 100.0 11.6 11.2 10.8 15.5 22.9 14.4 9.9 2.3 1.4 51,377 299 59,467 265 197517 . . . . . . . . . . . . 61,533 100.0 12.0 11.4 10.8 16.0 23.2 13.6 9.5 2.1 1.3 49,818 264 57,952 280 197417, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . 60,164 100.0 11.7 10.5 10.4 16.2 23.4 14.3 9.9 2.3 1.4 51,211 252 59,545 260 1973.............. 59,236 100.0 11.8 10.6 9.5 15.2 23.3 14.7 10.6 2.5 1.8 53,012 248 60,902 258 197219 . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,005 100.0 12.2 10.1 9.9 15.6 23.9 14.4 10.0 2.4 1.5 52,296 248 60,116 269 See footnotes at end of table.
26 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau Table A-1. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Households as of March of the following year. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. Before 2010, standard errors were calculated using the generalized variance function. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf) Race and Hispanic origin of householder and year Number (thousands) Percentage distribution Median income (dollars) Mean income (dollars) Total Under $15,000 $15,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 to $199,999 $200,000 and over Estimate Standard error Estimate Standard error BLACK ALONE OR IN COMBINATION 2015.............. 17,322 100.0 21.5 14.1 11.8 13.5 16.0 9.0 8.8 2.8 2.4 37,211 546 54,805 867 2014.............. 17,198 100.0 22.2 14.4 12.6 14.5 15.1 8.3 8.2 2.8 2.1 35,694 473 51,680 694 20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,723 100.0 22.3 14.0 12.5 14.9 15.2 7.4 8.7 3.0 2.0 36,391 792 52,580 1,346 20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,855 100.0 22.4 14.7 12.5 14.9 14.9 8.2 7.9 2.6 1.8 35,385 712 50,578 886 2012.............. 16,559 100.0 23.5 15.0 11.7 14.3 15.0 8.6 8.0 2.3 1.6 34,808 824 49,716 762 2011.............. 16,165 100.0 24.3 14.5 12.3 13.4 15.3 8.4 7.5 2.6 1.8 34,110 583 50,065 815 20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,909 100.0 23.6 14.1 12.5 14.2 14.8 9.3 7.4 2.5 1.5 34,957 511 49,462 682 20094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,212 100.0 21.5 13.8 13.3 14.7 15.3 9.6 7.6 2.5 1.6 36,179 462 51,125 570 2008.............. 15,056 100.0 21.1 13.4 12.6 16.0 15.7 9.0 8.0 2.7 1.5 37,809 483 51,387 537 2007.............. 14,976 100.0 21.2 13.2 12.1 14.1 16.6 9.5 8.9 2.8 1.7 38,971 532 53,534 585 2006.............. 14,709 100.0 20.7 13.8 11.2 16.3 16.0 9.1 8.5 2.5 2.0 37,773 280 53,480 656 2005.............. 14,399 100.0 21.5 14.7 11.2 15.0 15.9 9.2 8.2 2.8 1.5 37,568 358 51,856 564 20045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,151 100.0 21.4 12.7 12.9 15.2 15.7 10.0 8.0 2.5 1.6 37,938 348 51,143 543 2003.............. 13,969 100.0 21.2 13.5 12.3 13.9 16.8 9.5 8.6 2.5 1.5 38,259 481 51,954 550 2002.............. 13,778 100.0 20.6 13.7 12.2 15.4 15.9 9.4 8.2 2.6 2.0 38,439 506 53,138 619 BLACK ALONE24 2015.............. 16,539 100.0 21.7 14.2 11.9 13.6 15.9 8.9 8.8 2.8 2.3 36,898 513 54,352 861 2014.............. 16,437 100.0 22.4 14.4 12.7 14.4 15.1 8.2 8.1 2.7 2.0 35,439 462 51,289 692 20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,009 100.0 22.9 14.0 12.4 14.7 15.1 7.6 8.4 2.9 2.0 35,943 872 51,339 1,206 20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,108 100.0 22.6 14.8 12.5 14.7 15.0 8.2 7.8 2.6 1.8 35,205 741 50,499 901 2012.............. 15,872 100.0 23.6 15.2 11.7 14.3 15.0 8.6 7.7 2.2 1.6 34,398 816 49,280 777 2011.............. 15,583 100.0 24.4 14.5 12.3 13.4 15.3 8.5 7.4 2.5 1.7 33,965 536 49,801 846 20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,265 100.0 23.9 14.0 12.4 14.3 15.0 9.3 7.3 2.4 1.4 34,922 542 48,873 681 20094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,730 100.0 21.6 13.9 13.3 14.8 15.3 9.6 7.6 2.4 1.5 35,995 435 50,867 580 2008.............. 14,595 100.0 21.2 13.4 12.6 16.0 15.7 9.0 8.0 2.6 1.5 37,669 485 51,226 548 2007.............. 14,551 100.0 21.2 13.2 12.3 14.0 16.6 9.6 8.8 2.7 1.7 38,771 543 53,306 594 2006.............. 14,354 100.0 20.8 13.9 11.3 16.2 15.8 9.2 8.4 2.4 2.0 37,581 283 53,049 656 2005.............. 14,002 100.0 21.6 14.7 11.2 15.0 15.9 9.2 8.1 2.8 1.5 37,451 365 51,525 559 20045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,809 100.0 21.6 12.7 12.9 15.3 15.5 10.0 7.9 2.4 1.6 37,762 393 50,985 552 2003.............. 13,629 100.0 21.3 13.5 12.2 14.0 16.9 9.3 8.7 2.5 1.5 38,203 497 51,716 554 2002.............. 13,465 100.0 20.7 13.8 12.3 15.4 15.9 9.5 8.1 2.5 1.9 38,240 515 52,712 609 See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 27 Table A-1. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Households as of March of the following year. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. Before 2010, standard errors were calculated using the generalized variance function. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf) Race and Hispanic origin of householder and year Number (thousands) Percentage distribution Median income (dollars) Mean income (dollars) Total Under $15,000 $15,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 to $199,999 $200,000 and over Estimate Standard error Estimate Standard error BLACK23 2001.............. 13,315 100.0 20.1 13.2 12.2 15.0 17.0 10.1 8.7 2.3 1.4 39,452 465 52,542 554 20006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,174 100.0 19.0 12.9 12.7 14.6 17.7 9.8 8.8 3.0 1.4 40,830 541 53,920 546 19997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,838 100.0 19.8 13.2 11.3 14.9 16.6 10.1 8.8 3.4 1.8 39,715 740 54,730 785 1998.............. 12,579 100.0 22.4 14.1 11.8 14.1 16.3 9.6 8.0 2.4 1.3 36,841 577 49,613 663 1997.............. 12,474 100.0 22.2 13.8 12.2 14.8 16.8 9.7 7.3 2.2 1.0 36,897 635 48,552 697 1996.............. 12,109 100.0 23.0 14.8 12.0 14.8 15.6 10.3 6.8 1.6 1.1 35,335 695 48,844 954 19958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,577 100.0 23.6 15.1 11.8 15.0 16.3 8.3 7.6 1.5 1.0 34,608 590 46,983 804 19949 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,655 100.0 25.4 14.6 12.1 14.1 15.0 8.9 6.7 2.0 1.2 33,280 619 46,309 665 199310 . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,281 100.0 27.2 14.8 12.4 14.5 14.4 7.8 6.2 1.7 0.9 31,561 624 43,996 730 199211 . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,269 100.0 27.9 15.6 11.1 14.4 15.3 8.1 5.4 1.6 0.6 31,053 634 42,138 571 1991.............. 11,083 100.0 27.9 14.1 11.6 14.0 16.2 8.0 6.0 1.6 0.6 31,929 671 42,516 555 1990.............. 10,671 100.0 26.7 14.5 10.9 14.4 16.5 8.6 6.1 1.5 0.7 32,860 750 43,660 589 1989.............. 10,486 100.0 26.4 14.0 11.3 14.8 16.0 8.3 7.1 1.7 0.5 33,385 679 44,300 602 1988.............. 10,561 100.0 27.4 14.9 11.8 14.0 14.4 8.6 6.6 1.6 0.7 31,598 659 43,288 632 198712 . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,192 100.0 28.0 14.8 11.8 15.1 14.4 8.1 5.7 1.4 0.7 31,290 599 42,249 581 1986.............. 9,922 100.0 27.9 14.7 12.2 14.2 15.6 8.1 5.4 1.4 0.5 31,125 611 41,759 568 198513 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,797 100.0 27.3 15.2 12.9 14.1 15.8 8.0 5.3 1.1 0.3 31,140 605 40,630 527 198414 . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,480 100.0 27.5 16.8 13.4 14.2 14.4 7.4 5.1 0.9 0.2 29,280 563 39,050 480 1983.............. 9,236 100.0 29.1 16.3 13.3 14.1 14.6 7.3 4.6 0.6 0.1 28,139 528 37,426 462 1982.............. 8,916 100.0 28.8 16.5 12.8 14.6 15.7 7.3 3.4 0.4 0.3 28,233 453 37,148 465 1981.............. 8,961 100.0 28.5 16.5 13.8 14.1 15.1 7.3 4.1 0.6 0.1 28,289 475 37,161 450 1980.............. 8,847 100.0 27.0 17.2 13.0 14.6 15.6 7.4 4.4 0.7 0.2 29,489 556 38,272 471 197915 . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,586 100.0 25.6 17.0 13.1 14.4 15.8 8.5 4.7 0.6 0.2 30,869 564 39,609 487 1978.............. 8,066 100.0 25.8 15.7 13.2 14.5 17.0 7.8 5.1 0.8 0.1 31,388 664 40,113 524 1977.............. 7,977 100.0 25.1 18.7 13.3 15.3 15.7 6.9 4.2 0.6 0.3 30,016 403 38,459 342 197616 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,776 100.0 25.5 17.6 13.3 15.0 16.9 7.3 3.7 0.5 0.2 29,940 371 38,253 341 197517 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,489 100.0 26.5 17.8 12.6 16.4 15.9 6.8 3.5 0.5 0.0 29,683 437 37,052 329 197417, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . 7,263 100.0 25.2 16.7 15.0 16.2 16.0 7.2 3.3 0.4 0.1 30,198 364 37,556 334 1973.............. 7,040 100.0 24.1 18.1 12.9 16.1 17.2 6.9 3.9 0.6 0.2 30,933 482 38,412 382 197219 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,809 100.0 25.6 17.1 13.8 16.3 15.4 7.8 3.2 0.5 0.4 30,096 451 38,018 405 197120 . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,578 100.0 26.8 16.9 14.5 16.5 15.9 6.0 2.9 0.4 0.1 29,119 433 36,083 371 1970.............. 6,180 100.0 26.4 16.2 14.8 16.4 15.9 6.7 3.1 0.4 0.2 30,172 414 36,842 398 1969.............. 6,053 100.0 25.6 17.2 15.4 17.1 16.0 5.6 2.8 0.3 0.1 30,257 446 36,021 383 1968.............. 5,870 100.0 26.5 18.3 15.5 17.0 14.7 5.2 2.4 0.3 0.0 28,394 412 34,581 364 196721 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,728 100.0 29.1 18.7 15.3 16.8 12.9 4.3 2.2 0.4 0.2 26,844 447 32,257 360 See footnotes at end of table.
28 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau Table A-1. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Households as of March of the following year. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. Before 2010, standard errors were calculated using the generalized variance function. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf) Race and Hispanic origin of householder and year Number (thousands) Percentage distribution Median income (dollars) Mean income (dollars) Total Under $15,000 $15,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 to $199,999 $200,000 and over Estimate Standard error Estimate Standard error ASIAN ALONE OR IN COMBINATION 2015.............. 6,640 100.0 9.9 6.9 6.1 10.3 15.5 12.2 16.7 10.5 12.0 76,761 1,399 105,132 2,199 2014.............. 6,333 100.0 10.0 6.9 7.7 9.7 15.7 12.2 18.4 9.5 9.8 74,915 1,983 98,255 1,929 20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,160 100.0 10.3 7.8 5.5 10.7 16.5 12.7 16.8 8.6 11.2 73,743 3,248 102,850 4,298 20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,111 100.0 10.9 7.3 7.7 11.6 16.4 11.7 16.8 8.8 8.8 68,547 1,854 92,933 2,305 2012.............. 5,872 100.0 10.2 7.1 7.4 10.7 17.7 12.3 16.7 8.7 9.2 70,385 1,793 94,666 1,955 2011.............. 5,705 100.0 10.0 8.7 8.2 10.8 16.8 12.6 17.6 7.4 8.0 68,497 1,648 90,407 2,164 20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,550 100.0 9.9 8.4 8.1 9.9 17.6 11.8 16.4 9.6 8.3 69,061 1,593 91,005 1,748 20094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,940 100.0 10.9 6.9 8.2 10.3 15.7 12.5 16.8 8.9 9.8 71,886 1,585 99,544 1,955 2008.............. 4,805 100.0 10.7 7.6 7.5 11.7 14.1 13.0 17.5 9.4 8.6 72,180 1,556 95,029 1,637 2007.............. 4,715 100.0 9.2 7.3 7.6 9.5 16.4 12.9 18.9 9.4 8.8 75,305 1,584 96,665 1,653 2006.............. 4,664 100.0 8.8 6.8 7.1 10.3 17.1 12.9 17.7 10.3 9.0 75,118 1,901 102,894 2,154 2005.............. 4,500 100.0 10.0 7.5 6.4 9.5 17.5 12.6 18.7 8.1 9.7 74,092 885 97,089 1,694 20045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,346 100.0 9.2 6.9 7.8 9.6 18.1 13.5 17.6 9.2 8.1 72,086 1,453 95,527 1,803 2003.............. 4,235 100.0 11.9 8.4 5.9 9.3 16.9 13.9 17.5 8.5 7.7 71,215 1,588 89,450 1,539 2002.............. 4,079 100.0 9.2 7.1 8.3 11.5 17.7 12.8 17.4 8.4 7.5 68,882 1,042 91,531 1,740 ASIAN ALONE25 2015.............. 6,328 100.0 9.7 6.7 6.2 10.2 15.5 12.2 16.8 10.5 12.1 77,166 1,697 105,417 2,227 2014.............. 6,040 100.0 10.3 7.0 7.7 9.7 15.6 11.8 18.4 9.7 9.8 74,382 2,109 97,674 1,922 20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,818 100.0 10.4 7.9 5.2 10.4 16.8 12.4 16.9 8.5 11.5 73,652 3,421 102,984 4,544 20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,759 100.0 10.9 7.6 7.6 11.5 16.5 11.6 16.6 8.9 8.7 68,240 1,750 92,343 2,346 2012.............. 5,560 100.0 10.3 7.1 7.4 10.6 17.4 12.4 16.9 8.8 9.1 70,854 1,951 94,354 1,895 2011.............. 5,374 100.0 9.9 8.6 8.3 10.8 17.0 12.6 17.7 7.5 7.8 68,638 1,651 90,258 2,185 20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,212 100.0 10.1 8.4 7.8 9.5 17.7 11.7 16.5 9.9 8.4 69,856 1,712 91,952 1,844 20094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,687 100.0 10.8 6.9 8.2 9.9 15.9 12.6 16.9 8.9 9.9 72,323 1,400 100,318 2,038 2008.............. 4,573 100.0 10.9 7.6 7.5 11.5 14.1 12.9 17.4 9.7 8.5 72,257 1,526 94,877 1,655 2007.............. 4,494 100.0 9.2 7.4 7.6 9.3 16.5 12.7 19.3 9.2 8.9 75,565 1,583 97,187 1,715 2006.............. 4,454 100.0 8.9 6.9 7.2 10.1 16.9 12.7 17.7 10.3 9.3 75,515 1,968 103,793 2,234 2005.............. 4,273 100.0 10.1 7.5 6.5 9.3 17.6 12.6 18.6 8.2 9.7 74,148 864 97,210 1,715 20045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,123 100.0 9.2 6.9 7.9 9.6 17.9 13.4 17.7 9.2 8.3 72,155 1,533 96,012 1,857 2003.............. 4,040 100.0 12.1 8.4 5.6 9.3 16.7 13.9 17.6 8.6 7.9 71,778 1,410 90,172 1,597 2002.............. 3,917 100.0 9.0 7.2 8.3 11.6 17.4 12.8 17.6 8.4 7.7 69,332 1,213 92,283 1,800 ASIAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER23 2001.............. 4,071 100.0 9.4 6.9 7.9 11.5 16.6 13.1 17.9 8.2 8.6 71,802 1,714 97,939 2,312 20006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,963 100.0 8.1 6.8 7.4 10.9 15.8 14.4 18.0 9.7 8.8 76,737 1,309 100,189 2,080 19997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,742 100.0 9.5 7.1 6.8 11.8 16.0 13.2 16.6 9.4 9.6 72,514 2,556 95,889 2,430 1998.............. 3,308 100.0 9.8 7.7 7.4 12.2 18.6 11.6 18.8 7.5 6.3 67,775 1,886 87,498 2,527 1997.............. 3,125 100.0 10.4 7.9 7.3 10.6 19.2 14.4 16.6 7.9 5.6 66,648 1,853 86,741 2,688 1996.............. 2,998 100.0 11.0 7.5 7.9 11.7 18.8 12.6 17.7 8.1 4.8 65,120 2,334 85,089 3,052 19958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,777 100.0 10.9 9.8 6.6 12.1 19.1 14.3 15.4 5.8 6.0 62,769 1,575 85,355 3,443 19949 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,040 100.0 10.4 10.0 7.3 12.6 17.3 14.0 16.4 6.5 5.5 64,072 2,428 83,191 2,964 199310 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,233 100.0 13.0 8.9 9.1 11.6 15.0 13.9 17.8 6.1 4.7 61,960 3,047 81,183 3,269 199211 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,262 100.0 10.8 9.3 8.7 11.5 19.0 13.4 16.5 6.1 4.6 62,588 1,806 77,571 2,133 1991.............. 2,094 100.0 10.9 8.2 9.3 12.4 17.7 14.2 15.3 7.2 4.6 61,880 1,997 78,567 2,316 1990.............. 1,958 100.0 9.3 8.2 7.8 12.4 18.5 14.0 17.9 6.7 5.2 67,652 2,004 81,661 2,312 1989.............. 1,988 100.0 8.7 8.0 7.5 12.5 20.0 14.9 17.1 5.0 6.3 66,653 1,802 82,859 2,411 1988.............. 1,913 100.0 8.6 10.5 9.0 11.6 18.6 14.6 15.5 7.3 4.3 62,143 2,554 77,692 2,321 198712 . . . . . . . . . . . . N 100.0 10.7 11.0 7.8 10.7 18.9 13.0 17.4 7.1 3.4 64,341 2,392 N N See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 29 Table A-1. Households by Total Money Income, Race, and Hispanic Origin of Householder: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Households as of March of the following year. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. Before 2010, standard errors were calculated using the generalized variance function. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf) Race and Hispanic origin of householder and year Number (thousands) Percentage distribution Median income (dollars) Mean income (dollars) Total Under $15,000 $15,000 to $24,999 $25,000 to $34,999 $35,000 to $49,999 $50,000 to $74,999 $75,000 to $99,999 $100,000 to $149,999 $150,000 to $199,999 $200,000 and over Estimate Standard error Estimate Standard error HISPANIC (ANY RACE)26 2015.............. 16,667 100.0 13.6 13.0 12.7 15.1 18.1 10.8 9.7 3.7 3.2 45,148 615 63,612 837 2014.............. 16,239 100.0 14.6 14.1 12.4 15.6 18.0 10.7 9.7 2.8 2.2 42,540 517 57,600 657 20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,088 100.0 15.3 14.7 14.4 15.1 15.7 10.0 8.8 3.2 2.9 40,383 1,209 58,627 1,732 20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,811 100.0 15.7 13.7 13.3 16.2 16.9 10.7 8.8 2.8 1.9 41,681 562 55,602 750 2012.............. 15,589 100.0 16.4 14.4 13.1 15.8 17.4 9.7 8.4 2.8 2.0 40,265 551 55,148 721 2011.............. 14,939 100.0 15.8 13.7 14.0 16.6 17.3 9.1 8.4 3.0 1.9 40,705 576 55,172 626 20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,435 100.0 15.8 13.9 14.1 14.8 17.6 10.2 8.6 3.2 1.8 40,909 633 55,871 717 20094 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,298 100.0 14.7 13.9 13.5 15.7 17.6 10.5 9.1 2.9 2.2 42,022 555 57,697 633 2008.............. 13,425 100.0 15.1 13.6 13.1 17.1 17.0 9.8 9.3 3.2 1.9 41,737 535 56,773 588 2007.............. 13,339 100.0 13.9 12.9 13.5 15.4 19.0 11.1 9.3 2.9 2.0 44,215 594 58,103 612 2006.............. 12,973 100.0 13.6 13.3 11.3 17.7 18.6 10.9 9.4 3.3 2.0 44,414 594 59,454 682 2005.............. 12,519 100.0 13.9 13.7 12.1 17.3 18.7 10.4 8.9 2.7 2.2 43,652 433 57,210 575 20045 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,178 100.0 13.5 13.2 14.2 15.9 19.3 10.3 8.7 2.8 2.1 43,002 602 57,565 704 2003.............. 11,693 100.0 13.6 13.6 13.5 16.9 18.0 10.7 9.1 2.5 2.2 42,522 592 57,305 634 2002.............. 11,339 100.0 13.1 13.0 13.8 16.4 18.6 11.0 9.2 2.7 2.1 43,611 635 59,136 790 2001.............. 10,499 100.0 12.8 13.5 12.8 16.4 18.5 11.3 9.5 3.0 2.0 44,934 570 59,416 751 20006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,034 100.0 12.3 13.4 12.1 16.7 19.5 11.5 9.5 2.7 2.1 45,649 658 60,526 871 19997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,579 100.0 13.1 13.9 13.0 17.2 18.3 10.6 9.7 2.3 2.0 43,751 636 57,474 1,020 1998.............. 9,060 100.0 16.2 14.1 12.4 16.8 17.8 10.1 8.5 2.2 1.8 41,171 793 55,631 1,183 1997.............. 8,590 100.0 17.9 14.0 13.4 15.9 18.5 9.1 7.5 2.1 1.7 39,221 700 52,853 1,066 1996.............. 8,225 100.0 17.2 16.0 14.0 16.2 16.7 9.5 7.0 2.1 1.3 37,477 727 51,169 1,184 19958 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,939 100.0 19.2 16.8 13.5 16.1 16.0 9.2 6.5 1.6 1.1 35,330 770 48,221 1,082 19949 . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,735 100.0 19.2 15.8 12.7 15.9 17.0 9.1 7.0 2.0 1.3 37,069 688 49,986 1,247 199310 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,362 100.0 18.6 15.6 13.5 17.0 17.2 8.7 6.7 1.5 1.2 36,979 743 48,944 1,029 199211 . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,153 100.0 18.8 15.3 13.7 16.8 16.9 9.3 6.5 1.9 0.9 37,415 773 47,721 750 1991.............. 6,379 100.0 17.4 14.8 13.5 16.6 18.1 9.4 7.1 2.0 1.0 38,523 801 49,016 784 1990.............. 6,220 100.0 17.3 15.5 12.0 16.9 19.0 9.7 6.9 1.7 1.1 39,289 806 49,216 811 1989.............. 5,933 100.0 17.3 13.7 12.1 16.5 18.3 11.2 7.5 2.0 1.3 40,471 785 51,680 888 1988.............. 5,910 100.0 18.5 13.4 13.5 16.0 18.6 10.0 6.9 1.9 1.2 39,209 994 50,060 1,061 198712 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,642 100.0 18.7 14.9 12.4 16.9 17.5 10.0 6.5 1.8 1.3 38,605 839 49,487 916 1986.............. 5,418 100.0 18.2 16.0 12.6 15.9 17.9 9.7 7.5 1.6 0.6 37,879 987 47,830 786 198513 . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,213 100.0 19.2 16.0 12.7 16.0 18.7 8.9 6.7 1.1 0.6 36,701 857 45,859 746 198414 . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,883 100.0 19.3 15.2 14.0 15.2 18.8 9.7 5.9 1.3 0.5 36,933 926 45,925 895 1983.............. 4,326 100.0 20.5 15.6 13.1 17.4 17.8 8.8 5.5 1.0 0.4 36,011 912 43,851 842 1982.............. 4,085 100.0 19.5 16.4 13.2 17.7 17.4 8.9 5.2 1.0 0.6 35,806 946 44,190 896 1981.............. 3,980 100.0 16.8 15.1 13.8 17.7 19.7 9.8 5.7 0.9 0.5 38,272 1,048 45,959 878 1980.............. 3,906 100.0 17.5 15.6 13.6 17.8 18.8 9.6 5.3 1.2 0.5 37,398 1,014 45,680 910 197915 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,684 100.0 15.9 14.2 14.4 17.2 20.5 9.9 6.1 1.2 0.7 39,731 1,145 48,072 966 1978.............. 3,291 100.0 15.5 14.7 14.1 17.6 21.4 9.9 5.4 1.1 0.3 39,366 954 46,500 941 1977.............. 3,304 100.0 16.0 15.5 14.3 19.1 20.2 8.9 4.8 1.0 0.3 37,946 666 44,781 691 197616 . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,081 100.0 18.0 16.9 13.6 18.4 19.7 8.6 4.1 0.6 0.2 36,256 773 42,845 697 197517 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,948 100.0 17.7 16.9 15.0 18.2 20.0 7.6 3.4 0.6 0.5 35,521 785 42,169 749 197417, 18 . . . . . . . . . . . 2,897 100.0 14.8 16.2 14.9 18.8 21.3 8.4 4.3 0.8 0.4 38,619 846 44,737 728 1973.............. 2,722 100.0 13.9 15.8 14.7 19.3 22.3 8.5 4.6 0.6 0.3 38,846 882 45,132 735 197219 . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,655 100.0 13.5 17.0 14.3 21.3 20.7 8.3 3.7 0.7 0.5 38,910 760 44,724 760 See footnotes on next page.
30 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau N Not available. Z Represents or rounds to zero. 1 The 2014 CPS ASEC included redesigned questions for income and health insurance coverage. All of the approximately 98,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned set of health insurance coverage questions. The redesigned income questions were implemented to a subsample of the 98,000 addresses using a probability split panel design. Approximately 68,000 addresses were eligible to receive a set of income questions similar to those used in the 2013 CPS ASEC and the remaining 30,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned income questions. The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received the redesigned income questions, approximately 30,000 addresses. 2 The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received the income questions consistent with the 2013 CPS ASEC, approximately 68,000 addresses. 3 Implementation of Census 2010-based population controls. 4 Median income is calculated using $2,500 income intervals. Beginning with 2009 income data, the Census Bureau expanded the upper income intervals used to calculate medians to $250,000 or more. Medians falling in the upper open-ended interval are plugged with “$250,000.” Before 2009, the upper open-ended interval was $100,000 and a plug of “$100,000” was used. 5 Data have been revised to reflect a correction to the weights in the 2005 ASEC. 6 Implementation of a 28,000 household sample expansion. 7 Implementation of Census 2000-based population controls. 8 Full implementation of 1990 census-based sample design and metropolitan definitions, 7,000 household sample reduction, and revised editing of responses on race. 9 Introduction of 1990 census sample design. 10 Data collection method changed from paper and pencil to computer-assisted interviewing. In addition, the 1994 ASEC was revised to allow for the coding of different income amounts on selected questionnaire items. Limits either increased or decreased in the following categories: earnings limits increased to $999,999; social security limits increased to $49,999; supplemental security income and public assistance limits increased to $24,999; veterans’ benefits limits increased to $99,999; child support and alimony limits decreased to $49,999. 11 Implementation of 1990 census population controls. 12 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system. 13 Recording of amounts for earnings from longest job increased to $299,999. Full implementation of 1980 census-based sample design. 14 Implementation of Hispanic population weighting controls and introduction of 1980 census-based sample design. 15 Implementation of 1980 census population controls. Questionnaire expanded to show 27 possible values from 51 possible sources of income. 16 First year medians were derived using both Pareto and linear interpolation. Before this year, all medians were derived using linear interpolation. 17 Some of these estimates were derived using Pareto interpolation and may differ from published data, which were derived using linear interpolation. 18 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system. Questionnaire expanded to ask 11 income questions. 19 Full implementation of 1970 census-based sample design. 20 Introduction of 1970 census sample design and population controls. 21 Implementation of new CPS ASEC processing system. 22 Beginning with the 2003 CPS, respondents were allowed to choose one or more races. White alone refers to people who reported White and did not report any other race category. The use of this single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing the data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches. 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 available from Census 2010 through American FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2010. 23 For the year 2001 and earlier, the CPS allowed respondents to report only one race group. 24 Black alone refers to people who reported Black and did not report any other race category. 25 Asian alone refers to people who reported Asian and did not report any other race category. 26 Because Hispanics may be any race, data in this report for Hispanics overlap with data for racial groups. Being Hispanic was reported by 15.0 percent of White householders who reported only one race, 4.3 percent of Black householders who reported only one race, and 2.4 percent of Asian householders who reported only one race. Data users should exercise caution when interpreting aggregate results for the Hispanic population and for race groups because these populations consist of many distinct groups that differ in socioeconomic characteristics, culture, and recency of immigration. Data were first collected for Hispanics in 1972. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1968 through 2016 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 31

