U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

Areas With Concentrated

Poverty: 2006–2010

American Community Survey Briefs

Issued December 2011

ACSBR/10-17

By

Alemayehu Bishaw 

People living in poverty tend to be 

clustered in certain neighborhoods 

rather than being evenly distributed 

across geographic areas. Measuring this 

concentration of poverty is important 

because researchers have found that 

living in areas with many other poor 

people places burdens on low-income 

families beyond what the families’ own 

individual circumstances would dictate. 

Many argue that this concentration of 

poverty results in higher crime rates, 

underperforming public schools, poor 

housing and health conditions, as well 

as limited access to private services and 

job opportunities.1 In recognition of these 

burdens, some government programs 

target resources to communities with 

concentrated poverty. Many of these 

programs use the Census Bureau’s definition of “poverty areas” (census tracts with 

poverty rates of 20 percent or more).2

Using the 5-year poverty rate estimates 

from the American Community Survey 

(ACS), this report analyzes demographic 

and socioeconomic characteristics of 

census tracts by categorizing the tracts 

into four categories based on their 

1 See for example, The Enduring Challenge of 

Concentrated Poverty in America: Case Studies from 

Communities across the U.S.A., A joint Project of the 

Community Affairs Offices of the Federal Reserve 

System and the Metropolitan Policy Program at the 

Brookings Institution. (Federal Reserve Bank of 

Cleveland, 2008). 2 For example, the Developmental Disabilities 

Assistance and Bill of Rights Act in Section 103(a) 

allows Basic State Grant projects whose activities or 

products target poverty areas to receive as much as 

90 percent in federal support and the New Market 

Tax Credit (NMTC) program, enacted in December 

2000 as part of the Community Renewal Tax Relief 

Act, defines eligibility as projects in census tracts 

with a poverty rate of at least 20 percent. 

poverty rate levels.3 Category I includes 

census tracts with poverty rates less than 

13.8 percent.4 Category II includes those 

with poverty rates of 13.8 percent to 

19.9 percent. Category III includes those 

with poverty rates of 20.0 percent to 

39.9 percent, and Category IV includes 

those tracts with poverty rates of 40.0 

percent or more. Like previous census 

publications, in this report census tracts 

with poverty rates of 20 percent or 

more (tracts in category III and category 

IV) are referred to as “poverty areas.”

This report is an update of the special 

reports on areas with concentrated 

poverty, prepared to show the distributions and characteristics of the 

U.S. population by the levels of poverty 

of the census tracts in which they live. 

The previous two reports used data 

collected using the long forms of the 

1990 and 2000 decennial censuses. 

Table 1 shows the distribution of people 

in census tracts by poverty levels for 

the nation, regions, and states and the 

District of Columbia. Figure 1 displays the proportion of people living 

in poverty areas (tracts with poverty 

rates of 20 percent or higher) by state. 

3 The ACS collects and releases data by calendar 

year for geographic areas that meet specific population thresholds. One-year estimates are published 

for areas with populations of 65,000 or more, 3-year 

estimates for populations of 20,000 or more, and 

5-year estimates for populations of almost any size. 

ACS 1-, 3-, and 5-year estimates are period estimates, 

which mean they represent the characteristics of the 

population and housing over a specific data collection 

period. Data are combined to produce 12 months, 36 

months, or 60 months of data. 4 According to the 5-year ACS, the poverty rate for 

all people in the United States was 13.8 percent.
2 U.S. Census Bureau

Table 1. 

Distribution of People in Census Tracts by Poverty Levels and by State: 2006–2010

Area

All census tracts Category I

(Less than 13.8%)

Category II

(13.8–19.9%)

Category III

(20.0–39.9%)

Category IV

(40.0% or more)

Number

Margin of 

error (±) Percent

Margin of 

error (±) Percent

Margin of 

error (±) Percent

Margin of 

error (±) Percent

Margin of 

error (±)

 U.S. total. . . . . 296,141,149 14,444 61.4 0.1 16.0 0.1 19.1 0.1 3.5 0.1

 In poverty. . . . . 40,917,513 273,616 30.6 0.1 19.2 0.1 37.8 0.1 12.4 0.1

Regions

Northeast. . . . . . . . . . . 53,322,411 4,205 70.5 0.1 11.1 0.1 14.9 0.1 3.4 0.1

Midwest. . . . . . . . . . . . 64,729,840 4,996 66.2 0.1 14.8 0.1 15.4 0.1 3.7 0.1

South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,078,089 6,958 53.7 0.1 18.9 0.1 23.4 0.1 4.0 0.1

