Data Provider:NYS Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
Life
Area: Economic Security
Definition:
Children are considered to be living in poverty if their family income, before taxes, falls below the poverty thresholds set by the federal government for families of different sizes. The Federal and State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as well as the value of non-cash benefits such as public housing, food stamps, Medicaid, or school meals are not included when calculating family income. In addition, certain costs such as taxes and work-related expenses are not subtracted from family income in determining the number of children who are poor. The poverty thresholds are adjusted each year for changes in the cost of living. In 2007, the poverty threshold for a single parent and two children was $16,705; for a married couple with two children the poverty threshold was $21,027.
Significance:
The poverty rate measures the percentage of children living in families considered to have too little income to meet basic needs. Poverty in childhood is associated with a wide range of social, educational, health and future employment problems. Note that there is much controversy concerning where the poverty line should be drawn and what family income and resources should count in determining if a family is above or below that line. As a result, the number of children in poverty should not be considered a precise measure of how many children lack the income and resources required to meet basic needs. Instead, the poverty measure should be used to assess the relative differences between counties in the number of children near or below the minimum required to meet basic needs, as well as to examine trends over time within counties in the number of children living with minimal economic resources.
Findings:
In 2007 (the latest year available), the highest rates of child poverty occurred in three of the five boroughs of NYC: Bronx (38.1%), Kings (31.7%) and New York (27.8%). The lowest poverty rates were found in the highly suburban counties such as Putnam (4.8%), Suffolk (6.6%), Nassau (5.6%), Saratoga (7.2%) and Westchester (9.4%).
The child poverty rate in NYC was about twice as high as the rate in Rest of State. This appears to be due to the large difference in poverty rates between the highly urban counties of NYC, which have the highest county poverty rates, and the largely suburban counties of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester, which have the lowest poverty rates and together make up a substantial share of the Rest of State population.
Child poverty rates for the counties in Rest of State that have a large share of their population living in both urban and suburban areas fell in between the rates for the highly suburban Rest of State counties and the totally urban counties of NYC noted above. For example: Erie -- which includes the city of Buffalo -- had a poverty rate of 19.3 percent; Monroe -- which includes the city of Rochester -- had a poverty rate of 18.6 percent; and Onondaga -- which includes the city of Syracuse -- had a poverty rate of 18.8 percent.
Child poverty rates in rural counties varied greatly, ranging far above and below the rates for counties with a mix of urban and suburban populations.
Child poverty in New York State was about the same in 2007 as it was in 2000 (19.6% and 19.1% respectively). During the same period, child poverty in New York City decreased slightly from 28.1 percent in 2000 to 27.6 percent in 2007. However, in Rest of State, child poverty increased slightly from 12.6 percent in 2000 to 13.6 percent in 2007.
KWIC
Indicator(s) and Narrative For: