Poverty

Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Serving Children, Families, and Communities

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Poverty

Q:	How has the proportion of juveniles living in poverty changed over the last two decades?
A:	The proportion of juveniles living below the poverty level has declined substantially from its peak in 1993, but it is well above that of older Americans.

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In 2007, 12% of all persons lived at or below their poverty thresholds. This proportion was far greater for persons under age 18 (18%) than for those ages 18-64 (11%) and those above age 64 (10%).
Between 1993 and 2007, the juvenile poverty rate declined by 5 percentage points, compared with a 2-percentage point decline for persons age 18 and older.
In the mid-1970s, the proportions of juveniles and senior citizens living in poverty were about the same. In the last quarter of the 20th century, the proportion of senior citizens in poverty declined, while the juvenile poverty rates increased before falling back at the end of the century to levels of the mid-1970s.

Internet citation: OJJDP Statistical Briefing Book. Online. Available: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.gov/ojstatbb/population/qa01401.asp?qaDate=2007. Released on September 12, 2008.

Data Source: U.S. Bureau of the Census. Current Population Survey - Historical Poverty Tables. Table 3: "Poverty Status of People, by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2007." [Internet release date: August 26, 2008]. Web-based data files available at: [http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/histpov/perindex.html].