West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69,010,809 6,114 62.2 0.1 16.2 0.1 19.1 0.1 2.5 0.1

States

Alabama. . . . . . . . . . . 4,596,836 1,125 45.3 0.1 22.7 0.1 27.3 0.1 4.7 0.1

Alaska. . . . . . . . . . . . . 674,801 600 76.9 0.4 14.9 0.4 8.2 0.2 – –

Arizona. . . . . . . . . . . . 6,110,304 1,960 57.4 0.1 14.5 0.1 22.9 0.1 5.2 0.1

Arkansas. . . . . . . . . . . 2,790,794 1,253 39.4 0.1 24.2 0.2 32.0 0.2 4.4 0.1

California. . . . . . . . . . . 35,877,036 3,983 61.1 0.1 15.7 0.1 20.5 0.1 2.6 0.1

Colorado. . . . . . . . . . . 4,773,303 1,113 65.3 0.1 14.5 0.1 18.5 0.1 1.7 0.1

Connecticut. . . . . . . . . 3,434,901 939 78.9 0.1 9.6 0.1 8.8 0.1 2.7 0.1

Delaware. . . . . . . . . . . 856,004 460 73.2 0.3 17.4 0.3 7.9 0.2 1.6 0.1

District of Columbia. . . 551,331 292 47.8 0.4 17.5 0.4 26.5 0.4 8.2 0.3

Florida. . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,107,049 2,209 61.2 0.1 18.4 0.1 17.8 0.1 2.6 0.1

Georgia. . . . . . . . . . . . 9,204,793 1,852 52.3 0.1 18.2 0.1 26.0 0.1 3.5 0.1

Hawaii. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,298,918 675 79.2 0.3 10.0 0.2 9.8 0.2 1.0 0.1

Idaho. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,496,581 701 59.0 0.2 26.9 0.2 12.6 0.2 1.6 0.1

Illinois. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,439,981 1,554 67.4 0.1 13.7 0.1 15.5 0.1 3.4 0.1

Indiana. . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,219,801 1,705 63.5 0.1 16.3 0.1 17.3 0.1 2.9 0.1

Iowa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,916,252 1,019 71.8 0.1 15.0 0.1 11.9 0.1 1.3 0.1

Kansas. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,725,175 949 68.0 0.1 15.3 0.1 14.6 0.1 2.1 0.1

Kentucky. . . . . . . . . . . 4,157,077 1,299 42.9 0.1 20.4 0.1 32.2 0.2 4.4 0.1

Louisiana. . . . . . . . . . . 4,302,475 1,008 45.4 0.2 19.0 0.1 28.9 0.1 6.6 0.1

Maine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,291,988 555 65.0 0.2 20.1 0.1 13.9 0.2 1.0 0.1

Maryland. . . . . . . . . . . 5,557,115 1,492 82.3 0.1 8.7 0.1 8.0 0.1 1.0 0.1

Massachusetts. . . . . . . 6,253,462 1,278 75.1 0.1 9.2 0.1 13.6 0.1 2.1 0.1

Michigan. . . . . . . . . . . 9,726,785 1,521 61.3 0.1 14.7 0.1 18.3 0.1 5.7 0.1

Minnesota. . . . . . . . . . 5,119,104 873 77.2 0.1 11.0 0.1 9.2 0.1 2.7 0.1

Mississippi. . . . . . . . . . 2,845,365 962 29.1 0.2 25.2 0.2 36.6 0.2 9.1 0.1

Missouri. . . . . . . . . . . . 5,744,590 1,391 58.6 0.1 19.8 0.1 18.7 0.1 2.9 0.1

Montana. . . . . . . . . . . . 949,414 594 54.7 0.2 24.6 0.3 19.6 0.2 1.1 0.1

Nebraska. . . . . . . . . . . 1,744,704 764 70.1 0.2 16.0 0.1 12.4 0.1 1.6 0.1

Nevada. . . . . . . . . . . . 2,594,953 923 69.1 0.2 14.1 0.2 15.2 0.2 1.6 0.1

New Hampshire. . . . . . 1,273,957 577 86.4 0.2 8.6 0.1 4.5 0.1 0.5 0.1

New Jersey. . . . . . . . . 8,544,303 1,395 80.0 0.1 7.9 0.1 10.4 0.1 1.7 0.1

New Mexico. . . . . . . . . 1,970,838 842 39.8 0.2 22.3 0.2 33.6 0.2 4.3 0.1

New York. . . . . . . . . . . 18,710,113 2,408 62.2 0.1 13.1 0.1 19.9 0.1 4.8 0.1

