Statistics on Poverty

Poverty: (PovertyAction.org)

• The Federal Poverty Level for a family of three is an annual income of $18,310.
• Over 13.2% of the US population or 39.8 million people live below the Federal Poverty Level.
• In Washington State 12.6% of the state population or 766,000 people live below the Federal Poverty Level.
• The number of people who live above the Federal Poverty Level but are struggling to meet their basic needs is nearly 90 million. In Washington State, that is 1 out of every 5 residents.
• Three out of four jobs in Washington state don't pay enough to support a family.
• Those earning under $20,000 a year are paying up to 17% of what they earn in state and local taxes.
• 30% of Native Americans and 31% of foreign born residents of Washington State live below the federal poverty line.

Children in Poverty:

• 15% of all children in Washington State (226,000) are living below the Federal Poverty Line—a $21,000 annual income for a family of four.
• With the unemployment rate surpassing 9 percent in Washington State, an additional 37,000 children are expected to enter poverty this year.
• Over half a million of Washington's children—one in three—are living in families that have difficulty making ends meet on a daily basis.
• A single parent with two children working full-time and earning just over minimum wage, $10.00 per hour, would earn just half of what is needed to cover the family's basic needs in Seattle.
• Nationally over 13 million children live in families with an income below the federal poverty line.
• Recent estimates suggest that an additional 3 million children in the U.S. will enter poverty by 2010.
• 28.5 million children in the U.S. are growing up in families living below 200% of the federal poverty line or a $42,000 annual income for a family of four.

Homelessness: (Human Services Policy)

• There are over 23,000 homeless people in Washington State on any given night.
• During the 2007-2008 school year, 18,670 K-12 Washington State public school children were homeless with their families.
• It is estimated that over 102,000 people will face homelessness in our state in 2009.
• In King County: (Family Promise of Seattle)
  • It is estimated that 40% of the homeless are families
  • 60% of the above total are children
  • 50% of the children are under the age of six
  • There are more than 24,000 homeless children in Washington
  • There were over 3,600 foreclosures and evictions last year

Health Coverage:

• There are 8 million children in the United States living without health care coverage.
• One out of three or 86.7 million Americans under 65 were without health insurance during some point in 2007 and 2008. Four out of every five of those individuals were without health insurance for more than six months.
• More than 1 million workers lost health care coverage in the first three months of 2009.
• In Washington State, over half a million people don't have access to healthcare

For more information, visit our Resources on Poverty page.

Sources: The West Coast Poverty Center at the University of Washington, the Human Services Poverty Center, Families USA, Center for American Progress, Family Promise of Seattle, PovertyAction.org, 2009 Federal Poverty Guidelines, US Census Bureau