Poverty Rate

The poverty rate fell in 1994 for the first time in four years, the Census Bureau reported yesterday, but median income remained stuck - a sign that gains from a surging economy are not getting through to all middle-class households. The Census Bureau also found that nearly one in seven Americans - 39.7 million people - lacked health insurance in 1994, about the same as the previous year. Single mothers and black families gained ground in 1994, but full-time workers and single people living alone fell behind economically.

Block grants to states - a portion of which will wend their way to cities - are an active item in the current policy debate and there are compelling reasons for the nation's political leadership to use these grants to design a new urban strategy. The GOP, in particular, has not been identified as a close friend of urban America. And cities, for their part, have rarely been shining examples of efficiency. But a new strategy is needed to address skewed national responsibilities.

The poverty level for a family of three is income of $13,290 a year. Does that mean that if you give a dollar to a single mother of two kids, who earns exactly that amount, she won't be poor anymore? Does it mean she'll automatically be able to pay her rent, keep her kids healthy and well fed, with a little left over for the higher heating costs expected this winter? You might think so listening to all the political self-congratulation from the U.S. Census Bureau at the news that the poverty rate is 11.9 percent - the lowest since 1979, with historic lows marked for African-American and Latinos.

Although businesses are hiring and consumers are buying, the benefits of a steadily growing economy have not been reaching America's poor, the Census Bureau reported yesterday. The bureau's annual income, poverty and health-insurance report showed that middle-class incomes had risen modestly in 1996. The median household income stood at $35,492, an increase of $410, or 1.2 percent, from 1995. (Half the households in the country earned more than $35,492; half earned less.) But the poverty rate barely budged, with 13.7 percent of Americans living below the poverty line.

The child-poverty rate declined in Philadelphia during most of the 1990s, but it climbed slightly in some suburban counties amid the economic expansion, according to a U.S. Census Bureau estimate being released today. From 1995 to 1997, the poverty rate rose in Montgomery, Delaware and Bucks Counties, and in New Jersey's Camden, Burlington and Gloucester Counties. During that period, the only suburban county to show improvement was Chester County, in which it fell slightly. The uptick - which took place after a decline in the first half of the decade - comes despite steadily falling poverty rates nationwide and in Pennsylvania, according to previous census reports.

Amid hopes of an economic revival sparked by the surge in condos and waterfront development, Philadelphia and Camden remain dogged by striking poverty levels, new census figures show. Among the nation's 10 largest cities, Philadelphia ranks first in the percentage of people living in poverty: 24.5 percent. Camden also ranks first among cities of its size, with 44 percent in poverty. "I think it's very unfortunate that we are leading the country in this kind of statistic," said Gloria Guard, executive director of the People's Emergency Center in Philadelphia.

Poverty rose significantly in Philadelphia and its surrounding counties over the last two years, while the city's median household income in 2011 ranked second-worst among the nation's 25 largest cities. The findings were released Thursday in the American Community Survey One-Year Estimate, an annual sampling of three million people conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report has a higher margin of error than the census, which is a separate undertaking. "These are very bleak and disconcerting statistics," said Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Analytics, the economic-consulting firm in West Chester.

MORE Philadelphians are living in poverty today than a decade ago, and the city's median household income has plummeted, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates being released today. This comes even as there are more city residents who have their high-school diploma or GED, and more who have a bachelor's degree. The rise in poverty and the drop in income are especially stark among the city's African-American residents. The new estimates tell "us that Philadelphia is a pretty harsh place to grow up," said Mariana Chilton, a professor at Drexel University's School of Public Health and a national expert on hunger.

With the poverty rate in Philadelphia nearing 27 percent, are you concerned for the city's future?

If you can put down all the other loaded questions and look strictly at the numbers, it is pretty safe to say this: If there's any city in America that should be mailing condoms out to 11-year-olds, Philadelphia would be a strong candidate. Statistics about the city and its youth show two things. First, Philadelphia fares poorly when you look at the risk factors for teen sexual activity - especially poverty and single-parent households. Second, perhaps as a result, the city is at or near the top of most measures for sex among teens and adolescents.