North Carolina. . . . . . . 9,013,443 1,647 51.0 0.1 22.3 0.1 23.4 0.1 3.3 0.1

North Dakota. . . . . . . . 636,048 356 72.1 0.2 13.9 0.2 12.0 0.2 2.0 0.1

Ohio. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,199,642 1,889 63.1 0.1 14.5 0.1 17.4 0.1 5.0 0.1

Oklahoma. . . . . . . . . . 3,559,437 1,143 46.2 0.2 23.7 0.1 27.3 0.2 2.7 0.1

Oregon. . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,688,745 1,131 56.0 0.2 24.2 0.1 18.4 0.1 1.4 0.1

Pennsylvania. . . . . . . . 12,199,544 1,948 70.6 0.1 11.3 0.1 14.0 0.1 4.1 0.1

Rhode Island. . . . . . . . 1,014,029 440 72.5 0.2 5.8 0.2 19.3 0.2 2.4 0.1

South Carolina. . . . . . . 4,369,147 1,000 47.4 0.2 21.2 0.2 27.7 0.2 3.6 0.1

South Dakota. . . . . . . . 771,100 483 64.0 0.2 18.7 0.2 11.9 0.3 5.5 0.1

Tennessee. . . . . . . . . . 6,075,066 1,579 47.7 0.1 21.9 0.1 26.1 0.1 4.3 0.1

Texas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23,707,679 2,678 50.2 0.1 17.2 0.1 26.6 0.1 6.0 0.1

Utah. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,613,440 707 76.5 0.1 11.1 0.1 10.1 0.1 2.3 0.1

Vermont. . . . . . . . . . . . 600,114 338 74.6 0.2 15.9 0.2 8.5 0.2 1.1 0.1

Virginia. . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,595,386 1,493 74.4 0.1 13.7 0.1 10.3 0.1 1.7 0.1

Washington. . . . . . . . . 6,430,231 1,573 67.6 0.1 16.0 0.1 14.9 0.1 1.6 0.1

West Virginia. . . . . . . . 1,789,092 785 37.0 0.2 32.0 0.2 28.6 0.2 2.4 0.1

Wisconsin. . . . . . . . . . 5,486,658 1,381 73.7 0.1 13.3 0.1 9.7 0.1 3.3 0.1

Wyoming. . . . . . . . . . . 532,245 409 79.2 0.4 13.5 0.3 7.2 0.2 0.1 0.1

– Represents or rounds to zero. 

Note: Details may not sum to totals due to rounding.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006–2010 American Community Survey.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

Geographic Distribution

About 77.4 percent (229.2 million) 

of the 296.1 million people in the 

United States resided in census 

tracts with poverty rates less than 

20.0 percent, while 22.6 percent 

(67 million) lived in poverty areas 

(tracts with poverty rates of 20.0 

percent or more).5, 6 On the other 

5 The estimates in this report (which 

may be shown in text, tables, and figures) 

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. 6 According to the 2010 Census, the total 

U.S. population count was 308.7 million. The 

2006–2010 American Community Survey 

5-year data estimated the total U.S. population at 304.0 million people, of which 296.1 

million were included in the poverty universe.

hand, approximately half of the 

people in poverty (50.2 percent) 

lived in poverty areas. Table 1 

summarizes the percent of the total 

population living in each category 

by state.7

Regionally, the Northeast had the 

largest proportion (70.5 percent) of 

people residing in category I tracts, 

followed by the Midwest (66.2 

7 Of the 72,254 total number of census 

tracts, 42,383 are in category I, 11,574 are in 

category II, 14,823 in category III, and 3,474 

in category IV.

percent).8 In the West and South, 

62.2 percent and 53.7 percent of 

the population resided in such low 

poverty tracts, respectively. 

On the other hand, the South had 

a larger proportion of people (27.4 

percent) living in poverty areas 

than any other region, followed 

by the West (21.6 percent). 

8 The Northeast region includes the 

states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, 

New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, 

Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Vermont. 

The Midwest region includes the states of 

Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, 

Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, 

Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. The 

South region includes the states of Alabama, 

Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, 

Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, 

North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia, and 

the District of Columbia, a state equivalent. 

The West region includes the states of Alaska, 

Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, 

Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, 

Washington, and Wyoming.

Figure 1.

Percentage of the People Living in Poverty Areas

by State: 2006–2010

Percentage of people living

in poverty areas

Less than 10.0

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006–2010 American Community Survey.

