Population Reference Bureau Population Bulletin Vol. As more people sink deeper into poverty, the dollar gap between a family's income and the poverty threshold has grown. Between 1974 and 1994, the poverty gap grew by 16 percent for families, and by 25 percent for unrelated individuals. Children, people in female-headed families, and minorities are most likely to be living in extreme poverty. Ten percent of all children lived in families with incomes below 50 percent of the poverty line in 1994, four times the percentage of the elderly in extreme poverty.
Racial differences are the most striking.
Fifteen percent of African Americans and 12 percent of Hispanics had incomes below 50 percent of the poverty threshold in 1994, compared with 3 percent of non-Hispanic whites. This text may not be reproduced or reprinted in any form without the express written permission of the Population Reference Bureau. See our copyright policy .