Official U.S. poverty rate remains high, middle class incomes decline

Data released by the U.S. Census Bureau today show that, after increasing since 2008, the poverty rate for the U.S. remained stable at 15 percent between 2010 and 2011. 

Poverty is greatest among children (21.9 percent), compared with seniors (8.7 percent) and working-age adults (13.7 percent).

“The poverty rate is useful for comparing trends over time, but it doesn’t do a good job of setting a bar for how much money families need to get by,” said Jennifer Romich, director of the West Coast Poverty Center and an associate professor at the UW School of Social Work. “In spite of its imperfections, what the poverty measure does tell us is that over 46 million people are living with incomes below a very low threshold.”