MT

AK

NM

OR MN

KS

SD

ND

MO

WA

FL

IL IN

WI NY

PA

MI

OH

IA

ME

MA

CT 

AZ

NV

TX

CA CO

WY

UT

ID

NE

OK

GA

AR

AL

NC

MS

LA

TN

KY

VA

SC

WV

RI 

DE 

MD

NJ 

HI

VT NH

DC

10.0 to 19.9

20.0 to 29.9

30.0 or more
4 U.S. Census Bureau

The Midwest and Northeast had 

19.0 percent and 18.4 percent 

of the population residing in 

poverty areas, respectively.

At the state level, the distribution 

of people residing in tracts by category varies widely. The proportion of people living in tracts with 

low poverty (category I) ranged 

from approximately 86.4 percent 

in New Hampshire to 29.1 percent 

in Mississippi. In 10 states (Alaska, 

Connecticut, Hawaii, Maryland, 

Massachusetts, Minnesota, New 

Hampshire, New Jersey, Utah, and 

Wyoming), more than three-fourths 

of the population resided in census 

tracts with poverty rates less than 

13.8 percent. In ten other states, 

(Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, 

Louisiana, Mississippi, New 

Mexico, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 

Tennessee, and West Virginia) and 

the District of Columbia, less than 

half the population resided in tracts 

with low poverty rates (category I).

The proportion of people residing in poverty areas (category 

III and category IV) ranged from 

45.7 percent in Mississippi to 

5.0 percent in New Hampshire. 

Although Mississippi had the largest proportion of people residing 

in poverty areas (45.7 percent), in 

14 other states and the District of 

Columbia, more than one-fourth 

of the population resided in tracts 

with poverty rates of 20 percent or 

more.9 Among the states with the 

lowest percent of people residing in poverty areas, six states 

(Alaska, Delaware, Maryland, New 

Hampshire, Vermont, and Wyoming) 

9 Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, District 

of Columbia, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 

Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, 

Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, 

and West Virginia had more than 25 percent 

of their population reside in tracts in categories III and IV.

had less than 10 percent of the 

population living in such areas.

Table 2 shows the distribution of 

people, families, and households 

in census tracts by poverty level 

and selected demographic and 

socioeconomic characteristics. 

Figure 2 shows the distribution 

of people by poverty level, race, 

and ethnic origin. Since it is not 

feasible to produce a readable tract 

level U.S. map in this report, like 

in previous reports, the District of 

Columbia is used as an example 

to demonstrate the distribution of 

economically diversified population 

within city boundaries (Figure 3). 

Age Composition

According to the ACS 5-year 

estimate, children under age 18 

made up 24.6 percent of the 

total population, while adults 18 

to 64 years old made up 62.8 

percent and people 65 years and 

older made up 12.6 percent. 

Table 2 shows that age group 

distributions among the different 

categories vary considerably. 

The proportion of children in 

category IV tracts was higher 

(28.9 percent), compared with 

the proportions in categories III 

and II (26.4 percent and 24.1 

percent), respectively. Children 

made up less than one-fourth (23.9 

percent) of the total population 

in category I and category II. 

Conversely, the proportion of 

people 65 years and older was 

larger in tracts with lower poverty 

rates as compared with tracts with 

higher poverty rates. The proportion of older people in category I 

(13.3 percent) was higher than the 

proportion in other categories. 

People in Poverty

Nationally, 13.8 percent of the 

U.S. population was in poverty, 

according to the estimate from 

the 5-year ACS data. The proportion of people living in poverty 

varied across categories. Nearly 

half (49.0 percent) of the 10.3 

million people residing in category 

IV tracts lived in poverty, while a 

little more than a quarter (27.3 

percent) of the 56.6 million in 

category III were in poverty. The 

proportions of people in poverty in 

categories I and II were 6.9 percent 

and 16.7 percent, respectively.

Race and Ethnic Origin

As shown in Table 2, the racial 

composition of the U.S. population was 74.2 percent White, 

12.3 percent Black, 0.8 percent 

American Indian and Alaska Native, 

4.7 percent Asian, 0.2 percent 

of Native Hawaiian and Pacific 

Islander, and 5.5 percent of Some 

Other Race. Approximately 2.4 

percent of people reported Two or 

More Races. Hispanics, who can 

be of any race, comprised 15.8 

percent of the total population.10

10 Federal surveys now 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 singlerace 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). 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. 
U.S. Census Bureau 5

Table 2.