Table A-2.

Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015

(Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality 

measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality 

protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Measures of income 

dispersion 2015 2014 20131 20132 2012 2011 20103 20094 2008 2007 2006 2005

MEASURE

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,259 12,290 12,413 12,618 12,631 12,646 12,894 13,389 13,387 13,903 14,107 13,700 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,800 21,457 21,368 21,266 21,265 21,354 21,742 22,594 22,801 23,195 23,552 23,276 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,511 41,233 41,754 40,892 41,049 40,595 41,310 42,586 42,933 44,697 44,405 43,692 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,516 53,718 54,525 52,850 52,666 52,751 53,568 54,988 55,376 57,423 56,663 56,224 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,001 68,290 68,378 66,649 66,669 65,798 66,857 68,271 69,051 70,875 70,533 69,980 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117,002 112,391 112,165 107,767 107,460 107,055 108,742 110,470 110,350 114,314 114,067 111,299 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162,180 157,660 158,151 152,630 150,718 151,348 150,865 152,041 152,248 155,467 156,349 153,031 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214,462 206,806 208,725 199,437 197,333 196,021 196,206 198,846 198,154 202,336 204,561 201,468 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.23 12.83 12.74 12.10 11.93 11.97 11.70 11.36 11.37 11.18 11.08 11.17 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.41 9.64 9.77 9.38 9.28 9.18 9.02 8.80 8.69 8.72 8.69 8.66 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.80 3.85 3.83 3.78 3.79 3.72 3.67 3.62 3.60 3.54 3.63 3.61 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.07 2.09 2.06 2.04 2.07 2.03 2.04 2.01 2.00 2.00 2.02 1.99 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.13 5.24 5.25 5.07 5.05 5.01 5.00 4.89 4.84 4.93 4.84 4.78 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.40 0.40 0.39 0.40 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.41 0.42 0.42 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,457 11,689 11,797 11,855 11,861 11,844 11,952 12,761 12,832 13,204 13,345 12,932 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,631 31,123 31,352 31,044 30,656 30,777 31,017 32,320 32,494 33,656 33,829 33,202 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,832 54,103 54,683 53,239 52,833 52,527 53,450 54,720 55,188 57,120 56,689 56,194 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92,031 87,935 87,989 84,983 84,751 84,394 85,748 86,933 87,804 90,435 89,729 88,385 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202,366 194,276 196,742 188,453 187,783 187,611 184,146 188,731 188,309 192,014 197,693 193,680 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350,870 332,729 340,329 327,995 328,330 328,223 312,218 326,314 324,431 328,299 349,617 341,228 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.1 3.1 3.1 3.2 3.2 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.4 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 8.2 8.2 8.4 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 8.6 8.7 8.6 8.6 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.3 14.3 14.3 14.4 14.4 14.3 14.6 14.6 14.7 14.8 14.5 14.6 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.2 23.2 23.0 23.0 23.0 23.0 23.4 23.2 23.3 23.4 22.9 23.0 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.1 51.2 51.4 51.0 51.0 51.1 50.3 50.3 50.0 49.7 50.5 50.4 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.1 21.9 22.2 22.2 22.3 22.3 21.3 21.7 21.5 21.2 22.3 22.2 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.479 0.480 0.482 0.476 0.477 0.477 0.470 0.468 0.466 0.463 0.470 0.469 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.596 0.611 0.606 0.578 0.586 0.585 0.574 0.550 0.541 0.532 0.543 0.545 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.420 0.419 0.428 0.415 0.423 0.422 0.400 0.403 0.398 0.391 0.417 0.411 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.101 0.102 0.103 0.100 0.101 0.101 0.097 0.097 0.096 0.095 0.099 0.098 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.199 0.200 0.202 0.196 0.198 0.198 0.191 0.190 0.188 0.185 0.192 0.192 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.303 0.307 0.307 0.298 0.300 0.300 0.293 0.288 0.285 0.281 0.289 0.289 

STANDARD ERROR

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 200 291 175 223 17 142 94 91 93 96 93 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176 250 262 221 247 187 128 118 118 128 129 130 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 387 466 324 346 377 142 180 174 143 209 152 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321 392 665 281 216 265 353 235 151 160 243 188 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 521 764 510 533 492 472 192 294 306 192 306 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 790 670 649 730 624 598 182 344 337 343 430 391 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,110 1,085 1,768 764 955 1,012 962 705 642 674 664 652 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,531 1,506 2,101 2,307 1,420 1,557 1,228 971 1,015 980 1,178 1,356 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.105 0.219 0.321 0.167 0.211 0.082 0.130 0.095 0.091 0.089 0.090 0.090 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.096 0.117 0.146 0.133 0.114 0.094 0.076 0.063 0.063 0.064 0.069 0.076 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.033 0.035 0.055 0.045 0.031 0.030 0.026 0.022 0.023 0.021 0.025 0.028 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.013 0.015 0.025 0.014 0.013 0.012 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.009 0.011 0.010 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.046 0.060 0.069 0.051 0.056 0.042 0.031 0.030 0.029 0.031 0.032 0.031 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.003 0.004 0.005 0.004 0.004 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 123 200 123 109 122 111 46 45 46 48 47 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 202 350 237 192 191 214 40 40 42 41 42 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 326 304 487 362 257 270 298 52 53 54 53 52 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 470 463 694 501 400 408 440 84 83 86 87 84 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,532 1,657 2,740 1,930 1,672 1,395 1,376 929 910 921 1,110 1,039 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,832 5,004 9,181 6,042 5,322 4,439 4,365 2,930 2,850 2,897 3,649 3,338 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05 0.05 0.09 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.07 0.07 0.12 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.09 0.09 0.17 0.11 0.09 0.08 0.09 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.15 0.15 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.20 0.20 0.36 0.24 0.20 0.17 0.18 0.33 0.33 0.33 0.34 0.34 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.23 0.24 0.46 0.30 0.26 0.23 0.23 0.30 0.30 0.29 0.31 0.31 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0020 0.0021 0.0037 0.0025 0.0020 0.0018 0.0019 0.0028 0.0027 0.0027 0.0028 0.0028 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0067 0.0073 0.0124 0.0079 0.0068 0.0067 0.0066 0.0064 0.0063 0.0062 0.0063 0.0063 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0052 0.0054 0.0107 0.0067 0.0059 0.0050 0.0049 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0002 0.0001 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0010 0.0011 0.0021 0.0013 0.0011 0.0010 0.0010 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0014 0.0013 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0017 0.0018 0.0033 0.0022 0.0018 0.0016 0.0016 0.0018 0.0017 0.0018 0.0021 0.0020 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0023 0.0025 0.0043 0.0028 0.0023 0.0021 0.0021 0.0024 0.0023 0.0024 0.0027 0.0026 

See footnotes at end of table.
32 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Table A-2.

Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015—Con.

(Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality 

measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality 

protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Measures of income

dispersion 20045 2003 2002 2001 20006 19997 1998 1997 1996 19958

MEASURE

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,685 13,577 13,991 14,306 14,564 14,722 14,097 13,573 13,407 13,409 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,196 23,176 23,603 24,057 24,663 24,384 23,421 22,683 22,222 22,255 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,509 43,815 43,972 44,598 45,417 45,421 44,191 43,009 41,772 41,595 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,629 55,823 55,871 56,531 57,790 57,909 56,510 54,506 53,407 52,664 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,301 70,172 70,038 70,952 71,806 71,695 70,246 67,755 66,218 64,914 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110,423 111,943 110,686 111,783 112,533 112,745 108,994 105,314 102,346 100,649 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151,660 152,321 150,336 152,116 154,144 153,365 147,215 143,849 138,513 135,538 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197,190 198,611 197,619 201,475 199,864 202,061 192,119 186,399 179,878 174,641 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.08 11.22 10.75 10.63 10.58 10.42 10.44 10.60 10.33 10.11 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.50 8.57 8.37 8.38 8.10 8.29 8.20 8.22 8.09 7.85 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.57 3.57 3.54 3.57 3.46 3.52 3.41 3.43 3.40 3.32 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.00 2.01 1.99 1.98 1.95 1.96 1.93 1.94 1.93 1.92 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.76 4.83 4.69 4.65 4.56 4.62 4.65 4.64 4.61 4.52 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.43 0.43 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,854 12,882 13,161 13,569 13,979 14,109 13,403 13,019 12,933 12,897 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,890 33,091 33,463 34,094 34,904 34,642 33,843 32,549 31,746 31,523 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,726 56,171 56,389 57,068 58,125 57,986 56,629 54,759 53,398 52,711 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87,867 88,911 88,698 89,478 90,357 90,249 87,582 84,814 82,644 81,029 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190,021 189,536 189,373 195,412 195,803 192,456 185,332 180,822 173,820 169,094 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 331,130 326,343 330,691 348,687 347,374 334,507 323,034 317,322 302,787 291,833 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.6 3.7 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 8.7 8.8 8.7 8.9 8.9 9.0 8.9 9.0 9.1 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.7 14.8 14.8 14.6 14.8 14.9 15.0 15.0 15.1 15.2 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.2 23.4 23.3 23.0 23.0 23.2 23.2 23.2 23.3 23.3 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.1 49.8 49.7 50.1 49.8 49.4 49.2 49.4 49.0 48.7 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.8 21.4 21.7 22.4 22.1 21.5 21.4 21.7 21.4 21.0 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.466 0.464 0.462 0.466 0.462 0.458 0.456 0.459 0.455 0.450 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.543 0.530 0.514 0.515 0.490 0.476 0.488 0.484 0.464 0.452 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.406 0.397 0.398 0.413 0.404 0.386 0.389 0.396 0.389 0.378 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.097 0.095 0.095 0.098 0.096 0.092 0.093 0.094 0.093 0.090 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.190 0.187 0.186 0.189 0.185 0.180 0.181 0.183 0.179 0.175 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.286 0.283 0.279 0.282 0.275 0.268 0.271 0.272 0.266 0.261 

STANDARD ERROR

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 93 94 98 99 100 97 102 95 96 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 129 136 133 140 135 142 134 135 125 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 210 206 205 223 164 225 281 272 227 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 242 183 173 182 270 334 252 269 304 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 244 292 284 261 216 362 315 346 286 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 390 411 302 324 330 351 340 467 357 379 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 616 652 593 577 667 643 558 595 641 587 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,149 918 939 1,012 1,281 1,126 1,115 974 885 1,039 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.088 0.091 0.083 0.083 0.085 0.083 0.082 0.091 0.087 0.084 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.069 0.062 0.062 0.063 0.070 0.065 0.069 0.065 0.063 0.064 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.025 0.021 0.022 0.023 0.026 0.024 0.024 0.022 0.022 0.023 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.011 0.011 0.009 0.010 0.009 0.010 0.010 0.011 0.011 0.010 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.032 0.032 0.030 0.029 0.029 0.029 0.032 0.034 0.032 0.031 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 46 47 48 50 48 48 47 44 45 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 43 42 43 44 44 45 43 42 42 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 54 54 55 55 55 55 53 53 51 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 85 83 84 84 85 83 80 77 77 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,028 974 1,022 1,154 1,142 1,006 1,049 1,077 1,047 986 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,350 3,126 3,311 3,794 3,752 3,169 4,809 5,004 4,915 4,587 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.07 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.17 0.17 0.17 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.34 0.34 0.34 0.35 0.34 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.31 0.30 0.31 0.32 0.32 0.31 0.44 0.45 0.45 0.44 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0029 0.0028 0.0029 0.0030 0.0030 0.0041 0.0042 0.0043 0.0043 0.0043 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0063 0.0054 0.0052 0.0051 0.0049 0.0058 0.0069 0.0067 0.0064 0.0063 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0002 0.0002 0.0001 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 0.0002 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0013 0.0012 0.0012 0.0014 0.0013 0.0013 0.0015 0.0016 0.0016 0.0015 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0020 0.0018 0.0020 0.0022 0.0021 0.0021 0.0023 0.0025 0.0024 0.0024 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0026 0.0024 0.0025 0.0027 0.0026 0.0027 0.0029 0.0030 0.0030 0.0029 

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 33

Table A-2.

Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015—Con.

(Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality 

measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality 

protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Measures of income

dispersion 19949 199310 199211 1991 1990 1989 1988 198712 1986 198513

MEASURE

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,706 12,419 12,418 12,600 12,879 13,293 12,642 12,453 12,347 12,392 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,250 20,952 20,862 21,376 21,993 22,332 21,920 21,563 21,150 20,890 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,885 39,876 39,969 40,745 41,633 42,463 41,407 40,929 40,455 39,304 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,065 50,478 50,725 51,145 52,684 53,367 52,432 52,032 51,388 49,631 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,467 62,681 62,752 62,934 63,693 65,264 64,529 63,890 62,785 60,888 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99,460 97,431 96,044 96,360 97,132 99,161 97,436 96,560 94,908 91,574 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134,347 132,075 128,402 128,827 130,377 132,844 129,034 127,388 124,564 120,111 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173,817 169,073 163,950 163,659 166,707 169,392 164,933 161,578 159,148 151,308 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.57 10.64 10.34 10.22 10.12 9.99 10.21 10.23 10.09 9.69 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.18 8.07 7.86 7.66 7.58 7.59 7.52 7.49 7.52 7.24 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.41 3.37 3.27 3.21 3.17 3.17 3.16 3.11 3.10 3.05 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.95 1.94 1.91 1.89 1.85 1.86 1.86 1.86 1.85 1.85 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.68 4.65 4.60 4.51 4.42 4.44 4.45 4.48 4.49 4.38 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.41 0.42 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,209 11,891 12,014 12,268 12,608 12,913 12,451 12,243 11,918 11,797 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,426 30,144 30,103 30,813 31,723 32,126 31,425 31,114 30,657 29,896 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,257 50,529 50,717 51,183 52,399 53,402 52,559 52,020 51,301 49,624 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79,762 78,525 77,854 78,022 79,002 80,778 79,450 78,631 77,283 74,646 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167,682 163,602 150,854 149,614 153,315 157,907 151,681 149,536 146,279 139,433 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289,709 280,796 239,432 233,486 244,138 255,122 239,224 235,594 229,156 215,085 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.6 3.6 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.9 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9 9.0 9.4 9.6 9.6 9.5 9.6 9.6 9.7 9.8 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.0 15.1 15.8 15.9 15.9 15.8 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.2 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.4 23.5 24.2 24.2 24.0 24.0 24.2 24.3 24.3 24.4 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.1 48.9 46.9 46.5 46.6 46.8 46.3 46.2 46.1 45.6 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.2 21.0 18.6 18.1 18.5 18.9 18.3 18.2 18.0 17.6 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.456 0.454 0.433 0.428 0.428 0.431 0.426 0.426 0.425 0.419 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.471 0.467 0.416 0.411 0.402 0.406 0.401 0.414 0.416 0.403 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.387 0.385 0.323 0.313 0.317 0.324 0.314 0.311 0.310 0.300 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.092 0.092 0.080 0.078 0.078 0.080 0.078 0.077 0.077 0.075 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.180 0.178 0.160 0.156 0.156 0.158 0.155 0.155 0.155 0.151 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.268 0.266 0.242 0.237 0.236 0.239 0.236 0.238 0.237 0.231 

STANDARD ERROR

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 89 88 92 99 98 98 98 99 95 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 126 126 131 135 138 137 138 140 137 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239 238 247 243 252 266 237 238 239 227 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 236 240 246 269 294 256 246 266 269 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294 347 316 267 266 294 337 280 258 292 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 324 365 318 350 373 308 343 331 369 300 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 594 462 424 462 500 801 524 461 568 511 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 984 840 830 837 941 905 1,025 753 665 1,263 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.087 0.085 0.081 0.082 0.087 0.095 0.089 0.088 0.093 0.085 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.066 0.063 0.062 0.061 0.063 0.062 0.066 0.060 0.059 0.077 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.024 0.022 0.021 0.021 0.022 0.021 0.023 0.020 0.018 0.028 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.010 0.011 0.010 0.011 0.010 0.009 0.010 0.010 0.011 0.010 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.031 0.033 0.032 0.032 0.032 0.031 0.032 0.033 0.034 0.032 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 44 43 44 46 46 46 46 45 46 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 42 43 42 44 44 44 44 43 42 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 50 50 49 49 52 52 52 52 50 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 78 73 73 74 76 73 74 72 71 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 989 989 548 523 577 637 578 567 535 488 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,617 4,674 1,954 1,856 2,103 2,402 2,170 2,224 1,853 1,664 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.07 0.08 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.13 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.17 0.17 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.18 0.19 0.19 0.19 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.36 0.36 0.35 0.34 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 0.35 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.45 0.45 0.38 0.37 0.39 0.40 0.38 0.41 0.37 0.37 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0042 0.0042 0.0038 0.0038 0.0039 0.0040 0.0041 0.0038 0.0038 0.0037 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0061 0.0061 0.0055 0.0056 0.0053 0.0053 0.0055 0.0055 0.0057 0.0056 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0002 0.0002 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0015 0.0015 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0008 0.0008 0.0007 0.0007 0.0006 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0023 0.0024 0.0013 0.0012 0.0013 0.0014 0.0014 0.0013 0.0012 0.0011 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0028 0.0029 0.0019 0.0018 0.0018 0.0019 0.0020 0.0018 0.0018 0.0017 

See footnotes at end of table.
34 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Table A-2.

Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015—Con.

(Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality 

measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality 

protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Measures of income

dispersion 198414 1983 1982 1981 1980 197915 1978 1977 197616

MEASURE

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,383 11,902 11,939 12,157 12,328 12,505 12,737 12,481 12,329 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,649 20,260 19,816 20,072 20,487 21,325 21,072 20,436 20,479 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,645 37,673 37,689 37,522 38,420 39,603 39,843 38,491 38,154 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,720 47,283 47,585 47,712 48,518 50,146 50,242 48,370 48,066 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,540 57,820 57,585 58,033 58,901 60,930 60,285 58,670 58,122 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89,941 87,381 85,870 85,799 86,242 88,345 87,677 85,535 83,621 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118,305 114,365 113,243 112,077 112,057 114,358 113,398 109,093 107,226 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148,887 143,763 141,748 138,079 138,790 142,753 140,264 135,431 132,612 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.55 9.61 9.48 9.22 9.09 9.14 8.90 8.74 8.70 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.21 7.10 7.15 6.88 6.77 6.69 6.66 6.63 6.48 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.06 3.04 3.00 2.91 2.86 2.87 2.80 2.80 2.76 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.85 1.85 1.82 1.81 1.78 1.77 1.75 1.77 1.74 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.36 4.31 4.33 4.27 4.21 4.14 4.16 4.19 4.08 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.43 0.42 0.42 0.43 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,815 11,440 11,300 11,512 11,808 12,204 12,290 11,886 11,943 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,430 28,737 28,594 28,676 29,387 30,354 30,184 29,257 29,239 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,770 47,512 47,333 47,505 48,493 50,046 49,839 48,395 48,085 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,431 71,297 70,395 70,813 71,443 73,442 73,009 70,909 69,829 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135,022 130,901 129,110 126,493 127,382 131,801 130,345 126,450 123,590 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203,821 197,779 195,089 187,968 190,357 201,012 198,401 193,442 188,308 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.1 4.2 4.2 4.3 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 9.9 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.2 10.3 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.3 16.4 16.5 16.7 16.8 16.8 16.8 16.9 17.0 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.6 24.6 24.5 24.8 24.7 24.6 24.7 24.7 24.7 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.2 45.1 45.0 44.3 44.1 44.2 44.1 44.0 43.7 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.1 17.0 17.0 16.5 16.5 16.9 16.8 16.8 16.6 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.415 0.414 0.412 0.406 0.403 0.404 0.402 0.402 0.398 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.391 0.397 0.401 0.387 0.375 0.369 0.363 0.364 0.361 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.290 0.288 0.287 0.277 0.274 0.279 0.275 0.276 0.271 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.073 0.072 0.072 0.070 0.069 0.070 0.069 0.069 0.068 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.147 0.147 0.146 0.141 0.140 0.141 0.139 0.139 0.137 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.225 0.226 0.226 0.220 0.216 0.216 0.213 0.213 0.211 

STANDARD ERROR

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 95 94 143 140 140 140 132 133 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124 127 127 130 134 146 147 143 144 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237 206 215 225 233 241 213 221 220 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222 215 215 250 249 238 203 182 178 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 254 264 293 241 253 277 242 242 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 320 290 318 255 301 256 324 249 288 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406 505 434 420 477 460 377 517 375 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 743 688 816 768 737 789 767 663 765 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.079 0.088 0.084 0.114 0.110 0.108 0.102 0.102 0.099 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.056 0.056 0.062 0.059 0.057 0.059 0.059 0.056 0.059 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.020 0.019 0.021 0.020 0.019 0.020 0.020 0.018 0.020 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.010 0.010 0.010 0.009 0.010 0.009 0.010 0.009 0.010 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.030 0.031 0.032 0.030 0.031 0.031 0.033 0.032 0.032 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.003 0.004 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 45 47 48 47 49 50 50 49 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 41 42 40 44 46 47 46 45 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 48 47 50 49 52 53 50 49 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 68 66 65 66 67 67 68 64 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 428 414 415 390 422 469 467 478 474 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,358 1,279 1,307 1,231 1,433 1,532 1,514 1,611 1,625 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.04 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.08 0.09 0.09 0.09 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.13 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.14 0.15 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.19 0.19 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.20 0.21 0.21 0.21 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.35 0.36 0.36 0.35 0.35 0.36 0.37 0.37 0.37 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.36 0.36 0.36 0.35 0.36 0.35 0.35 0.36 0.36 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0037 0.0037 0.0038 0.0038 0.0036 0.0038 0.0039 0.0039 0.0041 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0055 0.0056 0.0057 0.0056 0.0051 0.0050 0.0054 0.0054 0.0054 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 0.0006 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0010 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0016 0.0016 0.0017 0.0016 0.0016 0.0017 0.0016 0.0017 0.0017 

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 35

Table A-2.

Selected Measures of Household Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015—Con.

(Income in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Beginning with 2010, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality 

measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality 

protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Measures of income

dispersion 197517 197417,18 1973 197219 197120 1970 1969 1968 196721

MEASURE

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,261 12,605 12,521 11,956 11,213 11,040 11,298 11,013 10,117 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,035 21,074 20,973 20,527 19,837 20,096 20,440 19,847 18,620 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,601 39,091 40,329 39,534 37,817 38,498 39,223 37,627 36,310 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,281 48,553 50,141 49,148 47,130 47,593 47,965 46,245 44,335 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,818 57,763 59,671 58,429 55,649 55,995 56,724 53,932 51,535 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,581 83,833 85,915 83,629 79,350 79,890 79,474 75,780 73,488 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104,580 108,098 110,899 107,450 101,798 101,763 100,841 95,561 93,350 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128,738 132,689 138,088 134,592 126,010 126,284 124,643 118,555 117,929 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.53 8.58 8.86 8.99 9.08 9.22 8.93 8.68 9.23 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.43 6.30 6.58 6.56 6.35 6.28 6.10 5.97 6.33 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.74 2.76 2.78 2.75 2.68 2.67 2.62 2.58 2.70 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.73 1.74 1.73 1.71 1.69 1.69 1.67 1.65 1.68 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.07 3.98 4.10 4.07 4.00 3.98 3.89 3.82 3.95 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.43 0.44 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.43 0.43 0.43 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,656 12,068 12,111 11,571 10,921 10,855 11,046 10,786 9,931 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,633 29,994 30,451 29,888 28,864 29,404 29,823 28,919 27,515 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,977 48,336 49,945 48,778 46,801 47,348 47,656 45,869 43,925 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,262 69,809 71,853 70,030 66,534 66,741 66,753 63,984 61,459 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120,520 123,683 128,562 125,722 117,892 118,154 117,325 111,185 110,605 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182,891 187,998 198,026 194,865 180,824 181,353 180,589 169,985 174,472 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 4.3 4.2 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.0 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4 10.6 10.4 10.4 10.6 10.8 10.9 11.1 10.8 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.0 17.0 17.0 17.0 17.3 17.4 17.5 17.6 17.3 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.7 24.6 24.5 24.5 24.5 24.5 24.5 24.5 24.2 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.6 43.5 43.9 43.9 43.5 43.3 43.0 42.6 43.6 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.5 16.5 16.9 17.0 16.7 16.6 16.6 16.3 17.2 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.397 0.395 0.400 0.401 0.396 0.394 0.391 0.386 0.397 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.361 0.352 0.355 0.370 0.370 0.370 0.357 0.356 0.380 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.270 0.267 0.270 0.279 0.273 0.271 0.268 0.273 0.287 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.067 0.067 0.068 0.070 0.068 0.068 0.067 0.067 0.071 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.136 0.134 0.136 0.140 0.138 0.138 0.135 0.135 0.143 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.210 0.207 0.210 0.216 0.214 0.214 0.209 0.208 0.220 

STANDARD ERROR

Household Income at 

Selected Percentiles

10th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128 134 134 132 131 131 137 131 130 

20th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 178 176 177 172 180 183 179 174 

40th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 230 243 238 224 229 229 215 205 

50th (median) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192 186 191 188 183 174 177 167 161 

60th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252 269 291 238 235 251 229 227 236 

80th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 345 238 277 324 386 207 217 245 292 

90th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473 390 401 542 292 327 389 514 689 

95th percentile limit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 693 876 630 846 506 627 772 532 503 

Household Income Ratios

of Selected Percentiles

90th/10th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.097 0.096 0.100 0.109 0.107 0.115 0.113 0.115 0.136 

95th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.059 0.068 0.063 0.070 0.060 0.064 0.066 0.060 0.065 

95th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.019 0.022 0.018 0.021 0.016 0.017 0.020 0.016 0.016 

80th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.010 0.009 0.010 0.010 0.011 0.008 0.008 0.009 0.010 

80th/20th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.035 0.036 0.037 0.038 0.040 0.037 0.036 0.036 0.040 

20th/50th . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.004 0.004 

Mean Household Income of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 52 52 51 52 54 51 54 50 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 48 52 51 47 49 51 48 50 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 48 52 51 47 49 46 48 43 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 65 67 66 63 65 63 60 56 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477 481 520 547 517 534 543 508 552 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,675 1,635 1,765 1,926 1,874 1,940 2,001 1,869 2,017 

Shares of Household Income 

of Quintiles

Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 

Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.09 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.10 

Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.17 0.17 

Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.21 0.21 0.22 0.22 0.22 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 

Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.37 0.38 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.40 0.40 0.40 0.41 

Top 5 percent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.36 0.36 0.38 0.38 0.38 0.39 0.39 0.39 0.41 

Summary Measures

Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0056 0.0066 0.0040 0.0069 0.0063 0.0078 0.0066 0.0042 0.0044 

Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0059 0.0058 0.0057 0.0060 0.0061 0.0060 0.0058 0.0057 0.0060 

Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 

Atkinson:

 e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0007 0.0006 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0008 0.0007 0.0008 

 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0012 0.0011 0.0012 0.0013 0.0013 0.0013 0.0014 0.0012 0.0014 

 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0018 0.0017 0.0017 0.0018 0.0019 0.0019 0.0020 0.0018 0.0020 

See footnotes on next page.
36 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

1

 The 2014 CPS ASEC included redesigned questions for income and health insurance 

coverage. All of the approximately 98,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned set of 

health insurance coverage questions. The redesigned income questions were implemented to a 

subsample of these 98,000 addresses using a probability split panel design. Approximately 68,000 

addresses were eligible to receive a set of income questions similar to those used in the 2013 

CPS ASEC and the remaining 30,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned income 

questions. The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which 

received the redesigned income questions, approximately 30,000 addresses. 2

 The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received 

the income questions consistent with the 2013 CPS ASEC, approximately 68,000 addresses. 3

 Implementation of Census 2010-based population controls. 4

 Medians are calculated using $2,500 income intervals. Beginning with 2009 income data, 

the Census Bureau expanded the upper income intervals used to calculate medians to $250,000 

or more. Medians falling in the upper open-ended interval are plugged with “$250,000.” Before 

2009, the upper open-ended interval was $100,000 and a plug of “$100,000” was used. 5

 The 2004 data have been revised to reflect a correction to the weights in the 2005 ASEC. 6

 Implementation of a 28,000 household sample expansion. 7

 Implementation of Census 2000-based population controls. 8

 Full implementation of 1990 census-based sample design and metropolitan definitions, 

7,000 household sample reduction, and revised editing of responses on race. 9

 Introduction of 1990 census sample design. 10 Data collection method changed from paper and pencil to computer-assisted interviewing.

In addition, the 1994 ASEC was revised to allow for the coding of different income amounts on 

selected questionnaire items. Limits either increased or decreased in the following categories: 

earnings limits increased to $999,999; social security limits increased to $49,999; supplemental security income and public assistance limits increased to $24,999; veterans’ benefits limits 

increased to $99,999; child support and alimony limits decreased to $49,999.

11 Implementation of 1990 census population controls. 12 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system. 13 Recording of amounts for earnings from longest job increased to $299,999. Full implementation of 1980 census-based sample design. 14 Implementation of Hispanic population weighting controls and introduction of 1980 censusbased sample design. 15 Implementation of 1980 census population controls. Questionnaire expanded to allow the 

recording of up to 27 possible values from a list of 51 possible sources of income. 16 First year medians were derived using both Pareto and linear interpolation. Before this year, 

all medians were derived using linear interpolation. 17 Some of these estimates were derived using Pareto interpolation and may differ from 

published data, which were derived using linear interpolation. 18 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system. Questionnaire expanded to ask 11 

income questions. 19 Full implementation of 1970 census-based sample design. 20 Introduction of 1970 census sample design and population controls. 21 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1968 to 2016 Annual Social and 

Economic Supplements.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 37 Table A-3. Selected Measures of Equivalence-Adjusted Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015 (Beginning with 2009, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf ) See footnotes at end of table. Measures of income dispersion 2015 2014 20131 20132 2012 2011 20103 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 20044 MEASURES Shares of Equivalence-Adjusted Income of Quintiles Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.4 3.4 3.6 3.7 3.8 3.8 3.8 3.8 Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.0 9.0 8.8 9.1 9.0 9.0 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.4 9.5 9.6 Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.8 14.8 14.7 14.9 14.8 14.8 15.0 15.0 15.1 15.3 14.9 15.1 15.2 Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.9 22.9 22.8 22.9 22.9 22.8 23.1 22.9 22.8 22.9 22.5 22.6 22.7 Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.8 50.0 50.3 49.6 49.9 50.0 49.2 49.4 48.9 48.5 49.3 49.1 48.7 Summary Measures Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.462 0.464 0.467 0.459 0.463 0.463 0.456 0.456 0.450 0.444 0.452 0.450 0.447 Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . 0.623 0.648 0.635 0.620 0.629 0.626 0.617 0.605 0.568 0.548 0.557 0.571 0.559 Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.396 0.397 0.409 0.392 0.405 0.404 0.382 0.390 0.377 0.368 0.393 0.386 0.380 Atkinson: e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.096 0.096 0.098 0.095 0.097 0.097 0.093 0.094 0.091 0.089 0.093 0.092 0.091 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.190 0.192 0.194 0.188 0.192 0.191 0.185 0.186 0.180 0.175 0.182 0.181 0.179 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.295 0.301 0.301 0.293 0.298 0.297 0.290 0.289 0.278 0.271 0.278 0.280 0.276 STANDARD ERRORS Shares of Equivalence-Adjusted Income of Quintiles Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04 0.03 0.06 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.06 0.05 0.09 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.09 0.10 0.09 0.09 0.10 Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.07 0.07 0.12 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.06 0.07 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.08 0.09 0.16 0.11 0.10 0.09 0.08 0.09 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.20 0.19 0.37 0.25 0.21 0.18 0.18 0.21 0.49 0.48 0.49 0.49 0.49 Summary Measures Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0021 0.0020 0.0039 0.0026 0.0022 0.0019 0.0019 0.0021 0.0018 0.0018 0.0018 0.0018 0.0018 Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0071 0.0076 0.0123 0.0083 0.0072 0.0073 0.0080 0.0069 0.0043 0.0042 0.0042 0.0043 0.0042 Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0052 0.0054 0.0111 0.0067 0.0062 0.0053 0.0048 0.0053 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 Atkinson: e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0011 0.0011 0.0021 0.0013 0.0012 0.0010 0.0010 0.0011 0.0007 0.0008 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0018 0.0017 0.0034 0.0022 0.0019 0.0016 0.0016 0.0017 0.0012 0.0012 0.0014 0.0013 0.0014 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0024 0.0024 0.0044 0.0028 0.0024 0.0022 0.0023 0.0023 0.0015 0.0016 0.0017 0.0017 0.0017
38 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau See footnotes at end of table. Table A-3. Selected Measures of Equivalence-Adjusted Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Beginning with 2009, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf ) Measures of income dispersion 2003 2002 2001 20005 19996 1998 1997 1996 19957 19948 19939 199210 1991 MEASURES Shares of Equivalence-Adjusted Income of Quintiles Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.9 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.0 3.9 4.1 4.3 Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.5 9.6 9.6 9.8 9.7 9.8 9.8 9.8 9.9 9.8 9.8 10.3 10.6 Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.2 15.2 15.2 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.4 15.5 15.6 15.6 15.6 16.3 16.5 Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.8 22.7 22.4 22.3 22.6 22.7 22.6 22.7 22.8 22.8 23.0 23.7 23.7 Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.6 48.4 48.8 48.6 48.4 48.1 48.3 47.9 47.6 47.8 47.7 45.5 45.0 Summary Measures Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.445 0.443 0.446 0.442 0.441 0.439 0.440 0.437 0.433 0.436 0.436 0.413 0.406 Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . 0.548 0.523 0.527 0.501 0.492 0.506 0.500 0.474 0.463 0.474 0.472 0.419 0.402 Theil 0.373 0.373 0.386 0.380 0.366 0.369 0.374 0.370 0.356 0.363 0.363 0.299 0.289 Atkinson: e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.090 0.089 0.091 0.090 0.088 0.088 0.089 0.088 0.085 0.087 0.087 0.074 0.072 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.176 0.174 0.177 0.174 0.171 0.172 0.173 0.170 0.166 0.169 0.169 0.149 0.144 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.272 0.267 0.270 0.263 0.260 0.262 0.263 0.256 0.251 0.256 0.256 0.230 0.223 STANDARD ERRORS Shares of Equivalence-Adjusted Income of Quintiles Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.11 Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.15 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16 0.16 Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.23 0.23 0.22 0.22 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.24 0.24 Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.49 0.48 0.49 0.49 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.48 0.45 0.45 Summary Measures Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0018 0.0019 0.0019 0.0019 0.0026 0.0027 0.0027 0.0028 0.0027 0.0027 0.0027 0.0024 0.0024 Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0041 0.0039 0.0039 0.0037 0.0046 0.0048 0.0047 0.0045 0.0044 0.0042 0.0041 0.0038 0.0037 Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 Atkinson: e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0008 0.0008 0.0009 0.0009 0.0009 0.0010 0.0010 0.0010 0.0010 0.0010 0.0009 0.0005 0.0004 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0012 0.0013 0.0014 0.0014 0.0014 0.0015 0.0016 0.0016 0.0015 0.0015 0.0015 0.0008 0.0008 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0016 0.0016 0.0018 0.0017 0.0018 0.0019 0.0020 0.0020 0.0019 0.0019 0.0018 0.0012 0.0012
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 39 See footnotes at end of table. Table A-3. Selected Measures of Equivalence-Adjusted Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Beginning with 2009, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf ) Measures of income dispersion 1990 1989 1988 198711 1986 198512 198413 1983 1982 1981 1980 197914 MEASURES Shares of Equivalence-Adjusted Incomes of Quintiles Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.6 4.6 4.7 5.0 5.2 5.3 Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.6 10.5 10.7 10.8 10.8 10.9 11.0 11.0 11.1 11.4 11.6 11.7 Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.3 16.3 16.5 16.7 16.6 16.7 16.8 16.9 17.0 17.2 17.3 17.2 Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.5 23.4 23.7 23.8 23.8 23.7 24.0 24.0 23.9 24.0 24.0 23.8 Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.1 45.4 44.7 44.4 44.3 44.1 43.6 43.5 43.2 42.4 41.9 41.9 Summary Measures Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.406 0.408 0.402 0.399 0.397 0.394 0.389 0.389 0.384 0.373 0.367 0.366 Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . 0.388 0.393 0.380 0.381 0.375 0.369 0.366 0.373 0.370 0.352 0.330 0.322 Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.293 0.298 0.285 0.281 0.276 0.269 0.261 0.260 0.255 0.241 0.234 0.234 Atkinson: e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.072 0.073 0.070 0.069 0.068 0.067 0.065 0.065 0.064 0.060 0.058 0.058 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.144 0.145 0.141 0.139 0.137 0.135 0.132 0.132 0.129 0.123 0.119 0.118 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.220 0.222 0.216 0.215 0.212 0.208 0.205 0.207 0.203 0.194 0.186 0.184 STANDARD ERRORS Shares of Equivalence-Adjusted Income of Quintiles Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.04 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.05 Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.12 0.12 Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.16 0.16 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.24 0.23 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.45 0.45 0.45 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.44 0.43 0.42 0.42 0.42 Summary Measures Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0025 0.0025 0.0026 0.0024 0.0024 0.0024 0.0023 0.0023 0.0023 0.0023 0.0022 0.0023 Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . 0.0035 0.0035 0.0036 0.0035 0.0035 0.0035 0.0035 0.0035 0.0036 0.0035 0.0031 0.0030 Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 Atkinson: e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0005 0.0005 0.0006 0.0005 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0003 0.0004 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0009 0.0009 0.0010 0.0008 0.0008 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0006 0.0007 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0012 0.0013 0.0013 0.0012 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0010 0.0010
40 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau Table A-3. Selected Measures of Equivalence-Adjusted Income Dispersion: 1967 to 2015—Con. (Beginning with 2009, standard errors were calculated using replicate weights. For further explanation of income inequality measures, see Current Population Reports, Series P60-204, The Changing Shape of the Nation’s Income Distribution: 1947–1998. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf ) Measures of income dispersion 1978 1977 197615 197516 197416, 17 1973 197218 197119 1970 1969 1968 196720 MEASURES Shares of Equivalence-Adjusted Incomes of Quintiles Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.6 5.8 5.6 5.6 5.7 5.7 5.8 5.8 5.6 Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.8 11.7 11.8 11.9 12.1 12.0 11.9 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.0 Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.3 17.3 17.4 17.3 17.3 17.2 17.2 17.2 17.3 17.3 17.4 17.1 Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.7 23.7 23.8 23.6 23.6 23.5 23.4 23.4 23.4 23.4 23.4 23.2 Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.8 41.7 41.5 41.6 41.2 41.7 41.9 41.7 41.5 41.3 41.1 42.1 Summary Measures Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.363 0.362 0.359 0.359 0.354 0.360 0.362 0.359 0.357 0.353 0.351 0.362 Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.315 0.315 0.311 0.306 0.295 0.298 0.302 0.300 0.299 0.283 0.285 0.303 Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.231 0.231 0.227 0.227 0.221 0.230 0.233 0.229 0.228 0.224 0.220 0.238 Atkinson: e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.057 0.057 0.056 0.056 0.055 0.057 0.057 0.057 0.056 0.055 0.054 0.058 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.116 0.116 0.113 0.114 0.110 0.114 0.115 0.113 0.113 0.110 0.109 0.116 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.180 0.180 0.177 0.176 0.171 0.176 0.177 0.175 0.175 0.169 0.169 0.179 STANDARD ERRORS Shares of Equivalence-Adjusted Income of Quintiles Lowest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.05 0.05 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.06 Second quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 0.12 Third quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 0.17 Fourth quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.24 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 0.23 Highest quintile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.42 0.42 0.41 0.42 0.41 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.42 0.41 0.41 0.42 Summary Measures Gini index of income inequality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0023 0.0023 0.0024 0.0024 0.0026 0.0027 0.0029 0.0028 0.0035 0.0062 0.0070 0.0025 Mean logarithmic deviation of income . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0032 0.0032 0.0032 0.0034 0.0033 0.0032 0.0033 0.0032 0.0031 0.0030 0.0030 0.0031 Theil . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 0.0001 Atkinson: e=0.25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0004 0.0005 e=0.50 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0007 0.0008 0.0007 0.0008 e=0.75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.0010 0.0011 0.0010 0.0011 0.0010 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0011 0.0010 0.0011

1 The 2014 CPS ASEC included redesigned questions for income and health insurance coverage. All of 

the approximately 98,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned set of health insurance coverage questions. The redesigned income questions were implemented to a subsample of these 98,000 addresses using a probability split panel design. Approximately 68,000 addresses were eligible to receive a set of income questions similar to those used in the 2013 CPS ASEC and the remaining 30,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned income questions. The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received the redesigned income questions, approximately 30,000 addresses. 2 The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received the income questions consistent with the 2013 CPS ASEC, approximately 68,000 addresses. 3 Implementation of Census 2010-based population controls. 4 Data have been revised to reflect a correction to the weights in the 2005 ASEC. 5 Implementation of a 28,000 household sample expansion. 6 Implementation of Census 2000-based population controls. 7 Full implementation of 1990 census-based sample design and metropolitan definitions, 7,000 household sample reduction, and revised editing of responses on race. 8 Introduction of 1990 census sample design. 9 Data collection method changed from paper and pencil to computer-assisted interviewing. In addition, the 1994 ASEC was revised to allow for the coding of different income amounts on selected questionnaire items.Limits either increased or decreased in the following categories: earnings limits increased to $999,999; social security limits increased to $49,999; supplemental security income and public assistance limits increased to $24,999; veterans’ benefits limits increased to $99,999; child support and alimony limits decreased to $49,999.

