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Income, Poverty, & Health Insurance Coverage in the U.S.: 2008

The U.S. Census Bureau announced in September 2009 that real median household income in the United States fell 3.6 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $52,163 to $50,303. This breaks a string of three years of annual income increases and coincides with the recession that started in December 2007.

• Between 2007 and 2008, the real median income of non-Hispanic white households declined 2.6 percent (to $55,530); for blacks, it declined 2.8 percent (to $34,218); for Asians, it declined 4.4 percent (to $65,637); and for Hispanics, it declined 5.6 percent (to $37,913). Except for the difference between the declines for non-Hispanic white and Hispanic households, all other differences between the declines were not statistically significant.

• Between 2007 and 2008, real median household income declined in the South by 4.9 percent (to $45,590), declined in the Midwest by 4.0 percent (to $50,112) and declined in the West by 2.0 percent (to $55,085). Income in the Northeast was statistically unchanged ($54,346). The apparent differences in the declines in median household income between the South and Midwest, and the Midwest and West were not statistically significant. The apparent difference between the median household incomes for the West and Northeast was not statistically significant.

• Native- and foreign-born households, including those maintained by a naturalized citizen, had declines in real median income between 2007 and 2008. Income was statistically unchanged for households maintained by a noncitizen. The decline for native-born households was 3.5 percent; the decline for foreign-born households was 5.3 percent; and the decline for those maintained by a naturalized citizen was 4.8 percent. The apparent differences among the declines in median income for native-born, foreign-born and naturalized citizen households were not statistically significant.

• In 2008, the earnings of women who worked full time, year-round was 77 percent of that for corresponding men, down from 78 percent in 2007.  
• The real median earnings of men who worked full time, year-round declined by 1.0 percent between 2007 and 2008, from $46,846 to $46,367. For women, the corresponding drop was 1.9 percent, from $36,451 to $35,745.

• Income inequality was statistically unchanged between 2007 and 2008, as measured by shares of aggregate household income by quintiles and the Gini index. The Gini index was 0.466 in 2008. (The Gini index is a measure of household income inequality; 0 represents perfect income equality and 1 perfect inequality.)

• The increase in the poverty rate between 2007 and 2008 was the first statistically significant annual increase since 2004. The 2008 poverty rate (13.2 percent) was the highest since 1997.
• In 2008, the family poverty rate and the number of families in poverty were 10.3 percent and 8.1 million, respectively, up from 9.8 percent and 7.6 million in 2007.
• For married-couple families, both the poverty rate and the number in poverty increased — 5.5 percent (3.3 million) in 2008, up from 4.9 percent (2.8 million) in 2007. Both measures, however, showed no statistical change in 2008 for female-householder-with-no-husband-present families (28.7 percent and 4.2 million) and for male-householder-no wife-present families (13.8 percent and 723,000).

• As defined by the Office of Management and Budget and updated for inflation using the Consumer Price Index, the weighted average poverty threshold for a family of four in 2008 was $22,025; for a family of three, $17,163; for a family of two, $14,051; and for unrelated individuals, $10,991.

• In 2008, the poverty rate increased for non-Hispanic whites (8.6 percent in 2008, up from 8.2 percent in 2007), Asians (11.8 percent in 2008, up from 10.2 percent in 2007) and Hispanics (23.2 percent in 2008, up from 21.5 percent in 2007). The poverty rate in 2008 was statistically unchanged for blacks (24.7 percent).

• The poverty rate increased for children younger than 18 (19.0 percent in 2008, up from 18.0 percent in 2007) and people 18 to 64 (11.7 percent in 2008, up from 10.9 percent in 2007), while it remained statistically unchanged for people 65 and older (9.7 percent).
• Similar to the patterns observed for the poverty rate in 2008, the number of people in poverty increased for children younger than 18 (14.1 million in 2008, up from 13.3 million in 2007) and people 18 to 64 (22.1 million in 2008, up from 20.4 million in 2007) but remained statistically unchanged for seniors 65 and older (3.7 million).

• Among the native-born population, 12.6 percent (33.3 million) were in poverty in 2008, up from 11.9 percent (31.1 million) in 2007.
• Among the foreign-born population, the poverty rate and the number in poverty increased to 17.8 percent and 6.5 million in 2008, up from 16.5 percent and 6.2 million, respectively, in 2007. The poverty rate in 2008 for naturalized citizens, 10.2 percent, was statistically unchanged from 2007, while the poverty rate for those who were not U.S. citizens rose to 23.3 percent in 2008, up from 21.3 percent in 2007.

• The Midwest and West experienced increases in both their poverty rate and the number in poverty. The Midwest poverty rate increased to 12.4 percent (8.1 million) in 2008, up from 11.1 percent (7.2 million) in 2007, and the West poverty rate increased to 13.5 percent (9.6 million) in 2008, up from 12.0 percent (8.4 million) in 2007. The poverty rates for the Northeast (11.6 percent) and the South (14.3 percent) were both statistically unchanged.