Distribution of People, Families, and Households by Poverty Level of Census Tracts and 

Other Selected Characterisitics:1 2006–2010

Characteristics

Category I 

(Less than 13.8%)

Category II 

(13.8–19.9%)

Category III

(20.0–39.9%)

Category IV

(40.0% or more) Total

Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±) Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±) Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±) Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±) Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±)

PEOPLE

 United States. . . . . . . . . 61.4 0.1 16.0 0.1 19.1 0.1 3.5 0.1 296,141,149 14,444

Region

 Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,881,914 56,537 47,305,181 43,430 56,644,210 54,200 10,309,844 24,495 296,141,149 14,444

Northeast. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.7 0.1 12.5 0.1 14.1 0.1 17.7 0.1 18.0 0.1

Midwest. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.6 0.1 20.2 0.1 17.6 0.1 23.1 0.1 21.9 0.1

South. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.2 0.1 43.6 0.1 45.1 0.1 42.5 0.1 36.8 0.1

West. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.6 0.1 23.6 0.1 23.3 0.1 16.7 0.1 23.3 0.1

Age

 Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,881,914 56,537 47,305,181 43,430 56,644,210 54,200 10,309,844 24,495 296,141,149 14,444

Under 18 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.9 0.1 24.1 0.1 26.4 0.1 28.9 0.1 24.6 0.1

18 to 64 years. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.8 0.1 63.0 0.1 62.5 0.1 62.6 0.1 62.8 0.1

65 years and over. . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.3 0.1 12.9 0.1 11.1 0.1 8.5 0.1 12.6 0.1

Educational Attainment

 Population 25 years 

 and older. . . . . . . . . . . 124,298,726 36,788 31,313,635 28,442 35,092,898 36,690 5,472,401 15,141 196,177,660 18,393

Less than high school, no 

diploma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.6 0.1 18.2 0.1 25.9 0.1 34.0 0.2 14.6 0.1

High school, diploma. . . . . . . . . . . 26.8 0.1 32.6 0.1 32.4 0.1 31.1 0.2 28.8 0.1

Some college/associate’s 

degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.1 0.1 21.1 0.1 19.4 0.1 17.3 0.1 20.7 0.1

Bachelor’s degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 0.1 7.3 0.1 6.2 0.1 4.8 0.1 7.6 0.1

Master’s degree or higher. . . . . . . 34.2 0.1 20.8 0.1 16.2 0.1 12.8 0.1 28.3 0.1

Race and Hispanic Origin

 Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181,881,914 56,537 47,305,181 43,430 56,644,210 54,200 10,309,844 24,495 296,141,149 14,444

White alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.0 0.1 73.2 0.1 58.8 0.1 43.0 0.2 74.2 0.1

White, not Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . 74.4 0.1 62.1 0.1 43.3 0.1 26.3 0.1 64.8 0.1

Black alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 0.1 13.0 0.1 23.3 0.1 38.1 0.1 12.3 0.1

American Indian and Alaska 

Native alone (AIAN). . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 0.1 0.9 0.1 1.5 0.1 2.1 0.1 0.8 0.1

Asian alone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 0.1 3.6 0.1 3.4 0.1 3.2 0.1 4.7 0.1

Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific 

Islander alone (NHPI). . . . . . . . . 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.2 0.1

Some Other Race alone. . . . . . . . 3.4 0.1 6.6 0.1 10.2 0.1 11.1 0.1 5.5 0.1

Two or More Races. . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 0.1 2.5 0.1 2.6 0.1 2.4 0.1 2.4 0.1

Hispanic (any race). . . . . . . . . . . . 10.7 0.1 18.7 0.1 27.2 0.1 29.5 0.1 15.8 0.1

Poverty

 Poverty universe1. . . . . 181,881,914 56,537 47,305,181 43,430 56,644,210 54,200 10,309,844 24,495 296,141,149 14,444

Not in poverty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93.1 0.1 83.4 0.1 72.7 0.1 51.0 0.1 86.2 0.1

In poverty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 0.1 16.7 0.1 27.3 0.1 49.0 0.1 13.8 0.1

Work Experience

 Population 16 years 

 and older. . . . . . . . . . . 98,212,314 40,196 24,227,261 38,201 27,090,654 53,323 4,327,616 17,693 153,857,845 102,651

Worked full-time, year-round. . . . . 65.0 0.1 61.8 0.1 58.0 0.1 46.7 0.2 62.8 0.1

Worked less than full-time, yearround. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.7 0.1 34.8 0.1 37.1 0.1 45.9 0.2 34.2 0.1

Did not work. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 0.1 3.4 0.1 4.8 0.1 7.4 0.1 3.1 0.1

See footnote at end of table. 
6 U.S. Census Bureau

Whites and Asians were more likely 

to live in tracts with lower poverty 

rates than in tracts with higher 

poverty rates. In contrast, Blacks, 

American Indians and Alaska 

Natives, and those reporting “Other 

Races” were over-represented 

in tracts with higher poverty 

rates and under-represented in 

tracts with lower poverty rates. 

Of the 181.9 million people living 

in category I tracts, 81.0 percent 

were White, 7.2 percent were Black, 

5.5 percent Asian, 3.4 percent were 

of Some Other Race, and 2.3 percent Two or More Races. Hispanics, 

who can be of any race, made up 

10.7 percent of category I population. Of the 10.3 million people 

residing in category IV tracts, 43.0 

percent were White, 38.1 percent 

Black, 3.2 percent Asian, 11.1 

percent were Some Other Race, 

and 2.4 percent reported Two or 

More Races. Figure 2 shows the 

distribution of people by specific 

race, ethnic origin, and categories. 

Among the races, Asians have the 

largest proportion (71.4 percent) 

of people residing in category I 

tracts, followed by Whites (67.1 

percent). Blacks have the smallest proportion of people (36.0 

percent) living in this category. 

The proportion of Blacks, American 

Indians and Alaska Natives, and 

people reporting Some Other Race 

Table 2.

Distribution of People, Families, and Households by Poverty Level of Census Tracts and 

Other Selected Characterisitics:1 2006–2010

Characteristics

Category I 

(Less than 13.8%)

Category II 

(13.8–19.9%)

Category III

(20.0–39.9%)

Category IV

(40.0% or more) Total

Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±) Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±) Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±) Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±) Estimates

Margin 

of error 

(±)

FAMILIES

Family Type

 Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,931,859 124,722 11,969,590 44,835 13,271,205 58,416 2,081,664 11,447 76,254,318 230,785

Married-couple. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.4 0.2 70.7 0.2 59.9 0.2 43.2 0.3 74.3 0.2

Male householder, no spouse 

present. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.7 0.1 8.0 0.1 9.6 0.1 10.6 0.2 6.8 0.1

Female householder, no spouse 

present. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.9 0.1 21.4 0.1 30.5 0.1 46.2 0.2 18.9 0.1

Family Income

 Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,931,859 124,722 11,969,590 44,835 13,271,205 58,416 2,081,664 11,447 76,254,318 230,785

No income. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.4 0.1 0.9 0.1 1.6 0.1 3.1 0.1 0.8 0.1

Under $10,000. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.8 0.1 4.6 0.1 8.1 0.1 16.9 0.2 3.7 0.1

$10,000 to $29,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 10.5 0.1 20.8 0.1 28.8 0.2 38.9 0.3 16.1 0.1

$30,000 to $49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 16.1 0.1 22.5 0.1 23.0 0.1 19.1 0.2 18.4 0.1

$50,000 to $99,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 37.0 0.1 35.1 0.1 28.2 0.1 16.9 0.2 34.6 0.1

$100,000 or higher. . . . . . . . . . . . 34.3 0.1 16.0 0.1 10.3 0.1 5.0 0.1 26.5 0.1

Number of Children in Family

 Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,931,859 124,722 11,969,590 44,835 13,271,205 58,416 2,081,664 11,447 76,254,318 230,785

No children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.2 0.1 54.9 0.1 51.0 0.1 44.7 0.2 54.1 0.1

1 or 2 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.6 0.2 36.0 0.2 37.4 0.2 38.7 0.3 36.7 0.2

3 or 4 children. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.7 0.1 8.4 0.1 10.5 0.1 14.2 0.2 8.5 0.1

5 or more children. . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.5 0.1 0.7 0.1 1.1 0.1 2.4 0.1 0.7 0.1

HOUSEHOLDS

Tenure

 Total. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,481,047 120,635 18,591,314 50,080 21,397,812 68,835 3,765,823 15,920 114,235,996 248,114

Owned. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74.8 0.2 62.1 0.2 49.7 0.2 31.1 0.2 66.6 0.2

Rented. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.2 0.2 37.9 0.2 50.3 0.2 68.9 0.2 33.4 0.2

Food Stamps

 Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70,481,047 120,635 18,591,314 50,080 21,397,812 68,835 3,765,823 15,920 114,235,996 248,114

Receiving food stamp/SNAP. . . . . 4.7 0.1 11.3 0.1 18.7 0.1 30.7 0.2 9.3 0.1

Not receiving food stamp/SNAP. . 95.3 0.1 88.7 0.1 81.3 0.1 69.3 0.2 90.7 0.1

1

 Poverty status is determined for individuals in housing units and noninstitutional group quarters. The poverty universe excludes children under age 15 who are 

not related to the householder, people living in institutional group quarters, and people living in college dormitories or military barracks. 

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006–2010 American Community Survey. 