10 Implementation of 1990 census population controls.11 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system.12 Recording of amounts for earnings from longest job increased to $299,999. Full implementation of 

1980 census-based sample design.

13 Implementation of Hispanic population weighting controls and introduction of 1980 census-based 

sample design.

14 Implementation of 1980 census population controls. Questionnaire expanded to allow the recording of 

up to 27 possible values from a list of 51 possible sources of income.

15 First year medians were derived using both Pareto and linear interpolation. Before this year, all 

medians were derived using linear interpolation.

16 Some of these estimates were derived using Pareto interpolation and may differ from published data 

which were derived using linear interpolation.

17 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system. Questionnaire expanded to ask 11 income 

questions.

18 Full implementation of 1970 census-based sample design.19 Introduction of 1970 census sample design and population controls.20 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system.Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1968 to 2016 Annual Social and Economic 

Supplements.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 41

Table A-4.

Number and Real Median Earnings of Total Workers and Full-Time, Year-Round Workers by Sex 

and Female-to-Male Earnings Ratio: 1960 to 2015

(People 15 years and older beginning in 1980 and people 14 years and older as of the following year for previous years. Before 

1989, earnings are for civilian workers only. Earnings in 2015 CPI-U-RS adjusted dollars. Beginning with 2010, standard errors 

were calculated using replicate weights. Before 2010, standard errors were calculated using the generalized variance function. 

See Appendix C for more information. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and definitions, 

see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf ) 

Year

Total workers Full-time, year-round workers

Male Female Male Female

Femaletomale

earnings

ratio

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

earnings

(dollars)

Number of

workers

(thousands)

Median

earnings

(dollars)

Number of

workers

(thousands)

Median 

earnings 

(dollars)

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median 

earnings 

(dollars)

Total

With 

earningsEstimate

Standard 

error Total

With 

earningsEstimate

Standard 

error Total

With 

earningsEstimate

Standard 

error Total

With 

earningsEstimate

Standard 

error

2015....... 86,466 86,435 41,615 140 77,066 76,974 30,246 107 63,891 63,887 51,212 136 47,232 47,211 40,742 146 0.796 

2014....... 84,539 84,494 40,685 130 75,639 75,572 28,427 288 62,466 62,455 50,441 132 46,246 46,226 39,667 437 0.786 

20131 . . . . . 83,916 83,855 40,934 308 74,892 74,821 27,870 287 61,240 61,240 50,892 578 44,629 44,629 39,473 708 0.776 

20132 . . . . . 83,605 83,555 40,603 444 74,598 74,545 28,222 370 60,781 60,769 50,910 250 45,081 45,068 39,843 369 0.783 

2012....... 83,070 83,003 39,141 427 74,252 74,188 27,751 141 59,028 59,009 50,994 482 44,059 44,042 39,012 373 0.765 

2011....... 81,418 81,366 39,353 175 73,178 73,094 27,980 139 58,014 57,993 50,799 500 43,702 43,683 39,118 162 0.770 

20103 . . . . . 80,893 80,856 39,988 173 72,789 72,716 28,812 142 56,294 56,283 52,128 532 43,184 43,179 40,101 159 0.769 

20094 . . . . . 81,979 81,934 40,135 130 73,063 72,972 28,755 103 56,072 56,053 52,061 162 43,253 43,217 40,076 116 0.770 

2008....... 84,088 84,039 40,256 118 74,600 74,538 28,237 107 59,875 59,861 51,043 160 44,163 44,156 39,350 117 0.771 

2007....... 84,532 84,482 41,879 121 74,382 74,295 29,582 104 63,000 62,984 51,570 171 45,640 45,613 40,126 117 0.778 

2006....... 83,980 83,928 42,178 126 73,761 73,683 28,761 180 63,070 63,055 49,680 103 44,682 44,663 38,223 217 0.769 

2005....... 82,987 82,934 41,688 341 72,544 72,476 28,004 174 61,515 61,500 50,229 109 43,369 43,351 38,665 98 0.770 

20045 . . . . . 81,503 81,448 40,759 202 72,016 71,930 27,926 99 60,103 60,088 51,190 113 42,414 42,380 39,199 99 0.766 

2003....... 80,554 80,508 41,299 102 71,446 71,372 28,356 104 58,784 58,772 52,408 116 41,922 41,908 39,593 107 0.755 

2002....... 80,548 80,500 41,693 108 71,500 71,411 28,231 99 58,774 58,761 51,945 321 41,900 41,876 39,791 105 0.766 

2001....... 80,300 80,209 41,987 106 71,308 71,232 27,914 106 58,728 58,712 51,239 345 41,651 41,639 39,111 221 0.763 

20006 . . . . . 80,572 80,494 42,597 107 71,758 71,657 27,893 106 59,619 59,602 51,269 139 41,744 41,719 37,796 140 0.737 

19997 . . . . . 79,360 79,322 42,801 206 71,153 71,053 26,240 231 58,318 58,299 51,783 194 40,890 40,871 37,447 161 0.723 

1998....... 77,323 77,295 41,788 339 68,950 68,846 25,746 234 56,957 56,951 51,365 193 38,819 38,785 37,584 171 0.732 

1997....... 76,731 76,694 39,538 180 67,851 67,736 24,621 159 54,933 54,909 49,599 473 37,715 37,683 36,783 228 0.742 

1996....... 76,165 76,121 38,800 185 66,744 66,661 24,118 164 53,801 53,787 48,369 173 36,457 36,430 35,678 250 0.738 

19958 . . . . . 74,681 74,619 38,665 244 65,657 65,557 23,680 158 52,675 52,667 48,677 178 35,502 35,482 34,769 212 0.714 

19949 . . . . . 74,326 74,264 37,441 293 64,803 64,706 22,669 207 51,597 51,580 48,833 196 34,182 34,155 35,144 174 0.720 

199310 . . . . 73,287 73,198 36,263 212 63,808 63,660 22,453 220 49,838 49,818 49,131 189 33,552 33,524 35,138 155 0.715 

199211 . . . . 73,142 73,120 36,265 190 62,535 62,408 22,397 222 48,554 48,551 49,998 189 33,296 33,241 35,391 169 0.708 

1991....... 72,064 72,040 37,107 187 61,959 61,796 21,873 212 47,987 47,888 49,948 375 32,491 32,436 34,893 166 0.699 

1990....... 72,380 72,348 37,867 179 61,946 61,732 21,554 141 49,181 49,171 48,699 364 31,758 31,682 34,876 223 0.716 

1989....... 72,093 72,045 39,465 192 61,586 61,338 21,667 144 49,698 49,678 50,459 207 31,428 31,340 34,652 233 0.687 

1988....... 70,496 70,467 39,696 218 60,873 60,658 21,370 152 48,303 48,285 51,336 225 31,334 31,237 33,907 243 0.660 

198712 . . . . 69,624 69,545 39,568 290 59,557 59,359 21,203 140 47,048 47,013 51,803 216 29,982 29,912 33,764 158 0.652 

1986....... 68,783 68,728 38,766 287 57,932 57,686 20,673 171 45,912 45,912 52,129 223 28,493 28,420 33,503 175 0.643 

198513 . . . . 67,852 67,809 37,361 284 56,592 56,296 19,602 198 44,952 44,943 50,843 296 27,470 27,383 32,832 172 0.646 

198414 . . . . 66,513 66,454 37,007 206 55,596 55,226 18,855 183 43,836 43,808 50,465 259 26,587 26,466 32,125 189 0.637 

1983....... 65,216 65,138 36,387 199 53,413 53,108 18,633 136 41,548 41,528 49,538 226 25,288 25,166 31,503 192 0.636 

1982....... 64,827 64,730 36,266 205 52,299 51,820 18,132 132 40,135 40,105 49,722 210 23,845 23,702 30,701 208 0.617 

1981....... 65,362 65,233 37,674 215 52,504 51,940 18,065 130 41,811 41,773 50,679 178 23,488 23,329 30,020 125 0.592 

1980....... 64,861 64,730 38,384 266 51,988 51,448 18,147 148 41,923 41,881 50,989 258 23,025 22,859 30,675 134 0.602 

197915 . . . . 64,769 63,422 39,444 265 51,462 49,839 18,208 155 42,469 42,437 51,831 204 22,248 22,082 30,924 158 0.597 

1978....... 63,101 62,903 40,467 197 49,214 48,398 17,507 160 41,078 41,036 52,463 180 21,131 20,914 31,185 173 0.594 

1977....... 61,959 61,704 39,336 203 47,333 46,194 16,658 146 39,325 39,263 52,127 246 19,544 19,238 30,714 139 0.589 

197616 . . . . 60,703 60,450 39,029 178 45,659 44,565 16,277 152 38,214 38,184 50,980 201 18,372 18,073 30,686 152 0.602 

197517 . . . . 59,509 59,268 38,763 208 43,725 42,926 15,839 168 37,316 37,267 51,120 200 17,738 17,452 30,068 152 0.588 

197417, 18 . . . 60,102 59,752 39,551 N 43,694 42,650 15,450 N N 37,916 51,441 221 N 16,945 30,224 147 0.588 

1973....... 59,816 59,438 41,412 N 42,835 41,583 15,588 N 39,643 39,581 53,356 N 17,547 17,195 30,217 N 0.566 

197219 . . . . 58,194 57,774 40,502 N 40,723 39,470 16,128 N 38,234 38,184 51,708 N 16,976 16,675 29,919 N 0.579 

197120 . . . . 57,303 56,886 38,568 N 39,910 38,485 15,588 N 36,868 36,819 49,066 N 16,353 16,002 29,198 N 0.595 

1970....... 56,265 55,821 38,972 N 39,682 38,273 14,876 N 36,193 36,132 48,857 N 15,805 15,476 29,006 N 0.594 

1969....... 55,700 55,273 39,446 N 39,060 37,737 14,660 N 37,055 37,008 47,038 N 15,678 15,374 28,456 N 0.605 

1968....... 55,095 54,026 38,475 N 38,279 35,695 15,003 N 37,099 37,068 45,774 N 15,336 15,013 26,620 N 0.582 

196721 . . . . 54,412 53,222 37,365 N 36,971 34,391 14,592 N 36,695 36,645 44,577 N 15,141 14,846 25,758 N 0.578 

196622 . . . . 53,016 N 37,784 N 35,295 N 15,131 N N N 43,883 N N N 25,257 N 0.576 

196523 . . . . N N 35,570 N N N 15,264 N N N 42,047 N N N 25,197 N 0.599 

1964....... 51,978 N 35,228 N 33,146 N 14,302 N N N 41,457 N N N 24,521 N 0.591 

1963....... 51,039 N 37,476 N 32,188 N 13,772 N N N 40,510 N N N 23,879 N 0.589 

196224 . . . . 50,639 N 33,749 N 31,418 N 13,475 N N N 39,518 N N N 23,433 N 0.593 

196125 . . . . 49,854 N 32,711 N 30,433 N 12,978 N N N 38,808 N N N 22,994 N 0.592 

1960....... 50,033 N 31,527 N 30,585 N 12,814 N N N 37,608 N N N 22,819 N 0.607 

See footnotes on next page.
42 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

N Not available. 1

 The 2014 CPS ASEC included redesigned questions for income and health insurance 

coverage. All of the approximately 98,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned set of 

health insurance coverage questions. The redesigned income questions were implemented to a 

subsample of the 98,000 addresses using a probability split panel design. Approximately 68,000 

addresses were eligible to receive a set of income questions similar to those used in the 2013 

CPS ASEC and the remaining 30,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned income 

questions. The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which 

received the redesigned income questions, approximately 30,000 addresses. 2 The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received 

the income questions consistent with the 2013 CPS ASEC, approximately 68,000 addresses. 3 Implementation of Census 2010-based population controls. 4

 Medians are calculated using $2,500 income intervals. Beginning with 2009 income data, the 

Census Bureau expanded the upper income intervals used to calculate medians to $250,000 or 

more. Medians falling in the upper open-ended interval are plugged with “$250,000.” Before 2009, 

the upper open-ended interval was $100,000 and a plug of “$100,000” was used. 5

 The 2004 data have been revised to reflect a correction to the weights in the 2005 ASEC. 6

 Implementation of a 28,000 household sample expansion. 7

 Implementation of Census 2000-based population controls. 8

 Full implementation of 1990 census-based sample design and metropolitan definitions, 

7,000 household sample reduction, and revised editing of responses on race. 9

 Introduction of 1990 census sample design. 10 Data collection method changed from paper and pencil to computer-assisted interviewing.

In addition, the 1994 ASEC was revised to allow for the coding of different income amounts on 

selected questionnaire items. Limits either increased or decreased in the following categories: 

earnings limits increased to $999,999; social security limits increased to $49,999; supplemental 

security income and public assistance limits increased to $24,999; veterans’ benefits limits 

increased to $99,999; child support and alimony limits decreased to $49,999.

11 Implementation of 1990 census population controls. 12 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system. 13 Recording of amounts for earnings from longest job increased to $299,999. Full 

implementation of 1980 census-based sample design. 14 Implementation of Hispanic population weighting controls and introduction of 1980 

census-based sample design. 15 Implementation of 1980 census population controls. Questionnaire expanded to allow the 

recording of up to 27 possible values from a list of 51 possible sources of income. 16 First year medians were derived using both Pareto and linear interpolation. Before this 

year, all medians were derived using linear interpolation. 17 Some of these estimates were derived using Pareto interpolation and may differ from 

published data, which were derived using linear interpolation. 18 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system. Questionnaire expanded to ask 

11 income questions. 19 Full implementation of 1970 census-based sample design. 20 Introduction of 1970 census sample design and population controls. 21 Implementation of a new CPS ASEC processing system. 22 Questionnaire expanded to ask eight income questions. 23 Implementation of new procedures to impute missing data only. 24 Full implementation of 1960 census-based sample design and population controls. 25 Introduction of 1960 census-based sample design. Implementation of first hotdeck 

procedure to impute missing income entries.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1961 through 2016 Annual Social 

and Economic Supplements.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 43

Since their total family income, 

$30,000, was higher than their 

threshold ($28,995), Family A would 

not be considered “in poverty.” 

While the thresholds, in some sense, 

represent the needs of families, they 

should be interpreted as a statistical 

yardstick rather than as a complete 

description of what people and families need to live. Many government 

assistance programs use different 

income eligibility cutoffs. While 

official poverty rates and the number 

of people or families in poverty are 

important, other poverty indicators 

are considered in the section “Depth 

of Poverty Measures” and other 

approaches to setting thresholds 

and defining resources are discussed 

in the section “Alternative Poverty 

Measures.”

For a history of the official poverty 

measure, see “Poverty: The History of 

the Official Poverty Measure” available 

at <www.census.gov/topics

/income-poverty/poverty/about

/history-of-the-poverty-measure

.html> or “The Development of 

the Orshansky Poverty Thresholds 

and Their Subsequent History as 

APPENDIX B. ESTIMATES OF POVERTY

How Poverty Is Calculated

Following the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) Statistical Policy Directive 14, the U.S. Census Bureau uses a set of 

dollar value thresholds that vary by family size and composition to determine who is in poverty (see the matrix below).

If a family’s total money income is 

less than the applicable threshold, 

then that family and every individual in it are considered in poverty. 

The official poverty thresholds are 

updated annually for inflation using 

the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U). The 

official poverty definition uses money 

income before taxes or tax credits 

and excludes capital gains and noncash benefits (such as Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program benefits 

and housing assistance). The thresholds do not vary geographically.

Example: Suppose Family A consists 

of five people: two children, their 

mother, their father, and their greataunt. Family A’s poverty threshold in 

2015 is $28,995. Each member of 

Family A had the following income in 

2015:

the Official U.S. Poverty Measure” 

by Gordon M. Fisher, available at 

<www.census.gov/hhes/povmeas

/publications/orshansky.html>. 

Weighted Average Thresholds: Since 

some data users want a summary of 

the 48 thresholds to get a general 

sense of the “poverty line,” the following table provides the weighted 

average thresholds for 2015. The 

weighted average thresholds are 

based on the relative number of families of each size and composition and 

are not used in computing poverty 

estimates.

Poverty Thresholds for 2015 by Size of Family and Number of Related Children Under 18 Years

(Dollars)

Size of family unit

Related children under 18 years

 None One Two Three Four Five Six Seven

 Eight or 

more

One person (unrelated individual):

Under age 65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,331

Aged 65 and older . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,367

Two people:

Householder under age 65 . . . . . . . . 15,871 16,337

Householder aged 65 and older . . . . . 14,326 16,275

Three people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,540 19,078 19,096

Four people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,447 24,847 24,036 24,120

Five people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,482 29,911 28,995 28,286 27,853

Six people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,909 34,044 33,342 32,670 31,670 31,078

Seven people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,017 39,260 38,421 37,835 36,745 35,473 34,077

Eight people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,637 44,023 43,230 42,536 41,551 40,300 38,999 38,668

Nine people or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,493 52,747 52,046 51,457 50,490 49,159 47,956 47,658 45,822

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Weighted Average Poverty 

Thresholds in 2015 by Size of 

Family

(Dollars) 

One person 12,082 

Two people 15,391 

Three people 18,871 

Four people 24,257 

Five people 28,741 

Six people 32,542 

Seven people 36,998 

Eight people 41,029 

Nine people or more 49,177 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau.

