Growing Number of Americans Living in Poverty

It’s no secret that more Americans are struggling to stay in the middle class. However, the number of Americans living in poverty are quite staggering. The Census Bureau released a report that shows a record number of Americans are living in poverty- 46 million. This is the highest number reported since the Census Bureau began tracking poverty rates in 1959.

The Census Bureau also reported that the number of families living below the poverty line increased by 18%, from 7.3 million in 2006 to 8.6 million in 2010. In 2010, the poverty line for a family of four was a household income of $22,314 or less. 

There is also a trend of more poor people living in the suburbs.  The number of poor people living in the suburbs of metropolitan areas increased by 24%, from 14.4 million in 2006 to 17.8 million last year. As a comparison, the number of poor living in cities rose by 20%.

As the number of Americans living in poverty are growing, the faces of poverty are changing as well. Timothy Smeeding, director of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the  University of Wisconsin- Madison says “It’s all about joblessness. There’s just not enough work.” The Great Recession has left many Americans struggling to find employment. According to an article in the USA Today, it has not only made the poor poorer, but it has affected those who thought they had escaped poverty as well as those who never imagined being thrust into poverty. The college-educated, the former middle- class worker, the suburbanite, and the homeowner can now all be found among the poor. 

For stories about families that are trying to escape poverty, read the article Poverty Affects 46 Million Americans by Marisol Bello and watch the video below.