—Con.
U.S. Census Bureau 7

living in poverty areas were 47.1 

percent, 44.8 percent, and 42.7 

percent, respectively. These racial 

groups had higher proportions 

of individuals living in poverty 

areas than other groups. Asians 

(16.3 percent) and Whites (17.2 

percent) had smaller proportions 

of people residing in these areas. 

Educational Attainment

Nationally, of the 196.2 million people aged 25 years or older, approximately 35.9 percent had at least 

completed a college education, 

while 20.7 percent had some college education or an associate’s 

degree, 28.8 percent completed 

high school, and 14.6 percent had 

less than a high school education. 

The composition of educational 

attainment varies across categories. 

As Table 2 shows, the proportion 

of people with at least a college 

degree ranged from 42.4 percent 

in category I tracts to 17.6 percent 

in category IV tracts. The proportion with less than a high school 

diploma varied from 9.6 percent 

in category I tracts to more than 

one-third (34.0 percent) of people 

in category IV tracts. Of the 35 

million people residing in category 

III tracts, one in four (25.9 percent) 

did not complete high school, 

compared with one in three (34.0 

percent) among the 5.5 million individuals living in category IV tracts. 

Work Experience

Nationally, of the civilian population aged 16 years and older, 

62.8 percent worked full-time, 

year-round in the past year, 34.2 

Figure 2. 

Distribution of People by Race and Ethnicity and by Poverty Level of Tracts: 2010

(Data based on sample. For information on confidentiality protection, sampling error, nonsampling error, and

definitions, see www.census.gov/acs/www/)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2006–2010. 

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Category-I Category-II Category-III Category-IV

Hispanic All people

(of any race)

Two or

More Races

Some

Other

Race alone

Native Hawaiian 

and Other 

Pacific 

Islander alone

Asian

alone

American

Indian and

Alaska Native

alone

Black

alone

White

alone

12.3

67.1

71.4

36.6

36.0

59.3

38.1

60.3

61.4

41.7

15.8

15.2

2.0

16.9 18.7

36.3 35.7

10.8 9.1

14.0

2.3 2.7

7.1

19.2

20.2

16.8

35.6

3.4

16.6

20.7

6.5

16.0

18.9

32.9

19.1

3.5

Percent
8 U.S. Census Bureau

percent worked part-time, and 3.1 

percent did not work at all. Table 

2 shows that larger proportion of 

people in category I (65.0 percent) 

had worked full-time, year-round 

as compared with the proportions 

in other categories. The proportions in category II, category III, 

and category IV were 61.8 percent, 

58.0 percent, and 46.7 percent, 

respectively. Category IV had a 

higher proportion of people who 

did not work at all (7.4 percent) 

compared with other categories.

Types of Family

Approximately 74.3 percent of 76.3 

million U.S. families were marriedcouple families. The proportions 

of families with male householder, 

no spouse present and female 

householder, no spouse present 

were 6.8 percent and 18.9 percent, 

respectively. More than one-half 

of the families in categories I, 

II, and III were married-couple 

families while only 43.2 percent 

of families in category IV tracts 

were married couples. Female 

householder families represented 

about 14 percent of families in 

category I tracts, but 46.2 percent 

of families in category IV tracts.

Number of Children in Family

Among family households in the 

United States, more than one-half 

(54.1 percent) did not have children 

living with them. More than onethird (36.7 percent) of families had 

1 or 2 children, and 9.2 percent 

had 3 or more children living in 

the family. In categories with low 

levels of poverty, the proportion of families with no children 

was higher than in the categories 

with high levels of poverty. The 

proportion of families with no 

children was 55.2 percent in category I, 54.9 percent in category 

II, 51.0 percent in category III, 

and 44.7 percent in category IV. 

In categories with high levels of 

poverty the proportion of families 

with 3 or more children was greater 

than in categories with lower 

poverty levels. The proportion of 

families with 3 or more children 

was higher in category IV (16.6 

percent) than in category III (11.6 

percent), category II (9.1 percent), 

and category I (8.2 percent).

Figure 3. 

Percentage of People in Poverty in the Past 12 

Months for the District of Columbia by Census

Tract: 2006–2010

Percentage of 

people living below

poverty level

40.0 or more

20.0 to 39.9

13.9 to 19.9

Less than 13.8

No data

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2006–2010 American Community Survey. For information

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

<www.census.gov/acs/www>. 