Mother $11,000

Father $9,000

Great-aunt $10,000

First child 0

Second child 0

Total: $30,000
44 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Race, Hispanic origin, 

and year

All people People in families Unrelated individuals

Total

Below poverty All families

Families with female

householder, no

husband present

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

ALL RACES

2015......................... 318,454 43,123 13.5 258,121 29,893 11.6 48,497 14,719 30.4 58,988 12,671 21.5

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315,804 46,657 14.8 256,308 32,615 12.7 48,019 15,905 33.1 57,937 13,374 23.1

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 313,096 46,269 14.8 256,070 32,786 12.8 49,951 17,170 34.4 55,400 12,707 22.9

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 312,965 45,318 14.5 254,988 31,530 12.4 47,007 15,606 33.2 56,564 13,181 23.3

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 310,648 46,496 15.0 252,863 33,198 13.1 47,085 15,957 33.9 56,185 12,558 22.4

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308,456 46,247 15.0 252,316 33,126 13.1 48,103 16,451 34.2 54,517 12,416 22.8

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 306,130 46,343 15.1 250,200 33,120 13.2 46,454 15,911 34.3 54,250 12,449 22.9

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 303,820 43,569 14.3 249,384 31,197 12.5 45,315 14,746 32.5 53,079 11,678 22.0

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 301,041 39,829 13.2 248,301 28,564 11.5 44,027 13,812 31.4 51,534 10,710 20.8

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 298,699 37,276 12.5 245,443 26,509 10.8 43,961 13,478 30.7 51,740 10,189 19.7

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296,450 36,460 12.3 245,199 25,915 10.6 43,223 13,199 30.5 49,884 9,977 20.0

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 293,135 36,950 12.6 242,389 26,068 10.8 42,244 13,153 31.1 49,526 10,425 21.1

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 290,617 37,040 12.7 240,754 26,544 11.0 42,053 12,832 30.5 48,609 9,926 20.4

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287,699 35,861 12.5 238,903 25,684 10.8 41,311 12,413 30.0 47,594 9,713 20.4

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 285,317 34,570 12.1 236,921 24,534 10.4 40,529 11,657 28.8 47,156 9,618 20.4

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281,475 32,907 11.7 233,911 23,215 9.9 39,261 11,223 28.6 46,392 9,226 19.9

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 278,944 31,581 11.3 231,909 22,347 9.6 38,375 10,926 28.5 45,624 8,653 19.0

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276,208 32,791 11.9 230,789 23,830 10.3 38,580 11,764 30.5 43,977 8,400 19.1

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271,059 34,476 12.7 227,229 25,370 11.2 39,000 12,907 33.1 42,539 8,478 19.9

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268,480 35,574 13.3 225,369 26,217 11.6 38,412 13,494 35.1 41,672 8,687 20.8

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266,218 36,529 13.7 223,955 27,376 12.2 38,584 13,796 35.8 40,727 8,452 20.8

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 263,733 36,425 13.8 222,792 27,501 12.3 38,908 14,205 36.5 39,484 8,247 20.9

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261,616 38,059 14.5 221,430 28,985 13.1 37,253 14,380 38.6 38,538 8,287 21.5

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259,278 39,265 15.1 219,489 29,927 13.6 37,861 14,636 38.7 38,038 8,388 22.1

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256,549 38,014 14.8 217,936 28,961 13.3 36,446 14,205 39.0 36,842 8,075 21.9

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251,192 35,708 14.2 212,723 27,143 12.8 34,795 13,824 39.7 36,845 7,773 21.1

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248,644 33,585 13.5 210,967 25,232 12.0 33,795 12,578 37.2 36,056 7,446 20.7

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 245,992 31,528 12.8 209,515 24,066 11.5 32,525 11,668 35.9 35,185 6,760 19.2

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243,530 31,745 13.0 208,056 24,048 11.6 32,164 11,972 37.2 34,340 7,070 20.6

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240,982 32,221 13.4 206,877 24,725 12.0 31,893 12,148 38.1 32,992 6,857 20.8

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238,554 32,370 13.6 205,459 24,754 12.0 31,152 11,944 38.3 31,679 6,846 21.6

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 236,594 33,064 14.0 203,963 25,729 12.6 30,878 11,600 37.6 31,351 6,725 21.5

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233,816 33,700 14.4 202,288 26,458 13.1 30,844 11,831 38.4 30,268 6,609 21.8

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231,700 35,303 15.2 201,338 27,933 13.9 30,049 12,072 40.2 29,158 6,740 23.1

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229,412 34,398 15.0 200,385 27,349 13.6 28,834 11,701 40.6 27,908 6,458 23.1

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227,157 31,822 14.0 198,541 24,850 12.5 28,587 11,051 38.7 27,714 6,490 23.4

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225,027 29,272 13.0 196,963 22,601 11.5 27,565 10,120 36.7 27,133 6,227 22.9

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222,903 26,072 11.7 195,860 19,964 10.2 26,927 9,400 34.9 26,170 5,743 21.9

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 215,656 24,497 11.4 191,071 19,062 10.0 26,032 9,269 35.6 24,585 5,435 22.1

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213,867 24,720 11.6 190,757 19,505 10.2 25,404 9,205 36.2 23,110 5,216 22.6

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212,303 24,975 11.8 190,844 19,632 10.3 24,204 9,029 37.3 21,459 5,344 24.9

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210,864 25,877 12.3 190,630 20,789 10.9 23,580 8,846 37.5 20,234 5,088 25.1

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 209,362 23,370 11.2 190,436 18,817 9.9 23,165 8,462 36.5 18,926 4,553 24.1

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 207,621 22,973 11.1 189,361 18,299 9.7 21,823 8,178 37.5 18,260 4,674 25.6

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206,004 24,460 11.9 189,193 19,577 10.3 21,264 8,114 38.2 16,811 4,883 29.0

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204,554 25,559 12.5 188,242 20,405 10.8 20,153 7,797 38.7 16,311 5,154 31.6

1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202,183 25,420 12.6 186,692 20,330 10.9 19,673 7,503 38.1 15,491 5,090 32.9

1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199,517 24,147 12.1 184,891 19,175 10.4 17,995 6,879 38.2 14,626 4,972 34.0

1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197,628 25,389 12.8 183,825 20,695 11.3 18,048 6,990 38.7 13,803 4,694 34.0

1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,672 27,769 14.2 182,558 22,771 12.5 17,788 6,898 38.8 13,114 4,998 38.1

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193,388 28,510 14.7 181,117 23,809 13.1 17,240 6,861 39.8 12,271 4,701 38.3

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191,413 33,185 17.3 179,281 28,358 15.8 16,371 7,524 46.0 12,132 4,827 39.8

1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189,710 36,055 19.0 177,653 30,912 17.4 N 7,297 44.4 12,057 5,143 42.7

1963 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187,258 36,436 19.5 176,076 31,498 17.9 N 7,646 47.7 11,182 4,938 44.2

1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184,276 38,625 21.0 173,263 33,623 19.4 N 7,781 50.3 11,013 5,002 45.4

1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,277 39,628 21.9 170,131 34,509 20.3 N 7,252 48.1 11,146 5,119 45.9

1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179,503 39,851 22.2 168,615 34,925 20.7 N 7,247 48.9 10,888 4,926 45.2

1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176,557 39,490 22.4 165,858 34,562 20.8 N 7,014 49.4 10,699 4,928 46.1

Table B-1.

Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 45

Race, Hispanic origin, 

and year

All people People in families Unrelated individuals

Total

Below poverty All families

Families with female

householder, no

husband present

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

WHITE ALONE10

2015......................... 245,536 28,566 11.6 198,571 19,444 9.8 29,396 8,205 27.9 45,963 8,717 19.0

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244,253 31,089 12.7 197,607 21,072 10.7 29,134 8,680 29.8 45,409 9,476 20.9

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243,346 31,287 12.9 198,041 21,486 10.8 30,428 9,796 32.2 43,924 9,132 20.8

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 243,085 29,936 12.3 197,001 19,944 10.1 28,795 8,404 29.2 44,998 9,544 21.2

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242,147 30,816 12.7 196,378 21,328 10.9 28,707 8,691 30.3 44,509 8,940 20.1

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 241,334 30,849 12.8 196,709 21,456 10.9 29,636 8,999 30.4 43,295 8,809 20.3

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239,982 31,083 13.0 195,441 21,543 11.0 28,032 8,721 31.1 43,324 8,971 20.7

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 242,047 29,830 12.3 197,938 20,701 10.5 28,163 8,283 29.4 43,010 8,580 19.9

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240,548 26,990 11.2 197,763 18,558 9.4 27,010 7,340 27.2 41,810 7,982 19.1

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 239,133 25,120 10.5 195,944 17,141 8.7 27,159 7,188 26.5 41,931 7,505 17.9

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 237,619 24,416 10.3 196,061 16,644 8.5 27,057 7,160 26.5 40,461 7,334 18.1

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 235,430 24,872 10.6 194,277 16,782 8.6 25,943 7,021 27.1 40,164 7,718 19.2

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233,741 25,327 10.8 193,024 17,445 9.0 26,139 6,892 26.4 39,712 7,416 18.7

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 231,866 24,272 10.5 192,074 16,740 8.7 25,536 6,530 25.6 38,913 7,225 18.6

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230,376 23,466 10.2 190,823 16,043 8.4 24,903 5,992 24.1 38,575 7,105 18.4

WHITE11

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229,675 22,739 9.9 190,413 15,369 8.1 24,619 5,972 24.3 38,294 6,996 18.3

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227,846 21,645 9.5 188,966 14,692 7.8 24,166 5,609 23.2 37,699 6,454 17.1

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 225,361 22,169 9.8 187,833 15,353 8.2 23,913 5,947 24.9 36,441 6,411 17.6

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222,837 23,454 10.5 186,184 16,549 8.9 24,211 6,674 27.6 35,563 6,386 18.0

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 221,200 24,396 11.0 185,147 17,258 9.3 23,773 7,296 30.7 34,858 6,593 18.9

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219,656 24,650 11.2 184,119 17,621 9.6 23,744 7,073 29.8 34,247 6,463 18.9

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218,028 24,423 11.2 183,450 17,593 9.6 23,732 7,047 29.7 33,399 6,336 19.0

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216,460 25,379 11.7 182,546 18,474 10.1 22,713 7,228 31.8 32,569 6,292 19.3

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214,899 26,226 12.2 181,330 18,968 10.5 23,224 7,199 31.0 32,112 6,443 20.1

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213,060 25,259 11.9 180,409 18,294 10.1 22,453 6,907 30.8 31,170 6,147 19.7

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210,133 23,747 11.3 177,619 17,268 9.7 21,608 6,806 31.5 31,207 5,872 18.8

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208,611 22,326 10.7 176,504 15,916 9.0 20,845 6,210 29.8 30,833 5,739 18.6

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206,853 20,785 10.0 175,857 15,179 8.6 20,362 5,723 28.1 29,993 5,063 16.9

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205,235 20,715 10.1 175,111 15,001 8.6 20,396 5,950 29.2 29,315 5,314 18.1

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203,605 21,195 10.4 174,488 15,593 8.9 20,244 5,989 29.6 28,290 5,174 18.3

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202,282 22,183 11.0 174,024 16,393 9.4 20,163 6,171 30.6 27,143 5,198 19.2

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200,918 22,860 11.4 172,863 17,125 9.9 20,105 5,990 29.8 27,067 5,299 19.6

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198,941 22,955 11.5 171,839 17,299 10.1 19,727 5,866 29.7 26,094 5,181 19.9

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197,496 23,984 12.1 171,407 18,377 10.7 19,256 6,017 31.2 25,206 5,189 20.6

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,919 23,517 12.0 170,748 18,015 10.6 18,374 5,686 30.9 24,300 5,041 20.7

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,504 21,553 11.1 169,868 16,127 9.5 18,795 5,600 29.8 23,913 5,061 21.2

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192,912 19,699 10.2 168,756 14,587 8.6 17,642 4,940 28.0 23,370 4,760 20.4

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191,742 17,214 9.0 168,461 12,495 7.4 17,349 4,375 25.2 22,587 4,452 19.7

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186,450 16,259 8.7 165,193 12,050 7.3 16,877 4,371 25.9 21,257 4,209 19.8

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185,254 16,416 8.9 165,385 12,364 7.5 16,721 4,474 26.8 19,869 4,051 20.4

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184,165 16,713 9.1 165,571 12,500 7.5 15,941 4,463 28.0 18,594 4,213 22.7

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183,164 17,770 9.7 165,661 13,799 8.3 15,577 4,577 29.4 17,503 3,972 22.7

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182,376 15,736 8.6 166,081 12,181 7.3 15,433 4,278 27.7 16,295 3,555 21.8

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,185 15,142 8.4 165,424 11,412 6.9 14,303 4,003 28.0 15,761 3,730 23.7

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180,125 16,203 9.0 165,630 12,268 7.4 13,739 3,770 27.4 14,495 3,935 27.1

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179,398 17,780 9.9 165,184 13,566 8.2 13,502 4,099 30.4 14,214 4,214 29.6

1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177,376 17,484 9.9 163,875 13,323 8.1 13,226 3,761 28.4 13,500 4,161 30.8

1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175,349 16,659 9.5 162,779 12,623 7.8 12,285 3,577 29.1 12,570 4,036 32.1

1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173,732 17,395 10.0 161,777 13,546 8.4 12,190 3,551 29.1 11,955 3,849 32.2

1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172,038 18,983 11.0 160,720 14,851 9.2 12,131 3,453 28.5 11,318 4,132 36.5

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170,247 19,290 11.3 159,561 15,430 9.7 12,261 3,646 29.7 10,686 3,860 36.1

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168,732 22,496 13.3 158,255 18,508 11.7 11,573 4,092 35.4 10,477 3,988 38.1

1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167,313 24,957 14.9 156,898 20,716 13.2 N 3,911 33.4 10,415 4,241 40.7

1963 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165,309 25,238 15.3 155,584 21,149 13.6 N 4,051 35.6 9,725 4,089 42.0

1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162,842 26,672 16.4 153,348 22,613 14.7 N 4,089 37.9 9,494 4,059 42.7

1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160,306 27,890 17.4 150,717 23,747 15.8 N 4,062 37.6 9,589 4,143 43.2

1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158,863 28,309 17.8 149,458 24,262 16.2 N 4,296 39.0 9,405 4,047 43.0

1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156,956 28,484 18.1 147,802 24,443 16.5 N 4,232 40.2 9,154 4,041 44.1

Table B-1.

Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
46 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Race, Hispanic origin, 

and year

All people People in families Unrelated individuals

Total

Below poverty All families

Families with female

householder, no

husband present

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

WHITE ALONE, NOT HISPANIC10

2015......................... 195,450 17,786 9.1 154,713 10,373 6.7 19,339 4,404 22.8 40,043 7,122 17.8

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,208 19,652 10.1 154,734 11,566 7.5 19,015 4,630 24.4 39,603 7,779 19.6

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,118 19,552 10.0 155,965 11,688 7.5 19,141 5,123 26.8 38,256 7,492 19.6

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,167 18,796 9.6 155,119 10,710 6.9 18,889 4,325 22.9 39,245 7,758 19.8

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,112 18,940 9.7 155,395 11,387 7.3 19,180 4,655 24.3 38,822 7,202 18.6

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,960 19,171 9.8 155,982 11,562 7.4 19,909 4,746 23.8 38,003 7,222 19.0

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,783 19,251 9.9 155,723 11,509 7.4 18,914 4,689 24.8 38,211 7,351 19.2

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197,164 18,530 9.4 158,646 11,211 7.1 19,033 4,532 23.8 37,757 6,946 18.4

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196,940 17,024 8.6 159,344 10,138 6.4 18,799 4,046 21.5 36,848 6,539 17.7

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196,583 16,032 8.2 158,703 9,553 6.0 19,179 4,099 21.4 36,909 6,155 16.7

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196,049 16,013 8.2 159,572 9,676 6.1 19,349 4,353 22.5 35,642 6,021 16.9

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,553 16,227 8.3 159,204 9,604 6.0 18,899 4,278 22.6 35,626 6,393 17.9

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195,098 16,908 8.7 159,221 10,323 6.5 19,009 4,116 21.7 35,141 6,237 17.7

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,595 15,902 8.2 159,215 9,658 6.1 18,792 3,959 21.1 34,683 6,015 17.3

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,144 15,567 8.0 158,764 9,389 5.9 18,664 3,733 20.0 34,614 5,947 17.2

WHITE, NOT HISPANIC11

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194,538 15,271 7.8 159,178 9,122 5.7 18,365 3,661 19.9 34,603 5,882 17.0

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193,691 14,366 7.4 158,838 8,664 5.5 18,196 3,412 18.8 33,943 5,356 15.8

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192,565 14,735 7.7 158,550 9,013 5.7 17,892 3,545 19.8 33,189 5,412 16.3

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192,754 15,799 8.2 159,301 10,061 6.3 18,547 4,074 22.0 32,573 5,352 16.4

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191,859 16,491 8.6 158,796 10,401 6.5 18,474 4,604 24.9 32,049 5,632 17.6

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 191,459 16,462 8.6 159,044 10,553 6.6 18,597 4,339 23.3 31,410 5,455 17.4

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190,951 16,267 8.5 159,402 10,599 6.6 18,340 4,183 22.8 30,586 5,303 17.3

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192,543 18,110 9.4 161,254 12,118 7.5 18,186 4,743 26.1 30,157 5,500 18.2

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190,843 18,882 9.9 160,062 12,756 8.0 18,508 4,724 25.5 29,681 5,570 18.8

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189,001 18,202 9.6 159,102 12,277 7.7 18,016 4,640 25.8 28,775 5,350 18.6

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189,116 17,741 9.4 158,850 11,998 7.6 17,609 4,710 26.7 29,215 5,261 18.0

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188,129 16,622 8.8 158,394 11,086 7.0 17,160 4,284 25.0 28,688 5,002 17.4

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 186,979 15,599 8.3 158,127 10,723 6.8 16,827 3,922 23.3 28,055 4,466 15.9

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185,961 15,565 8.4 157,687 10,467 6.6 16,828 3,988 23.7 27,552 4,746 17.2

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184,936 16,029 8.7 157,785 11,051 7.0 16,787 4,075 24.3 26,439 4,613 17.4

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184,119 17,244 9.4 157,665 12,078 7.7 16,739 4,350 26.0 25,525 4,668 18.3

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183,455 17,839 9.7 157,106 12,706 8.1 16,749 4,136 24.7 25,544 4,789 18.7

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182,469 18,300 10.0 156,930 13,234 8.4 16,742 4,193 25.0 24,671 4,659 18.9

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,393 19,538 10.8 156,719 14,437 9.2 16,369 4,448 27.2 23,894 4,746 19.9

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,903 19,362 10.6 157,818 14,271 9.0 15,830 4,161 26.3 23,329 4,701 20.2

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180,909 17,987 9.9 157,330 12,903 8.2 16,323 4,222 25.9 22,950 4,769 20.8

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179,798 16,365 9.1 156,633 11,568 7.4 15,358 3,699 24.1 22,455 4,474 19.9

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178,814 14,419 8.1 156,567 10,009 6.4 15,410 3,371 21.9 21,638 4,179 19.3

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174,731 13,755 7.9 154,321 9,798 6.3 15,132 3,390 22.4 20,410 3,957 19.4

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173,563 13,802 8.0 154,449 9,977 6.5 14,888 3,429 23.0 19,114 3,825 20.0

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173,235 14,025 8.1 155,324 10,066 6.5 14,261 3,516 24.7 17,912 3,959 22.1

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172,417 14,883 8.6 155,539 11,137 7.2 13,809 3,570 25.9 16,879 3,746 22.2

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171,463 13,217 7.7 155,764 9,854 6.3 13,763 3,379 24.6 15,699 3,364 21.4

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 170,488 12,864 7.5 155,330 9,262 6.0 12,731 3,185 25.0 15,158 3,602 23.8

BLACK ALONE

OR IN COMBINATION

2015......................... 45,227 10,797 23.9 36,028 7,965 22.1 15,809 5,642 35.7 8,999 2,744 30.5

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,566 11,581 26.0 35,545 8,711 24.5 15,304 6,179 40.4 8,836 2,793 31.6

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,154 11,162 25.3 35,958 8,533 23.7 16,188 6,277 38.8 8,045 2,588 32.2

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,112 11,959 27.1 35,657 9,174 25.7 14,906 6,319 42.4 8,199 2,657 32.4

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,583 11,809 27.1 35,205 9,016 25.6 15,113 6,220 41.2 8,179 2,663 32.6

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,648 11,730 27.5 34,495 9,012 26.1 15,282 6,500 42.5 7,986 2,635 33.0

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,385 11,597 27.4 34,347 8,891 25.9 15,362 6,269 40.8 7,730 2,587 33.5

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,876 10,575 25.9 33,330 8,184 24.6 14,463 5,755 39.8 7,368 2,285 31.0

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,097 9,882 24.6 32,818 7,768 23.7 14,332 5,782 40.3 7,123 2,042 28.7

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,564 9,668 24.4 32,427 7,668 23.6 14,396 5,702 39.6 7,036 1,968 28.0

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,013 9,447 24.2 32,130 7,411 23.1 13,848 5,422 39.2 6,715 1,935 28.8

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,551 9,517 24.7 31,663 7,459 23.6 14,080 5,524 39.2 6,754 2,003 29.7

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,037 9,411 24.7 31,468 7,495 23.8 13,830 5,484 39.7 6,418 1,840 28.7

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,503 9,108 24.3 31,059 7,162 23.1 13,664 5,312 38.9 6,194 1,814 29.3

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,207 8,884 23.9 31,008 6,985 22.5 13,551 5,145 38.0 6,034 1,851 30.7

Table B-1.

Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con. (Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 47

Race, Hispanic origin, 

and year

All people People in families Unrelated individuals

Total

Below poverty All families

Families with female

householder, no

husband present

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

BLACK ALONE12

2015......................... 41,625 10,020 24.1 32,890 7,305 22.2 14,549 5,198 35.7 8,549 2,635 30.8

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,112 10,755 26.2 32,546 8,013 24.6 14,091 5,670 40.2 8,419 2,685 31.9

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,498 10,186 25.2 32,658 7,665 23.5 14,838 5,759 38.8 7,717 2,483 32.2

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,615 11,041 27.2 32,564 8,390 25.8 13,816 5,871 42.5 7,842 2,536 32.3

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,125 10,911 27.2 32,122 8,251 25.7 13,931 5,735 41.2 7,841 2,549 32.5

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,609 10,929 27.6 31,800 8,334 26.2 14,145 5,980 42.3 7,659 2,524 33.0

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,283 10,746 27.4 31,596 8,181 25.9 14,236 5,831 41.0 7,419 2,479 33.4

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,556 9,944 25.8 31,306 7,642 24.4 13,680 5,427 39.7 7,102 2,209 31.1

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,966 9,379 24.7 30,986 7,339 23.7 13,648 5,533 40.5 6,835 1,970 28.8

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,665 9,237 24.5 30,778 7,312 23.8 13,741 5,459 39.7 6,807 1,898 27.9

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,306 9,048 24.3 30,621 7,072 23.1 13,244 5,180 39.1 6,545 1,897 29.0

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,802 9,168 24.9 30,154 7,164 23.8 13,481 5,303 39.3 6,521 1,949 29.9

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36,426 9,014 24.7 30,065 7,153 23.8 13,244 5,247 39.6 6,217 1,792 28.8

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,989 8,781 24.4 29,727 6,870 23.1 13,118 5,115 39.0 6,034 1,781 29.5

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,678 8,602 24.1 29,671 6,761 22.8 13,030 4,980 38.2 5,858 1,800 30.7

BLACK11

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,871 8,136 22.7 29,869 6,389 21.4 12,550 4,694 37.4 5,873 1,692 28.8

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,425 7,982 22.5 29,378 6,221 21.2 12,383 4,774 38.6 5,885 1,702 28.9

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,756 8,441 23.6 29,819 6,758 22.7 12,823 5,232 40.8 5,668 1,562 27.5

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,877 9,091 26.1 29,333 7,259 24.7 13,156 5,629 42.8 5,390 1,752 32.5

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,458 9,116 26.5 28,962 7,386 25.5 13,218 5,654 42.8 5,316 1,645 31.0

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,110 9,694 28.4 28,933 7,993 27.6 13,193 6,123 46.4 4,989 1,606 32.2

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,740 9,872 29.3 28,777 8,189 28.5 13,604 6,553 48.2 4,756 1,551 32.6

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,353 10,196 30.6 28,499 8,447 29.6 12,926 6,489 50.2 4,649 1,617 34.8

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,910 10,877 33.1 28,106 9,242 32.9 13,132 6,955 53.0 4,608 1,541 33.4

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32,411 10,827 33.4 27,790 9,134 32.9 12,591 6,799 54.0 4,410 1,569 35.6

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,313 10,242 32.7 26,565 8,504 32.0 11,960 6,557 54.8 4,505 1,590 35.3

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,806 9,837 31.9 26,296 8,160 31.0 11,866 6,005 50.6 4,244 1,491 35.1

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,332 9,302 30.7 25,931 7,704 29.7 11,190 5,530 49.4 4,180 1,471 35.2

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,849 9,356 31.3 25,484 7,650 30.0 10,794 5,601 51.9 4,095 1,509 36.8

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,362 9,520 32.4 25,128 7,848 31.2 10,701 5,789 54.1 3,977 1,471 37.0

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,871 8,983 31.1 24,910 7,410 29.7 10,175 5,473 53.8 3,714 1,431 38.5

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,485 8,926 31.3 24,620 7,504 30.5 10,041 5,342 53.2 3,641 1,264 34.7

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,087 9,490 33.8 24,387 8,104 33.2 10,384 5,666 54.6 3,501 1,255 35.8

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,678 9,882 35.7 24,138 8,376 34.7 10,059 5,736 57.0 3,287 1,338 40.7

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,216 9,697 35.6 23,948 8,355 34.9 9,699 5,698 58.8 3,051 1,229 40.3

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,834 9,173 34.2 23,423 7,780 33.2 9,214 5,222 56.7 3,277 1,296 39.6

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,408 8,579 32.5 23,084 7,190 31.1 9,338 4,984 53.4 3,208 1,314 41.0

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,944 8,050 31.0 22,666 6,800 30.0 9,065 4,816 53.1 3,127 1,168 37.3

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,956 7,625 30.6 22,027 6,493 29.5 8,689 4,712 54.2 2,929 1,132 38.6

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,710 7,726 31.3 21,850 6,667 30.5 8,315 4,595 55.3 2,860 1,059 37.0

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,399 7,595 31.1 21,840 6,576 30.1 7,926 4,415 55.7 2,559 1,019 39.8

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,089 7,545 31.3 21,687 6,533 30.1 7,679 4,168 54.3 2,402 1,011 42.1

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,699 7,182 30.3 21,341 6,255 29.3 7,483 4,116 55.0 2,359 927 39.3

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,512 7,388 31.4 21,328 6,560 30.8 7,188 4,064 56.5 2,183 828 37.9

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,144 7,710 33.3 21,116 6,841 32.4 7,125 4,139 58.1 2,028 870 42.9

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,784 7,396 32.5 20,900 6,530 31.2 6,398 3,587 56.1 1,884 866 46.0

1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,515 7,548 33.5 20,724 6,683 32.2 6,225 3,656 58.7 1,791 865 48.3

1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,011 7,095 32.2 20,192 6,245 30.9 5,537 3,225 58.2 1,819 850 46.7

1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,944 7,616 34.7 N 6,839 33.7 N 3,312 58.9 N 777 46.3

1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,590 8,486 39.3 N 7,677 38.4 N 3,362 61.6 N 809 49.3

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,206 8,867 41.8 N 8,090 40.9 N 3,160 65.3 N 777 54.4

1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,013 9,927 55.1 N 9,112 54.9 N 2,416 70.6 1,430 815 57.0

Table B-1.

Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
48 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Table B-1.

Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Race, Hispanic origin, 

and year

All people People in families Unrelated individuals

Total

Below poverty All families

Families with female

householder, no

husband present

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

ASIAN ALONE 

OR IN COMBINATION

2015......................... 20,037 2,234 11.1 17,183 1,361 7.9 1,675 254 15.2 2,762 839 30.4

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,685 2,268 11.5 16,964 1,479 8.7 1,994 355 17.8 2,621 754 28.8

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,182 2,398 12.5 16,800 1,680 10.0 1,873 525 28.1 2,339 700 29.9

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,023 1,974 10.4 16,642 1,305 7.8 1,923 323 16.8 2,333 660 28.3

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,173 2,072 11.4 15,751 1,467 9.3 1,756 374 21.3 2,334 580 24.8

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,813 2,189 12.3 15,591 1,550 9.9 1,847 411 22.2 2,133 614 28.8

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,237 2,064 12.0 14,950 1,463 9.8 1,804 386 21.4 2,208 578 26.2

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,272 1,901 12.4 13,403 1,361 10.2 1,539 290 18.9 1,826 527 28.8

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,543 1,686 11.6 12,817 1,270 9.9 1,471 228 15.5 1,707 410 24.0

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,430 1,467 10.2 12,527 1,012 8.1 1,421 250 17.6 1,837 426 23.2

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,331 1,447 10.1 12,463 984 7.9 1,210 220 18.1 1,801 449 24.9

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,731 1,501 10.9 11,931 1,039 8.7 1,223 220 18.0 1,771 457 25.8

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,291 1,295 9.7 11,661 876 7.5 1,190 170 14.3 1,599 417 26.1

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,891 1,527 11.8 11,266 1,116 9.9 1,184 294 24.8 1,590 402 25.3

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,487 1,243 10.0 10,742 816 7.6 1,146 175 15.3 1,708 417 24.4

ASIAN ALONE13

2015......................... 18,241 2,078 11.4 15,597 1,260 8.1 1,435 222 15.5 2,556 784 30.7

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,790 2,137 12.0 15,261 1,391 9.1 1,725 315 18.2 2,431 713 29.3

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,257 2,255 13.1 15,057 1,589 10.6 1,574 442 28.1 2,180 661 30.3

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,063 1,785 10.5 14,895 1,154 7.7 1,657 228 13.7 2,128 623 29.3

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,417 1,921 11.7 14,190 1,357 9.6 1,515 309 20.4 2,156 547 25.4

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,086 1,973 12.3 14,100 1,389 9.9 1,570 327 20.8 1,921 571 29.7

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,611 1,899 12.2 13,515 1,341 9.9 1,471 327 22.2 2,040 547 26.8

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,005 1,746 12.5 12,296 1,244 10.1 1,353 250 18.5 1,673 491 29.3

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,310 1,576 11.8 11,719 1,192 10.2 1,308 209 16.0 1,574 378 24.0

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,257 1,349 10.2 11,471 930 8.1 1,256 217 17.3 1,720 391 22.7

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,177 1,353 10.3 11,428 912 8.0 1,057 187 17.7 1,683 428 25.4

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,580 1,402 11.1 10,911 970 8.9 1,059 189 17.8 1,645 427 26.0

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,231 1,201 9.8 10,734 812 7.6 1,024 135 13.2 1,472 388 26.3

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,856 1,401 11.8 10,333 1,017 9.8 1,028 242 23.6 1,494 375 25.1

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,541 1,161 10.1 9,899 763 7.7 1,019 155 15.2 1,613 390 24.2

ASIAN AND PACIFIC

ISLANDER11

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,465 1,275 10.2 10,745 873 8.1 1,333 198 14.8 1,682 393 23.4

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,672 1,258 9.9 11,044 895 8.1 1,231 289 23.4 1,588 350 22.0

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,955 1,285 10.7 10,507 1,010 9.6 1,201 275 22.9 1,415 270 19.1

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,873 1,360 12.5 9,576 1,087 11.4 1,123 373 33.2 1,266 257 20.3

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,482 1,468 14.0 9,312 1,116 12.0 932 313 33.6 1,134 327 28.9

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,054 1,454 14.5 8,900 1,172 13.2 1,018 300 29.5 1,120 255 22.8

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,644 1,411 14.6 8,582 1,112 13.0 919 266 28.9 1,013 260 25.6

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,654 974 14.6 5,915 776 13.1 582 137 23.6 696 179 25.7

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,434 1,134 15.3 6,609 898 13.6 725 126 17.4 791 228 28.8

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,779 985 12.7 6,922 787 11.4 729 183 25.0 828 193 23.3

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,192 996 13.8 6,367 773 12.1 721 177 24.6 785 209 26.6

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,014 858 12.2 6,300 712 11.3 638 132 20.7 668 124 18.5

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,673 939 14.1 5,917 779 13.2 614 212 34.6 712 144 20.2

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,447 1,117 17.3 5,767 942 16.3 650 263 40.5 651 160 24.5

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,322 1,021 16.1 5,785 875 15.1 584 187 32.0 516 138 26.8

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 49

Race, Hispanic origin, 

and year

All people People in families Unrelated individuals

Total

Below poverty All families

Families with female

householder, no

husband present

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

HISPANIC (ANY RACE)

2015......................... 56,780 12,133 21.4 49,524 10,109 20.4 11,878 4,401 37.1 6,884 1,876 27.2

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,504 13,104 23.6 48,296 10,853 22.5 11,919 4,817 40.4 6,776 1,981 29.2

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,181 13,356 24.7 47,266 11,128 23.5 13,060 5,406 41.4 6,414 1,915 29.9

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,145 12,744 23.5 47,254 10,536 22.3 11,679 4,860 41.6 6,545 2,063 31.5

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,105 13,616 25.6 46,183 11,358 24.6 11,255 4,816 42.8 6,502 2,018 31.0

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,279 13,244 25.3 45,781 11,143 24.3 11,368 4,996 44.0 6,096 1,882 30.9

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,971 13,522 26.5 44,612 11,384 25.5 10,719 4,748 44.3 5,846 1,863 31.9

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,811 12,350 25.3 42,717 10,345 24.2 10,283 4,176 40.6 5,718 1,801 31.5

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,398 10,987 23.2 41,732 9,303 22.3 9,265 3,751 40.5 5,417 1,577 29.1

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,933 9,890 21.5 40,125 8,248 20.6 8,917 3,527 39.6 5,508 1,490 27.1

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,784 9,243 20.6 39,177 7,650 19.5 8,652 3,189 36.9 5,317 1,468 27.6

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,020 9,368 21.8 37,759 7,767 20.6 7,868 3,069 39.0 4,971 1,451 29.2

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,690 9,122 21.9 36,438 7,705 21.1 7,825 3,072 39.3 4,971 1,293 26.0

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,300 9,051 22.5 35,469 7,637 21.5 7,452 2,861 38.4 4,620 1,325 28.7

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,216 8,555 21.8 34,598 7,184 20.8 7,013 2,554 36.4 4,364 1,255 28.8

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,312 7,997 21.4 33,110 6,674 20.2 6,830 2,585 37.8 3,981 1,211 30.4

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35,955 7,747 21.5 31,700 6,430 20.3 6,469 2,444 37.8 3,978 1,163 29.2

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34,632 7,876 22.7 30,872 6,702 21.7 6,527 2,642 40.5 3,481 1,068 30.7

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,515 8,070 25.6 28,055 6,814 24.3 6,074 2,837 46.7 3,218 1,097 34.1

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,637 8,308 27.1 27,467 7,198 26.2 5,718 2,911 50.9 2,976 1,017 34.2

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,614 8,697 29.4 26,340 7,515 28.5 5,641 3,020 53.5 2,985 1,066 35.7

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,344 8,574 30.3 25,165 7,341 29.2 5,785 3,053 52.8 2,947 1,092 37.0

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27,442 8,416 30.7 24,390 7,357 30.2 5,328 2,920 54.8 2,798 926 33.1

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,559 8,126 30.6 23,439 6,876 29.3 5,333 2,837 53.2 2,717 972 35.8

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,646 7,592 29.6 22,695 6,455 28.4 4,806 2,474 51.5 2,577 881 34.2

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,070 6,339 28.7 19,658 5,541 28.2 4,326 2,282 52.7 2,146 667 31.1

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,405 6,006 28.1 18,912 5,091 26.9 3,993 2,115 53.0 2,254 774 34.3

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,746 5,430 26.2 18,488 4,659 25.2 3,763 1,902 50.6 2,045 634 31.0

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,064 5,357 26.7 18,102 4,700 26.0 3,734 2,052 55.0 1,864 597 32.0

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19,395 5,422 28.0 17,342 4,761 27.5 3,678 2,045 55.6 1,933 598 31.0

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,758 5,117 27.3 16,880 4,469 26.5 3,631 1,921 52.9 1,685 553 32.8

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,075 5,236 29.0 16,276 4,605 28.3 3,561 1,983 55.7 1,602 532 33.2

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,916 4,806 28.4 15,293 4,192 27.4 3,139 1,764 56.2 1,481 545 36.8

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,544 4,633 28.0 15,075 4,113 27.3 3,032 1,670 55.1 1,364 457 33.5

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,385 4,301 29.9 13,242 3,865 29.2 2,664 1,601 60.1 1,018 358 35.1

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,021 3,713 26.5 12,922 3,349 25.9 2,622 1,465 55.9 1,005 313 31.1

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,600 3,491 25.7 12,547 3,143 25.1 2,421 1,319 54.5 970 312 32.2

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,371 2,921 21.8 12,291 2,599 21.1 2,058 1,053 51.2 991 286 28.8

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,079 2,607 21.6 11,193 2,343 20.9 1,817 1,024 56.4 886 264 29.8

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,046 2,700 22.4 11,249 2,463 21.9 1,901 1,077 56.7 797 237 29.8

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,269 2,783 24.7 10,552 2,516 23.8 1,766 1,000 56.6 716 266 37.2

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,117 2,991 26.9 10,472 2,755 26.3 1,842 1,053 57.2 645 236 36.6

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,201 2,575 23.0 10,584 2,374 22.4 1,723 915 53.1 617 201 32.6

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,795 2,366 21.9 10,269 2,209 21.5 1,534 881 57.4 526 157 29.9

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,588 2,414 22.8 10,099 2,252 22.3 1,370 733 53.5 488 162 33.2

N Not available. 1

 The 2014 CPS ASEC included redesigned questions for income and health insurance 

coverage. All of the approximately 98,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned 

set of health insurance coverage questions. The redesigned income questions were 

implemented to a subsample of these 98,000 addresses using a probability split panel 

design. Approximately 68,000 addresses were eligible to receive a set of income questions 

similar to those used in the 2013 CPS ASEC and the remaining 30,000 addresses were 

eligible to receive the redesigned income questions. The source of these 2013 estimates 

is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received the redesigned income questions, 

approximately 30,000 addresses. 2

 The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which 

received the income questions consistent with the 2013 CPS ASEC, approximately 68,000 

addresses.

.

3

 Implementation of Census 2010-based population controls. 4

 For 2004, figures are revised to reflect a correction to the weights in the 2005 ASEC. 5

 Implementation of Census 2000-based population controls and a 28,000 household 

sample expansion. 6

 For 1999, figures are based on Census 2000 population controls. 7

 For 1992, figures are based on 1990 census population controls. 8

 For 1991, figures are revised to correct for nine omitted weights from the original 

March 1992 CPS file.

9

 For 1988 and 1987, figures are based on new processing procedures and are also 

revised to reflect corrections to the files after publication of the 1988 advance report Money 

Income and Poverty Status in the United States: 1988, P-60, No. 166. 10 The 2003 CPS allowed respondents to choose more than one race. White alone 

refers to people who reported White and did not report any other race category. The use of 

this 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. 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 available from Census 2010 through American 

FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2010. 11 For 2001 and earlier years, the CPS allowed respondents to report only one race 

group. The reference race groups for 2001 and earlier poverty data are White, non-Hispanic 

White, Black, and Asian and Pacific Islander. 12 Black alone refers to people who reported Black and did not report any other race. 13 Asian alone refers to people who reported Asian and did not report any other race.

Note: Prior to 1979, people in unrelated subfamilies were included in people in families.

Beginning in 1979, people in unrelated subfamilies are included in all people but are 

excluded from people in families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2016 Annual Social 

and Economic Supplements.

Table B-1.

Poverty Status of People by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )
50 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Race, Hispanic 

origin, and year

Under 18 years 18 to 64 years 65 years and older

All people Related children in families

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

ALL RACES

2015........................ 73,647 14,509 19.7 72,558 13,962 19.2 197,260 24,414 12.4 47,547 4,201 8.8

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,556 15,540 21.1 72,383 14,987 20.7 196,254 26,527 13.5 45,994 4,590 10.0

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,439 15,801 21.5 72,246 15,116 20.9 194,694 25,899 13.3 44,963 4,569 10.2

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,625 14,659 19.9 72,573 14,142 19.5 194,833 26,429 13.6 44,508 4,231 9.5

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,719 16,073 21.8 72,545 15,437 21.3 193,642 26,497 13.7 43,287 3,926 9.1

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,737 16,134 21.9 72,568 15,539 21.4 193,213 26,492 13.7 41,507 3,620 8.7

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,873 16,286 22.0 72,581 15,598 21.5 192,481 26,499 13.8 39,777 3,558 8.9

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74,579 15,451 20.7 73,410 14,774 20.1 190,627 24,684 12.9 38,613 3,433 8.9

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74,068 14,068 19.0 72,980 13,507 18.5 189,185 22,105 11.7 37,788 3,656 9.7

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,996 13,324 18.0 72,792 12,802 17.6 187,913 20,396 10.9 36,790 3,556 9.7

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,727 12,827 17.4 72,609 12,299 16.9 186,688 20,239 10.8 36,035 3,394 9.4

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,285 12,896 17.6 72,095 12,335 17.1 184,345 20,450 11.1 35,505 3,603 10.1

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,241 13,041 17.8 72,133 12,473 17.3 182,166 20,545 11.3 35,209 3,453 9.8

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,999 12,866 17.6 71,907 12,340 17.2 180,041 19,443 10.8 34,659 3,552 10.2

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,696 12,133 16.7 71,619 11,646 16.3 178,388 18,861 10.6 34,234 3,576 10.4

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72,021 11,733 16.3 70,950 11,175 15.8 175,685 17,760 10.1 33,769 3,414 10.1

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,741 11,587 16.2 70,538 11,005 15.6 173,638 16,671 9.6 33,566 3,323 9.9

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,685 12,280 17.1 70,424 11,678 16.6 171,146 17,289 10.1 33,377 3,222 9.7

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,338 13,467 18.9 70,253 12,845 18.3 167,327 17,623 10.5 32,394 3,386 10.5

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,069 14,113 19.9 69,844 13,422 19.2 165,329 18,085 10.9 32,082 3,376 10.5

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,650 14,463 20.5 69,411 13,764 19.8 163,691 18,638 11.4 31,877 3,428 10.8

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,566 14,665 20.8 69,425 13,999 20.2 161,508 18,442 11.4 31,658 3,318 10.5

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,020 15,289 21.8 68,819 14,610 21.2 160,329 19,107 11.9 31,267 3,663 11.7

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,292 15,727 22.7 68,040 14,961 22.0 159,208 19,781 12.4 30,779 3,755 12.2

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,440 15,294 22.3 67,256 14,521 21.6 157,680 18,793 11.9 30,430 3,928 12.9

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,918 14,341 21.8 64,800 13,658 21.1 154,684 17,586 11.4 30,590 3,781 12.4

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,049 13,431 20.6 63,908 12,715 19.9 153,502 16,496 10.7 30,093 3,658 12.2

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,144 12,590 19.6 63,225 12,001 19.0 152,282 15,575 10.2 29,566 3,363 11.4

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,747 12,455 19.5 62,906 11,935 19.0 150,761 15,809 10.5 29,022 3,481 12.0

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,294 12,843 20.3 62,423 12,275 19.7 149,201 15,815 10.6 28,487 3,563 12.5

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,948 12,876 20.5 62,009 12,257 19.8 147,631 16,017 10.8 27,975 3,477 12.4

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,876 13,010 20.7 62,019 12,483 20.1 146,396 16,598 11.3 27,322 3,456 12.6

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,447 13,420 21.5 61,681 12,929 21.0 144,551 16,952 11.7 26,818 3,330 12.4

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,334 13,911 22.3 61,578 13,427 21.8 143,052 17,767 12.4 26,313 3,625 13.8

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,345 13,647 21.9 61,565 13,139 21.3 141,328 17,000 12.0 25,738 3,751 14.6

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,449 12,505 20.0 61,756 12,068 19.5 139,477 15,464 11.1 25,231 3,853 15.3

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,914 11,543 18.3 62,168 11,114 17.9 137,428 13,858 10.1 24,686 3,871 15.7

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,375 10,377 16.4 62,646 9,993 16.0 135,333 12,014 8.9 24,194 3,682 15.2

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,311 9,931 15.9 61,987 9,722 15.7 130,169 11,332 8.7 23,175 3,233 14.0

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,137 10,288 16.2 62,823 10,028 16.0 128,262 11,316 8.8 22,468 3,177 14.1

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,028 10,273 16.0 63,729 10,081 15.8 126,175 11,389 9.0 22,100 3,313 15.0

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,079 11,104 17.1 64,750 10,882 16.8 124,122 11,456 9.2 21,662 3,317 15.3

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,134 10,156 15.4 65,802 9,967 15.1 122,101 10,132 8.3 21,127 3,085 14.6

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,959 9,642 14.4 66,626 9,453 14.2 120,060 9,977 8.3 20,602 3,354 16.3

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,930 10,284 15.1 67,592 10,082 14.9 117,957 10,438 8.8 20,117 3,738 18.6

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,816 10,551 15.3 68,474 10,344 15.1 115,911 10,735 9.3 19,827 4,273 21.6

1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,159 10,440 15.1 68,815 10,235 14.9 113,554 10,187 9.0 19,470 4,793 24.6

1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,090 9,691 14.0 68,746 9,501 13.8 111,528 9,669 8.7 18,899 4,787 25.3

1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,385 10,954 15.6 70,035 10,739 15.3 108,684 9,803 9.0 18,559 4,632 25.0

1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,408 11,656 16.6 70,058 11,427 16.3 107,024 10,725 10.0 18,240 5,388 29.5

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,218 12,389 17.6 69,869 12,146 17.4 105,241 11,007 10.5 17,929 5,114 28.5

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,986 14,676 21.0 69,638 14,388 20.7 N N N N N N

1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,711 16,051 23.0 69,364 15,736 22.7 N N N N N N

1963 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,181 16,005 23.1 68,837 15,691 22.8 N N N N N N

1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,722 16,963 25.0 67,385 16,630 24.7 N N N N N N

1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,121 16,909 25.6 65,792 16,577 25.2 N N N N N N

1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,601 17,634 26.9 65,275 17,288 26.5 N N N N N N

1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,315 17,552 27.3 63,995 17,208 26.9 96,685 16,457 17.0 15,557 5,481 35.2

Table B-2.

Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 51

Race, Hispanic 

origin, and year

Under 18 years 18 to 64 years 65 years and older

All people Related children in families

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

WHITE ALONE10

2015........................ 53,550 9,204 17.2 52,786 8,838 16.7 151,731 16,325 10.8 40,254 3,037 7.5

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,637 9,602 17.9 52,732 9,172 17.4 151,562 18,086 11.9 39,054 3,400 8.7

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,638 10,296 19.2 52,657 9,702 18.4 151,234 17,629 11.7 38,475 3,362 8.7

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,846 8,808 16.4 53,074 8,428 15.9 151,334 17,931 11.8 37,905 3,197 8.4

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,066 9,979 18.5 53,201 9,547 17.9 151,042 17,946 11.9 37,039 2,891 7.8

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,186 10,103 18.6 53,268 9,643 18.1 151,416 18,007 11.9 35,732 2,739 7.7

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,490 10,092 18.5 53,573 9,590 17.9 151,218 18,353 12.1 34,274 2,638 7.7

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,266 9,938 17.7 55,397 9,440 17.0 152,367 17,391 11.4 33,414 2,501 7.5

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,153 8,863 15.8 55,339 8,441 15.3 151,681 15,356 10.1 32,714 2,771 8.5

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,419 8,395 14.9 55,483 8,002 14.4 150,875 14,135 9.4 31,839 2,590 8.1

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,205 7,908 14.1 55,330 7,522 13.6 150,143 14,035 9.3 31,270 2,473 7.9

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,075 8,085 14.4 55,152 7,652 13.9 148,450 14,086 9.5 30,905 2,700 8.7

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,053 8,308 14.8 55,212 7,876 14.3 146,974 14,486 9.9 30,714 2,534 8.3

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,779 7,985 14.3 54,989 7,624 13.9 145,783 13,622 9.3 30,303 2,666 8.8

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,703 7,549 13.6 54,900 7,203 13.1 144,694 13,178 9.1 29,980 2,739 9.1

WHITE11

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,089 7,527 13.4 55,238 7,086 12.8 143,796 12,555 8.7 29,790 2,656 8.9

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,980 7,307 13.1 55,021 6,834 12.4 142,164 11,754 8.3 29,703 2,584 8.7

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,833 7,639 13.7 54,873 7,194 13.1 139,974 12,085 8.6 29,553 2,446 8.3

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,016 8,443 15.1 55,126 7,935 14.4 138,061 12,456 9.0 28,759 2,555 8.9

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,863 8,990 16.1 54,870 8,441 15.4 136,784 12,838 9.4 28,553 2,569 9.0

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,606 9,044 16.3 54,599 8,488 15.5 135,586 12,940 9.5 28,464 2,667 9.4

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,444 8,981 16.2 54,532 8,474 15.5 134,149 12,869 9.6 28,436 2,572 9.0

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,186 9,346 16.9 54,221 8,826 16.3 133,289 13,187 9.9 27,985 2,846 10.2

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,639 9,752 17.8 53,614 9,123 17.0 132,680 13,535 10.2 27,580 2,939 10.7

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,110 9,399 17.4 53,110 8,752 16.5 131,694 12,871 9.8 27,256 2,989 11.0

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,523 8,848 16.8 51,627 8,316 16.1 130,312 12,097 9.3 27,297 2,802 10.3

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,929 8,232 15.9 51,028 7,696 15.1 129,784 11,387 8.8 26,898 2,707 10.1

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,400 7,599 14.8 50,704 7,164 14.1 128,974 10,647 8.3 26,479 2,539 9.6

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,203 7,435 14.5 50,590 7,095 14.0 128,031 10,687 8.3 26,001 2,593 10.0

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,012 7,788 15.3 50,360 7,398 14.7 126,991 10,703 8.4 25,602 2,704 10.6

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,111 8,209 16.1 50,356 7,714 15.3 125,998 11,285 9.0 25,173 2,689 10.7

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,031 8,253 16.2 50,358 7,838 15.6 125,258 11,909 9.5 24,629 2,698 11.0

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,814 8,472 16.7 50,192 8,086 16.1 123,922 11,904 9.6 24,206 2,579 10.7

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,726 8,862 17.5 50,183 8,534 17.0 123,014 12,347 10.0 23,754 2,776 11.7

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,920 8,678 17.0 50,305 8,282 16.5 121,766 11,971 9.8 23,234 2,870 12.4

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,140 7,785 15.2 50,553 7,429 14.7 120,574 10,790 8.9 22,791 2,978 13.1

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,653 7,181 13.9 51,002 6,817 13.4 118,935 9,478 8.0 22,325 3,042 13.6

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,262 6,193 11.8 51,687 5,909 11.4 117,583 8,110 6.9 21,898 2,911 13.3

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,669 5,831 11.3 51,409 5,674 11.0 113,832 7,897 6.9 20,950 2,530 12.1

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,563 6,097 11.6 52,299 5,943 11.4 112,374 7,893 7.0 20,316 2,426 11.9

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,428 6,189 11.6 53,167 6,034 11.3 110,717 7,890 7.1 20,020 2,633 13.2

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,405 6,927 12.7 54,126 6,748 12.5 109,105 8,210 7.5 19,654 2,634 13.4

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,590 6,223 11.2 55,320 6,079 11.0 107,579 7,053 6.6 19,206 2,460 12.8

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 56,211 5,462 9.7 N N N N 2,698 14.4

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 57,181 5,784 10.1 N N N N 3,072 16.8

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 58,119 6,341 10.9 N N N N 3,605 19.9

1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 58,472 6,138 10.5 N N N N 4,011 22.6

1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 58,578 5,667 9.7 N N N N 4,052 23.3

1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 6,373 10.7 N N N 17,062 3,939 23.1

1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 6,729 11.3 N N N 16,791 4,646 27.7

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 7,204 12.1 N N N 16,514 4,357 26.4

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 8,595 14.4 N N N N N N

1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 11,229 20.0 N N N N N N

1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 11,386 20.6 N N N N 4,744 33.1

Table B-2.

Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
52 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Race, Hispanic 

origin, and year

Under 18 years 18 to 64 years 65 years and older

All people Related children in families

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

WHITE ALONE, NOT HISPANIC10

2015........................ 37,859 4,563 12.1 37,342 4,301 11.5 120,908 10,812 8.9 36,682 2,411 6.6

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,057 4,679 12.3 37,457 4,440 11.9 121,424 12,173 10.0 35,727 2,801 7.8

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,167 5,116 13.4 37,572 4,784 12.7 121,629 11,691 9.6 35,322 2,745 7.8

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,395 4,094 10.7 37,849 3,833 10.1 121,991 12,133 9.9 34,781 2,569 7.4

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,759 4,782 12.3 38,167 4,510 11.8 122,221 11,833 9.7 34,131 2,324 6.8

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,955 4,850 12.5 38,322 4,554 11.9 123,101 12,112 9.8 32,904 2,210 6.7

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39,437 4,866 12.3 38,823 4,544 11.7 123,731 12,230 9.9 31,616 2,155 6.8

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,917 4,850 11.9 40,319 4,518 11.2 125,511 11,658 9.3 30,736 2,022 6.6

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,309 4,364 10.6 40,707 4,059 10.0 125,482 10,380 8.3 30,149 2,280 7.6

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,979 4,255 10.1 41,304 3,996 9.7 125,161 9,598 7.7 29,442 2,179 7.4

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,212 4,208 10.0 41,563 3,930 9.5 124,847 9,761 7.8 28,990 2,044 7.0

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,523 4,254 10.0 41,867 3,973 9.5 124,326 9,708 7.8 28,704 2,264 7.9

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42,978 4,519 10.5 42,363 4,190 9.9 123,481 10,236 8.3 28,639 2,153 7.5

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,150 4,233 9.8 42,547 3,957 9.3 123,110 9,391 7.6 28,335 2,277 8.0

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,614 4,090 9.4 43,017 3,848 8.9 122,511 9,157 7.5 28,018 2,321 8.3

WHITE, NOT HISPANIC11

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,095 4,194 9.5 43,459 3,887 8.9 122,470 8,811 7.2 27,973 2,266 8.1

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,244 4,018 9.1 43,554 3,715 8.5 121,499 8,130 6.7 27,948 2,218 7.9

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,272 4,155 9.4 43,570 3,832 8.8 120,341 8,462 7.0 27,952 2,118 7.6

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,355 4,822 10.6 44,670 4,458 10.0 120,282 8,760 7.3 27,118 2,217 8.2

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,491 5,204 11.4 44,665 4,759 10.7 119,373 9,088 7.6 26,995 2,200 8.1

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,605 5,072 11.1 44,844 4,656 10.4 118,822 9,074 7.6 27,033 2,316 8.6

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,689 5,115 11.2 44,973 4,745 10.6 118,228 8,908 7.5 27,034 2,243 8.3

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,668 5,823 12.5 45,874 5,404 11.8 119,192 9,732 8.2 26,684 2,556 9.6

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,096 6,255 13.6 45,322 5,819 12.8 118,475 9,964 8.4 26,272 2,663 10.1

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,590 6,017 13.2 44,833 5,558 12.4 117,386 9,461 8.1 26,025 2,724 10.5

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,236 5,918 13.1 44,506 5,497 12.4 117,672 9,244 7.9 26,208 2,580 9.8

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,797 5,532 12.3 44,045 5,106 11.6 117,477 8,619 7.3 25,854 2,471 9.6

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,492 5,110 11.5 43,938 4,779 10.9 116,983 8,154 7.0 25,504 2,335 9.2

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,438 4,888 11.0 43,910 4,594 10.5 116,479 8,293 7.1 25,044 2,384 9.5

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,461 5,230 11.8 43,907 4,902 11.2 115,721 8,327 7.2 24,754 2,472 10.0

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,664 5,789 13.0 44,041 5,388 12.2 115,157 8,963 7.8 24,298 2,492 10.3

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,752 5,745 12.8 44,199 5,421 12.3 114,969 9,608 8.4 23,734 2,486 10.5

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,886 6,156 13.7 44,349 5,828 13.1 114,180 9,734 8.5 23,402 2,410 10.3

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44,830 6,649 14.8 44,374 6,381 14.4 113,570 10,279 9.1 22,992 2,610 11.4

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,531 6,566 14.4 45,001 6,229 13.8 113,717 10,082 8.9 22,655 2,714 12.0

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,950 5,946 12.9 45,440 5,639 12.4 112,722 9,207 8.2 22,237 2,834 12.7

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,578 5,510 11.8 45,989 5,174 11.3 111,460 7,990 7.2 21,760 2,865 13.2

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,967 4,730 10.1 46,448 4,476 9.6 110,509 6,930 6.3 21,339 2,759 12.9

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,819 4,506 9.6 46,606 4,383 9.4 107,481 6,837 6.4 20,431 2,412 11.8

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,689 4,714 9.9 47,459 4,582 9.7 106,063 6,772 6.4 19,812 2,316 11.7

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,824 4,799 9.8 48,601 4,664 9.6 104,846 6,720 6.4 19,565 2,506 12.8

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,670 5,342 10.8 49,421 5,185 10.5 103,496 7,039 6.8 19,251 2,503 13.0

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,759 4,820 9.5 50,520 4,697 9.3 101,894 6,051 5.9 18,810 2,346 12.5

BLACK ALONE OR

IN COMBINATION

2015........................ 13,128 4,146 31.6 12,944 4,052 31.3 27,653 5,835 21.1 4,447 816 18.4

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,875 4,639 36.0 12,706 4,564 35.9 27,442 6,137 22.4 4,249 805 19.0

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,044 4,359 33.4 12,915 4,325 33.5 27,056 6,031 22.3 4,054 772 19.0

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,104 4,838 36.9 12,882 4,730 36.7 26,923 6,410 23.8 4,085 712 17.4

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,108 4,815 36.7 12,908 4,675 36.2 26,482 6,265 23.7 3,993 730 18.3

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,968 4,849 37.4 12,815 4,762 37.2 25,962 6,241 24.0 3,718 640 17.2

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,015 4,923 37.8 12,759 4,814 37.7 25,815 6,031 23.4 3,555 643 18.1

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,655 4,480 35.4 12,445 4,349 34.9 24,815 5,441 21.9 3,405 655 19.2

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,388 4,202 33.9 12,201 4,104 33.6 24,404 5,017 20.6 3,305 663 20.0

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,380 4,178 33.7 12,227 4,106 33.6 23,968 4,742 19.8 3,215 748 23.3

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,375 4,086 33.0 12,206 3,977 32.6 23,510 4,652 19.8 3,128 710 22.7

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,159 4,074 33.5 11,975 3,972 33.2 23,338 4,735 20.3 3,053 708 23.2

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,190 4,059 33.3 12,012 3,962 33.0 22,842 4,638 20.3 3,005 714 23.8

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,215 4,108 33.6 11,989 3,977 33.2 22,355 4,313 19.3 2,933 688 23.5

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,114 3,817 31.5 11,931 3,733 31.3 22,170 4,376 19.7 2,922 691 23.6

Table B-2.

Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 53

Race, Hispanic 

origin, and year

Under 18 years 18 to 64 years 65 years and older

All people Related children in families

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

BLACK ALONE12

2015........................ 11,087 3,651 32.9 10,928 3,571 32.7 26,194 5,568 21.3 4,343 801 18.4

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,015 4,090 37.1 10,887 4,036 37.1 25,954 5,869 22.6 4,143 796 19.2

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,003 3,708 33.7 10,896 3,678 33.8 25,562 5,742 22.5 3,933 736 18.7

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,088 4,244 38.3 10,916 4,153 38.0 25,552 6,099 23.9 3,975 698 17.6

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,078 4,201 37.9 10,931 4,097 37.5 25,154 6,002 23.9 3,893 708 18.2

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,138 4,320 38.8 11,005 4,247 38.6 24,831 5,980 24.1 3,640 630 17.3

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,173 4,355 39.0 10,953 4,271 39.0 24,667 5,775 23.4 3,443 617 17.9

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,282 4,033 35.7 11,102 3,919 35.3 23,953 5,264 22.0 3,320 647 19.5

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,172 3,878 34.7 10,998 3,781 34.4 23,565 4,855 20.6 3,229 646 20.0

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,302 3,904 34.5 11,174 3,838 34.3 23,213 4,602 19.8 3,150 731 23.2

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,315 3,777 33.4 11,168 3,690 33.0 22,907 4,570 19.9 3,085 701 22.7

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,136 3,841 34.5 10,962 3,743 34.2 22,659 4,627 20.4 3,007 701 23.3

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,244 3,788 33.7 11,080 3,702 33.4 22,226 4,521 20.3 2,956 705 23.8

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,367 3,877 34.1 11,162 3,750 33.6 21,746 4,224 19.4 2,876 680 23.7

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,275 3,645 32.3 11,111 3,570 32.1 21,547 4,277 19.9 2,856 680 23.8

BLACK11

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,556 3,492 30.2 11,419 3,423 30.0 21,462 4,018 18.7 2,853 626 21.9

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,480 3,581 31.2 11,296 3,495 30.9 21,160 3,794 17.9 2,785 607 21.8

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,488 3,813 33.2 11,260 3,698 32.8 21,518 4,000 18.6 2,750 628 22.8

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,317 4,151 36.7 11,176 4,073 36.4 20,837 4,222 20.3 2,723 718 26.4

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,367 4,225 37.2 11,193 4,116 36.8 20,400 4,191 20.5 2,691 700 26.0

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,338 4,519 39.9 11,155 4,411 39.5 20,155 4,515 22.4 2,616 661 25.3

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,369 4,761 41.9 11,198 4,644 41.5 19,892 4,483 22.5 2,478 629 25.4

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,211 4,906 43.8 11,044 4,787 43.3 19,585 4,590 23.4 2,557 700 27.4

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,127 5,125 46.1 10,969 5,030 45.9 19,272 5,049 26.2 2,510 702 28.0

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,956 5,106 46.6 10,823 5,015 46.3 18,952 4,884 25.8 2,504 838 33.5

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,350 4,755 45.9 10,178 4,637 45.6 18,355 4,607 25.1 2,606 880 33.8

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,162 4,550 44.8 9,980 4,412 44.2 18,097 4,427 24.5 2,547 860 33.8

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,012 4,375 43.7 9,847 4,257 43.2 17,833 4,164 23.3 2,487 763 30.7

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,865 4,296 43.5 9,681 4,148 42.8 17,548 4,275 24.4 2,436 785 32.2

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,730 4,385 45.1 9,546 4,234 44.4 17,245 4,361 25.3 2,387 774 32.4

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,629 4,148 43.1 9,467 4,037 42.7 16,911 4,113 24.3 2,331 722 31.0

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,545 4,157 43.6 9,405 4,057 43.1 16,667 4,052 24.3 2,273 717 31.5

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,480 4,413 46.6 9,356 4,320 46.2 16,369 4,368 26.7 2,238 710 31.7

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,417 4,398 46.7 9,245 4,273 46.2 16,065 4,694 29.2 2,197 791 36.0

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,400 4,472 47.6 9,269 4,388 47.3 15,692 4,415 28.1 2,124 811 38.2

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,374 4,237 45.2 9,291 4,170 44.9 15,358 4,117 26.8 2,102 820 39.0

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,368 3,961 42.3 9,287 3,906 42.1 14,987 3,835 25.6 2,054 783 38.1

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,307 3,833 41.2 9,172 3,745 40.8 14,596 3,478 23.8 2,040 740 36.2

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,229 3,830 41.5 9,168 3,781 41.2 13,774 3,133 22.7 1,954 662 33.9

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,296 3,888 41.8 9,253 3,850 41.6 13,483 3,137 23.3 1,930 701 36.3

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,322 3,787 40.6 9,291 3,758 40.4 13,224 3,163 23.9 1,852 644 34.8

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,421 3,925 41.7 9,374 3,884 41.4 12,872 2,968 23.1 1,795 652 36.3

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,439 3,755 39.8 9,384 3,713 39.6 12,539 2,836 22.6 1,721 591 34.3

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 9,405 3,822 40.6 N N N 1,672 620 37.1

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 9,426 4,025 42.7 N N N 1,603 640 39.9

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 9,414 3,836 40.4 N N N 1,584 623 39.3

1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 9,448 3,922 41.5 N N N 1,422 683 48.0

1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 9,290 3,677 39.6 N N N 1,373 689 50.2

1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 4,188 43.1 N N N 1,374 655 47.7

1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 4,558 47.4 N N N 1,341 715 53.3

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 4,774 50.6 N N N 1,311 722 55.1

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N N 5,022 65.6 N N N N 711 62.5

Table B-2.

Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
54 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Race, Hispanic 

origin, and year

Under 18 years 18 to 64 years 65 years and older

All people Related children in families

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

ASIAN ALONE OR

IN COMBINATION

2015........................ 4,728 539 11.4 4,631 489 10.6 13,133 1,443 11.0 2,176 252 11.6

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,792 577 12.0 4,722 544 11.5 12,834 1,390 10.8 2,059 301 14.6

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,900 628 12.8 4,858 600 12.4 12,393 1,457 11.8 1,889 312 16.5

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,740 457 9.6 4,701 442 9.4 12,374 1,258 10.2 1,910 259 13.6

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,557 570 12.5 4,485 533 11.9 11,913 1,291 10.8 1,703 211 12.4

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,572 607 13.3 4,495 566 12.6 11,660 1,397 12.0 1,581 185 11.7

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,308 586 13.6 4,256 560 13.2 11,414 1,265 11.1 1,515 214 14.1

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,996 531 13.3 3,946 507 12.9 9,898 1,154 11.7 1,378 216 15.7

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,717 494 13.3 3,678 476 12.9 9,507 1,031 10.8 1,319 162 12.3

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,606 431 11.9 3,558 402 11.3 9,531 892 9.4 1,293 144 11.2

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,573 408 11.4 3,530 398 11.3 9,553 897 9.4 1,205 142 11.8

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,472 359 10.3 3,435 352 10.2 9,115 999 11.0 1,144 144 12.6

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,406 329 9.7 3,367 311 9.2 8,780 819 9.3 1,104 147 13.3

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,316 420 12.7 3,279 406 12.4 8,510 956 11.2 1,065 152 14.2

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,199 353 11.0 3,159 338 10.7 8,292 804 9.7 995 86 8.7

ASIAN ALONE13

2015........................ 3,786 466 12.3 3,693 420 11.4 12,325 1,360 11.0 2,130 252 11.8

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,750 524 14.0 3,681 492 13.4 12,012 1,314 10.9 2,029 299 14.7

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,766 555 14.7 3,746 538 14.4 11,646 1,393 12.0 1,845 307 16.7

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,651 367 10.1 3,621 354 9.8 11,531 1,162 10.1 1,881 256 13.6

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,596 497 13.8 3,542 470 13.3 11,153 1,220 10.9 1,669 205 12.3

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,657 494 13.5 3,600 466 13.0 10,873 1,297 11.9 1,555 182 11.7

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,431 494 14.4 3,399 477 14.0 10,696 1,191 11.1 1,484 214 14.4

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,311 463 14.0 3,271 444 13.6 9,344 1,069 11.4 1,350 213 15.8

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,052 446 14.6 3,016 430 14.2 8,961 974 10.9 1,296 157 12.1

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,980 374 12.5 2,932 345 11.8 9,012 832 9.2 1,265 143 11.3

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,956 360 12.2 2,915 351 12.0 9,039 851 9.4 1,182 142 12.0

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,871 317 11.1 2,842 312 11.0 8,591 941 11.0 1,118 143 12.8

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,854 281 9.9 2,823 265 9.4 8,294 774 9.3 1,083 146 13.5

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,759 344 12.5 2,726 331 12.1 8,044 907 11.3 1,052 151 14.3

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,683 315 11.7 2,648 302 11.4 7,881 764 9.7 977 82 8.4

ASIAN AND PACIFIC

ISLANDER11

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,215 369 11.5 3,169 353 11.1 8,352 814 9.7 899 92 10.2

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,294 420 12.7 3,256 407 12.5 8,500 756 8.9 878 82 9.3

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,212 381 11.9 3,178 367 11.5 7,879 807 10.2 864 96 11.1

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,137 564 18.0 3,099 542 17.5 6,951 698 10.0 785 97 12.4

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,096 628 20.3 3,061 608 19.9 6,680 753 11.3 705 87 12.3

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,924 571 19.5 2,899 553 19.1 6,484 821 12.7 647 63 9.7

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,900 564 19.5 2,858 532 18.6 6,123 757 12.4 622 89 14.3

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,739 318 18.3 1,719 308 17.9 4,401 589 13.4 513 67 13.0

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,061 375 18.2 2,029 358 17.6 4,871 680 14.0 503 79 15.6

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,218 363 16.4 2,199 352 16.0 5,067 568 11.2 494 53 10.8

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,056 360 17.5 2,036 348 17.1 4,582 565 12.3 555 70 12.7

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,126 374 17.6 2,098 356 17.0 4,375 422 9.6 514 62 12.1

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,983 392 19.8 1,945 368 18.9 4,225 512 12.1 465 34 7.4

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,970 474 24.1 1,949 458 23.5 4,035 583 14.4 442 60 13.5

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,937 455 23.5 1,908 432 22.7 4,010 510 12.7 375 56 15.0

Table B-2.

Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

See footnotes at end of table.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 55

Race, Hispanic 

origin, and year

Under 18 years 18 to 64 years 65 years and older

All people Related children in families

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Total

Below poverty

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

HISPANIC (ANY RACE)

2015........................ 18,231 5,269 28.9 17,944 5,139 28.6 34,686 6,188 17.8 3,863 676 17.5

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,995 5,745 31.9 17,636 5,522 31.3 33,873 6,701 19.8 3,636 658 18.1

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,898 5,907 33.0 17,496 5,638 32.2 32,839 6,746 20.5 3,443 704 20.4

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,837 5,415 30.4 17,559 5,273 30.0 32,903 6,654 20.2 3,405 676 19.8

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,664 5,976 33.8 17,341 5,773 33.3 32,228 6,977 21.6 3,213 663 20.6

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,600 6,008 34.1 17,276 5,820 33.7 31,643 6,667 21.1 3,036 569 18.7

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,371 6,059 34.9 16,964 5,815 34.3 30,740 6,948 22.6 2,860 516 18.0

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,965 5,610 33.1 16,655 5,419 32.5 29,031 6,224 21.4 2,815 516 18.3

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,370 5,010 30.6 16,138 4,888 30.3 28,311 5,452 19.3 2,717 525 19.3

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,647 4,482 28.6 15,375 4,348 28.3 27,731 4,970 17.9 2,555 438 17.1

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,147 4,072 26.9 14,907 3,959 26.6 27,209 4,698 17.3 2,428 472 19.4

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,654 4,143 28.3 14,361 3,977 27.7 26,051 4,765 18.3 2,315 460 19.9

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14,173 4,098 28.9 13,929 3,985 28.6 25,324 4,620 18.2 2,194 403 18.4

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,730 4,077 29.7 13,519 3,982 29.5 24,490 4,568 18.7 2,080 406 19.5

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,210 3,782 28.6 12,971 3,653 28.2 23,952 4,334 18.1 2,053 439 21.4

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,763 3,570 28.0 12,539 3,433 27.4 22,653 4,014 17.7 1,896 413 21.8

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,399 3,522 28.4 12,115 3,342 27.6 21,734 3,844 17.7 1,822 381 20.9

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,188 3,693 30.3 11,912 3,561 29.9 20,782 3,843 18.5 1,661 340 20.5

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,152 3,837 34.4 10,921 3,670 33.6 18,668 3,877 20.8 1,696 356 21.0

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,802 3,972 36.8 10,625 3,865 36.4 18,217 3,951 21.7 1,617 384 23.8

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,511 4,237 40.3 10,255 4,090 39.9 17,587 4,089 23.3 1,516 370 24.4

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,213 4,080 40.0 10,011 3,938 39.3 16,673 4,153 24.9 1,458 342 23.5

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,822 4,075 41.5 9,621 3,956 41.1 16,192 4,018 24.8 1,428 323 22.6

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,462 3,873 40.9 9,188 3,666 39.9 15,708 3,956 25.2 1,390 297 21.4

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,081 3,637 40.0 8,829 3,440 39.0 15,268 3,668 24.0 1,298 287 22.1

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,648 3,094 40.4 7,473 2,977 39.8 13,279 3,008 22.7 1,143 237 20.8

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,457 2,865 38.4 7,300 2,750 37.7 12,857 2,896 22.5 1,091 245 22.5

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,186 2,603 36.2 7,040 2,496 35.5 12,536 2,616 20.9 1,024 211 20.6

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,003 2,631 37.6 6,908 2,576 37.3 12,056 2,501 20.7 1,005 225 22.4

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,792 2,670 39.3 6,692 2,606 38.9 11,718 2,509 21.4 885 243 27.5

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,646 2,507 37.7 6,511 2,413 37.1 11,206 2,406 21.5 906 204 22.5

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,475 2,606 40.3 6,346 2,512 39.6 10,685 2,411 22.6 915 219 23.9

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,068 2,376 39.2 5,982 2,317 38.7 10,029 2,254 22.5 819 176 21.5

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,066 2,312 38.1 5,977 2,251 37.7 9,697 2,148 22.5 782 173 22.1

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,527 2,181 39.5 5,436 2,117 38.9 8,262 1,963 23.8 596 159 26.6

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,369 1,925 35.9 5,291 1,874 35.4 8,084 1,642 20.3 568 146 25.7

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,276 1,749 33.2 5,211 1,718 33.0 7,740 1,563 20.2 582 179 30.8

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,483 1,535 28.0 5,426 1,505 27.7 7,314 1,232 16.8 574 154 26.8

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,012 1,384 27.6 4,972 1,354 27.2 6,527 1,098 16.8 539 125 23.2

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,028 1,422 28.3 5,000 1,402 28.0 6,500 1,164 17.9 518 113 21.9

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,771 1,443 30.2 4,736 1,424 30.1 6,034 1,212 20.1 464 128 27.7

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 4,896 1,619 33.1 N N N N 137 32.6

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 4,939 1,414 28.6 N N N N 117 28.9

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N N N 4,910 1,364 27.8 N N N N 95 24.9

Table B-2.

Poverty Status of People by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2015—Con.

(Numbers in thousands. People as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

N Not available. 1

 The 2014 CPS ASEC included redesigned questions for income and health insurance 

coverage. All of the approximately 98,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned 

set of health insurance coverage questions. The redesigned income questions were 

implemented to a subsample of these 98,000 addresses using a probability split panel 

design. Approximately 68,000 addresses were eligible to receive a set of income questions 

similar to those used in the 2013 CPS ASEC and the remaining 30,000 addresses were 

eligible to receive the redesigned income questions. The source of these 2013 estimates 

is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received the redesigned income questions, 

approximately 30,000 addresses. 2

 The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which 

received the income questions consistent with the 2013 CPS ASEC, approximately 68,000 

addresses.

3

 Implementation of Census 2010-based population controls. 4

 For 2004, figures are revised to reflect a correction to the weights in the 2005 ASEC. 5

 Implementation of Census 2000-based population controls and a 28,000 household 

sample expansion. 6

 For 1999, figures are based on Census 2000 population controls. 7

 For 1992, figures are based on 1990 census population controls. 8

 For 1991, figures are revised to correct for nine omitted weights from the original 

March 1992 CPS file.

9

 For 1988 and 1987, figures are based on new processing procedures and are also 

revised to reflect corrections to the files after publication of the 1988 advance report Money 

Income and Poverty Status in the United States: 1988, P-60, No. 166. 10 The 2003 CPS allowed respondents to choose more than one race. White alone 

refers to people who reported White and did not report any other race category. The use of 

this 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. 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 available from Census 2010 through American 

FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2010. 11 For 2001 and earlier years, the CPS allowed respondents to report only one race 

group. The reference race groups for 2001 and earlier poverty data are White, non-Hispanic 

White, Black, and Asian and Pacific Islander. 12 Black alone refers to people who reported Black and did not report any other race. 13 Asian alone refers to people who reported Asian and did not report any other race.

Note: Before 1979, people in unrelated subfamilies were included in people in families.

Beginning in 1979, people in unrelated subfamilies are included in all people but are 

excluded from people in families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2016 Annual Social 

and Economic Supplements.
56 Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 U.S. Census Bureau

Table B-3.

Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: 1959 to 2015

(Numbers in thousands. Families as of March of the following year. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, 

nonsampling error, and definitions, see www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/cps/techdocs/cpsmar16.pdf )

Race, Hispanic origin, 

and year

All families Married-couple families Male householder,

no wife present

Female householder,

no husband present

Total

Below poverty 

Total

Below poverty 

Total

Below poverty 

Total

Below poverty 

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

ALL RACES

2015............... 82,199 8,589 10.4 60,258 3,245 5.4 6,311 939 14.9 15,630 4,404 28.2

2014 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,730 9,467 11.6 60,015 3,735 6.2 6,162 969 15.7 15,553 4,764 30.6

20131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82,316 9,645 11.7 59,643 3,394 5.7 6,497 1,048 16.1 16,176 5,203 32.2

20132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81,217 9,130 11.2 59,692 3,476 5.8 6,330 1,008 15.9 15,195 4,646 30.6

2012 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,944 9,520 11.8 59,224 3,705 6.3 6,231 1,023 16.4 15,489 4,793 30.9

2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,529 9,497 11.8 58,963 3,652 6.2 5,888 950 16.1 15,678 4,894 31.2

20103 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79,559 9,400 11.8 58,667 3,681 6.3 5,649 892 15.8 15,243 4,827 31.7

2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78,867 8,792 11.1 58,428 3,409 5.8 5,582 942 16.9 14,857 4,441 29.9

2008 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78,874 8,147 10.3 59,137 3,261 5.5 5,255 723 13.8 14,482 4,163 28.7

2007 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,908 7,623 9.8 58,395 2,849 4.9 5,103 696 13.6 14,411 4,078 28.3

2006 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78,454 7,668 9.8 58,964 2,910 4.9 5,067 671 13.2 14,424 4,087 28.3

2005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77,418 7,657 9.9 58,189 2,944 5.1 5,134 669 13.0 14,095 4,044 28.7

20044 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76,866 7,835 10.2 57,983 3,216 5.5 4,901 657 13.4 13,981 3,962 28.3

2003 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76,232 7,607 10.0 57,725 3,115 5.4 4,717 636 13.5 13,791 3,856 28.0

2002 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75,616 7,229 9.6 57,327 3,052 5.3 4,663 564 12.1 13,626 3,613 26.5

2001 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74,340 6,813 9.2 56,755 2,760 4.9 4,440 583 13.1 13,146 3,470 26.4

20005 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,778 6,400 8.7 56,598 2,637 4.7 4,277 485 11.3 12,903 3,278 25.4

19996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73,206 6,792 9.3 56,290 2,748 4.9 4,099 485 11.8 12,818 3,559 27.8

1998 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71,551 7,186 10.0 54,778 2,879 5.3 3,977 476 12.0 12,796 3,831 29.9

1997 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,884 7,324 10.3 54,321 2,821 5.2 3,911 507 13.0 12,652 3,995 31.6

1996 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,241 7,708 11.0 53,604 3,010 5.6 3,847 531 13.8 12,790 4,167 32.6

1995 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,597 7,532 10.8 53,570 2,982 5.6 3,513 493 14.0 12,514 4,057 32.4

1994 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,313 8,053 11.6 53,865 3,272 6.1 3,228 549 17.0 12,220 4,232 34.6

1993 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,506 8,393 12.3 53,181 3,481 6.5 2,914 488 16.8 12,411 4,424 35.6

19927 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68,216 8,144 11.9 53,090 3,385 6.4 3,065 484 15.8 12,061 4,275 35.4

19918 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67,175 7,712 11.5 52,457 3,158 6.0 3,025 392 13.0 11,693 4,161 35.6

1990 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,322 7,098 10.7 52,147 2,981 5.7 2,907 349 12.0 11,268 3,768 33.4

1989 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66,090 6,784 10.3 52,317 2,931 5.6 2,884 348 12.1 10,890 3,504 32.2

19889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,837 6,874 10.4 52,100 2,897 5.6 2,847 336 11.8 10,890 3,642 33.4

19879 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65,204 7,005 10.7 51,675 3,011 5.8 2,833 340 12.0 10,696 3,654 34.2

1986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64,491 7,023 10.9 51,537 3,123 6.1 2,510 287 11.4 10,445 3,613 34.6

1985 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,558 7,223 11.4 50,933 3,438 6.7 2,414 311 12.9 10,211 3,474 34.0

1984 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,706 7,277 11.6 50,350 3,488 6.9 2,228 292 13.1 10,129 3,498 34.5

1983 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,015 7,647 12.3 50,081 3,815 7.6 2,038 268 13.2 9,896 3,564 36.0

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61,393 7,512 12.2 49,908 3,789 7.6 2,016 290 14.4 9,469 3,434 36.3

1981 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61,019 6,851 11.2 49,630 3,394 6.8 1,986 205 10.3 9,403 3,252 34.6

1980 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,309 6,217 10.3 49,294 3,032 6.2 1,933 213 11.0 9,082 2,972 32.7

1979 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59,550 5,461 9.2 49,112 2,640 5.4 1,733 176 10.2 8,705 2,645 30.4

1978 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,804 5,280 9.1 47,692 2,474 5.2 1,654 152 9.2 8,458 2,654 31.4

1977 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57,215 5,311 9.3 47,385 2,524 5.3 1,594 177 11.1 8,236 2,610 31.7

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,710 5,311 9.4 47,497 2,606 5.5 1,500 162 10.8 7,713 2,543 33.0

1975 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56,245 5,450 9.7 47,318 2,904 6.1 1,445 116 8.0 7,482 2,430 32.5

1974 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,698 4,922 8.8 47,069 2,474 5.3 1,399 125 8.9 7,230 2,324 32.1

1973 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,053 4,828 8.8 46,812 2,482 5.3 1,438 154 10.7 6,804 2,193 32.2

1972 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,373 5,075 9.3 46,314 N N 1,452 N N 6,607 2,158 32.7

1971 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,296 5,303 10.0 45,752 N N 1,353 N N 6,191 2,100 33.9

1970 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,227 5,260 10.1 44,739 N N 1,487 N N 6,001 1,952 32.5

1969 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51,586 5,008 9.7 44,436 N N 1,559 N N 5,591 1,827 32.7

1968 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50,511 5,047 10.0 43,842 N N 1,228 N N 5,441 1,755 32.3

1967 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,835 5,667 11.4 43,292 N N 1,210 N N 5,333 1,774 33.3

1966 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,921 5,784 11.8 42,553 N N 1,197 N N 5,171 1,721 33.1

1965 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,278 6,721 13.9 42,107 N N 1,179 N N 4,992 1,916 38.4

1964 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,836 7,160 15.0 41,648 N N 1,182 N N 5,006 1,822 36.4

1963 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47,436 7,554 15.9 41,311 N N 1,243 N N 4,882 1,972 40.4

1962 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,998 8,077 17.2 40,923 N N 1,334 N N 4,741 2,034 42.9

1961 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,341 8,391 18.1 40,405 N N 1,293 N N 4,643 1,954 42.1

1960 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,435 8,243 18.1 39,624 N N 1,202 N N 4,609 1,955 42.4

1959 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45,054 8,320 18.5 39,335 N N 1,226 N N 4,493 1,916 42.6

N Not available. 1

 The 2014 CPS ASEC included redesigned questions for income and health insurance 

coverage. All of the approximately 98,000 addresses were eligible to receive the redesigned 

set of health insurance coverage questions. The redesigned income questions were 

implemented to a subsample of these 98,000 addresses using a probability split panel 

design. Approximately 68,000 addresses were eligible to receive a set of income questions 

similar to those used in the 2013 CPS ASEC and the remaining 30,000 addresses were 

eligible to receive the redesigned income questions. The source of these 2013 estimates 

is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which received the redesigned income questions, 

approximately 30,000 addresses. 2

 The source of these 2013 estimates is the portion of the CPS ASEC sample which 

received the income questions consistent with the 2013 CPS ASEC, approximately 68,000 

addresses. 3

 Implementation of Census 2010-based population controls.

4

 For 2004, figures are revised to reflect a correction to the weights in the 2005 ASEC. 5

 Implementation of Census 2000-based population controls and a 28,000 household 

sample expansion. 6

 For 1999, figures are based on Census 2000 population controls. 7

 For 1992, figures are based on 1990 census population controls. 8

 For 1991, figures are revised to correct for nine omitted weights from the original 

March 1992 CPS file. 9

 For 1988 and 1987, figures are based on new processing procedures and are also 

revised to reflect corrections to the files after publication of the 1988 advance report Money 

Income and Poverty Status in the United States: 1988, P-60, No. 166.

Note: Before 1979, unrelated subfamilies were included in all families. Beginning in 

1979, unrelated subfamilies are excluded from all families.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2016 Annual Social 

and Economic Supplements.
U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 57

Beginning in the 2011 Current 

Population Survey Annual Social and 

Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC) 

report, the variance of CPS ASEC estimates used to calculate the standard 

errors and confidence intervals displayed in the text tables were calculated using the Successive Difference 

Replication (SDR) method documented 

by Fay and Train (1995). This method 

involves the computation of a set of 

replicate weights which account for 

the complex survey design of the 

CPS. The SDR method has been used 

to estimate variances in the American 

Community Survey since its inception. 

In previous years, the standard errors 

of CPS ASEC estimates were calculated 

using a Generalized Variance Function 

(GVF) approach. Under this approach, 

generalized variance parameters were 

used in formulas provided in the 

source and accuracy (S&A) statement 

to estimate standard errors. 

A study by Davern et al. (2006) found 

that the CPS ASEC GVF standard 

errors performed poorly against more 

precise Survey Design-Based (SDB) 

estimates. In most cases, Davern’s 

results indicated that the published 

GVF parameters significantly underestimated standard errors in the 

CPS ASEC. This and other critiques 

prompted the Census Bureau to 

transition from using the GVF method 

to the SDR method of estimating 

standard errors for the CPS ASEC. In 

2009, the Census Bureau released replicate weights for the 2005 through 

2009 CPS ASEC collection years and 

has released replicate weights for 

each year since with the release of 

the CPS ASEC public use data.

Following the 2009 release of CPS 

ASEC replicate weights, Boudreaux, 

Davern, and Graven (2011) compared 

replicate weight standard error estimates with SDB estimates. Replicate 

weight estimates performed markedly 

better against SDB standard errors 

than those calculated using the published GVF parameters. The Census 

Bureau will continue to provide the 

GVF parameters in the source and 

accuracy statement.

Since the published GVF parameters 

generally underestimated standard 

errors, standard errors produced 

using SDR may be higher than in 

previous reports. For most CPS ASEC 

estimates, the increase in standard 

errors from GVF to SDR will not alter 

the findings. However, marginally 

significant differences using the GVF 

may not be significant using replicate 

weights. 

References

Boudreaux, Michel, Michael Davern, 

and Peter Graven, “Alternative 

Variance Estimates in the Current 

Population Survey and the 

American Community Survey,” 

presented at the 2011 Annual 

Meeting of the Population 

Association of America. Available 

at <http://paa2011.princeton.edu

/papers/112247>.

Davern, Michael, Arthur Jones, James 

Lepkowski, Gestur Davidson, 

and Lynn A. Blewett, “Unstable 

Inferences? An Examination of 

Complex Survey Sample Design 

Adjustments Using the Current 

Population Survey for Health 

Services Research,” Inquiry, 

Vol. 43, No. 3, 2006, pp. 283–297. 

Fay, Robert E. and George F. Train, 

“Aspects of Survey and ModelBased Postcensal Estimation 

of Income and Poverty 

Characteristics for States and 

Counties,” Proceedings of 

the Section on Government 

Statistics, American Statistical 

Association, Alexandria, VA, 1995, 

pp. 154–159.

APPENDIX C. REPLICATE WEIGHTS

U.S. Census Bureau Income and Poverty in the United States: 2015 59

APPENDIX D. ADDITIONAL DATA AND CONTACTS

Detailed tables, historical tables, press 

releases, and briefings are available 

electronically on the Census Bureau’s 

income and poverty Web sites. The 

Web sites may be accessed through 

the Census Bureau’s home page at 

<www.census.gov> or directly at 

<www.census.gov/hhes

/www/income/> for income data 

and <www.census.gov/hhes/www

/poverty/> for poverty data.

For assistance with income and 

poverty data or questions about 

them, contact the U.S. Census Bureau 

Customer Service Center at 1-800-923-

8282 (toll free) or search your topic 

of interest using the Census Bureau’s 

“Question and Answer Center” found 

at <https://ask.census.gov/>.

Customized Tables 

The CPS Table Creator

<www.census.gov/cps/data

/cpstablecreator.html> 

Gives data users the ability to create 

customized tables from the Current 

Population Survey Annual Social and 

Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC). 

Table Creator can access data back to 

the 2003 CPS ASEC.

DataFerrett

<http://dataferrett.census.gov/>

Users can also generate customized 

tables using the DataFerrett tool. CPS 

ASEC files from 1992 to the present 

are available through DataFerrett.

Public Use Microdata

CPS ASEC

Microdata for the 2016 CPS ASEC 

and earlier years are available 

online at <http://thedataweb

.rm.census.gov/ftp/cps_ftp

.html#cpsmarch> or via DataFerrett 

at <http://dataferrett.census.gov/>. 

Technical methods have been applied 

to CPS microdata to avoid disclosing the identities of individuals from 

whom data were collected.

Taxes and Noncash Benefits

In the early 1980s, the Census Bureau 

embarked on a research program 

to examine the effects of taxes and 

noncash benefits on poverty and 

income distributional measures. Public 

use data containing these additional 

variables are typically released later 

in the year and are available online at 

<http://thedataweb.rm.census.gov

/ftp/cps_ftp.html#cpsmarch>.

Research Files

In addition, the Census Bureau produces special research files that enable 

researchers to replicate alternative 

poverty estimates. These files are typically released later in the year and are 

available online at <www.census.gov

/hhes/povmeas/data/index.html>.

Topcoding

In its long history of releasing public 

use microdata files based on the CPS 

ASEC, the Census Bureau has censored 

the release of “high income” amounts 

in order to meet the requirements of 

Title 13. This process is often called 

topcoding. During the period prior to 

the March 1996 survey, this censorship was applied by limiting the values 

for income amounts to be no greater 

than a specified maximum value (the 

topcode). Values above the maximum 

were replaced by the maximum value. 

Maximum values varied by income 

source and year. Beginning with the 

1996 survey, the censorship method 

was modified so that mean values 

were substituted for all amounts 

above the topcode (for historically consistent extracts from 1975 

to 1995, call the Income Statistics 

Branch, 301-763-3243). 

Differences in the methods used to 

censor high-income amounts over time 

made it difficult to generate consistent 

time series for important measures of 

income distribution such as the Gini 

Coefficient of Income Concentration 

(GINI), and decile shares. Moreover, 

using the mean value for all amounts 

above the topcode made it impossible to examine the distribution of 

income above the topcode. In an 

effort to alleviate these problems and 

improve the overall usefulness of the 

ASEC, the Census Bureau sponsored 

research on methods that both met 

Title 13 requirements and preserved 

the income distribution above the 

topcode. This research led to the 

implementation in the 2011 ASEC of 

rank proximity swapping methods that 

switch income amounts above the topcode for respondents that are of similar income rank. Swapped amounts 

are rounded following the swapping 

process to provide additional disclosure avoidance.

Extract files containing swapped 

income values for survey years 

1975 to 2010 are now available on 

the Census Bureau’s FTP site at 

<www.census.gov/housing

/extract_files/>.

Comments

The Census Bureau welcomes the 

comments and advice of data and 

report users. If you have suggestions 

or comments on this report, please 

write to: 

Trudi J. Renwick

Assistant Division Chief, 

 Economic Characteristics

Social, Economic, and Housing

 Statistics Division

U.S. Census Bureau

Washington, D.C. 20233-8500

E-mail: 

trudi.j.renwick@census.gov




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