Maryland

Virginia
U.S. Census Bureau 9

Family Income

Approximately 4.5 percent of all 

U.S. families had an annual family 

income of less than $10,000, 34.5 

percent had between $10,000 

to less than $50,000, and 61.1 

percent had $50,000 or more annually. The data in Table 2 reveals 

considerable differences among 

the categories in the distribution 

of people by family income. In 

category I, about 70 percent of the 

people had annual family income 

of $50,000 or more. The proportion of people with income above 

$50,000 was 51.1 percent, 38.5 

percent, and 21.9 percent in categories II, III, and IV, respectively. 

Compared with other categories, 

significantly higher proportion 

of families in category IV (20.0 

percent) had annual family income 

below $10,000. The proportion 

of families with income less than 

$10,000 for families in categories I, 

II, and III were 2.2 percent, 5.5 percent, and 9.7 percent, respectively.

Tenure

According to the 5-year ACS data, 

66.6 percent of the estimated 

114.2 million occupied housing 

units in the United States were 

owned by residents, while 33.4 

percent were rented. Among the 

different tract categories, the 

proportion of homeowners ranged 

from 74.8 percent in category I to 

31.1 percent in category IV. Owners 

comprised about 62.1 percent and 

49.7 percent of the total occupied housing units in category II 

and category III, respectively.

Food Stamp/Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program 

Benefits (SNAP)

Of the total 114.2 million occupied U.S. households, 9.3 percent 

received food stamp/Supplemental 

Nutrition Assistance Program 

(SNAP) benefits. This proportion 

varies considerably by categories. Tracts in category IV had the 

largest proportion (30.7 percent) 

of people who received food 

stamp/SNAP benefits compared 

with category I (4.7 percent), 

category II (11.3 percent), and 

category III (18.7 percent). 

Source and Accuracy

Data presented in this report are 

based on people and households 

that responded to the ACS between 

2006 and 2010. The resulting 

estimates are representative of the 

entire population. All comparisons 

presented in this report have taken 

sampling error into account and are 

significant at the 90 percent confidence level unless otherwise noted. 

Due to rounding, some details may 

not sum to totals. For information 

on sampling and estimation methods, confidentiality protection, and 

sampling and nonsampling errors, 

please see the 2010 ACS Accuracy 

of the Data document located at 

<www.census.gov/acs

/www/Downloads/data

_documentation/Accuracy

/MultiyearACSAccuracyofData2010

.pdf>.

How Poverty Is Measured

Poverty status is determined by comparing annual income to a set of dollar values called poverty thresholds that 

vary by family size, number of children, and age of householder. If a family’s before tax money income is less 

than the dollar value of their threshold, then that family and every individual in it are considered to be in poverty. For people not living in families, poverty status is determined by comparing the individual’s income to his 

or her poverty threshold.

The poverty thresholds are updated annually to allow for changes in the cost of living using the Consumer Price 

Index (CPI-U). They do not vary geographically. 

The ACS is a continuous survey and people respond throughout the year. Since income is reported for the previous 12 months, the appropriate poverty threshold for each family is determined by multiplying the base-year 

poverty threshold (1982) by the average of monthly CPI values for the 12 months preceding the survey month.

For more information, see “How Poverty Is Calculated in the ACS” at <www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty

/methods/definitions.html>.
10 U.S. Census Bureau

Notes

The Census Bureau also publishes 

poverty estimates based on the 

Current Population Survey’s Annual 

Social and Economic Supplement 

(CPS ASEC). Following the standard specified by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) in 

Statistical Policy Directive 14, data 

from the CPS ASEC are used to 

estimate the official national poverty rate, which can be found in the 

report Income, Poverty, and Health 

Insurance Coverage in the United 

States: 2010, available at 

<www.census.gov/prod/2011pubs

/p60-239.pdf>.

For information on poverty estimates from the ACS and how they 

differ from those based on the CPS 

ASEC, see “Differences Between 

the Income and Poverty Estimates 

From the American Community 

Survey and the Annual Social 

and Economic Supplement to the 

Current Population Survey” at 

<www.census.gov/hhes/www

/poverty/about/datasources

/index.html>. 

What Is the American Community Survey?

The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey designed to provide communities with reliable 

and timely demographic, social, economic, and housing data for the nation, states, congressional districts, 

counties, places, and other localities every year. It has an annual sample size of about 3 million addresses across 

the United States and Puerto Rico and includes both housing units and group quarters (e.g., nursing facilities 

and prisons). The ACS is conducted in every county throughout the nation, and every municipio in Puerto Rico, 

where it is called the Puerto Rico Community Survey. Beginning in 2006, ACS data for 2005 were released for 

geographic areas with populations of 65,000 and greater. For information on the ACS sample design and other 

topics, visit <www.census.gov/acs/www/>.