13.4% of Texas residents live in poverty, Census Bureau finds

Texans living in poverty are the 13th-highest in the U.S. among all 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to new Census Bureau data.

Texas residents living below the poverty line in 2017-18 accounted for 13.4 percent of the state’s population, the Census Bureau reports.

The state’s poverty rate was down 0.8 percentage points from the two-year average of 2015-16 (14.3 percent), the Census Bureau reported.  The national poverty rate also went down for the fourth year in a row according to 2018 data.

According to Welfareinfo.org, more women than men live in poverty. By age:

  • Children Under 6 in Texas have a Poverty Rate of 24.8%.
  • Children 6 to 11 Years Old in Texas have a Poverty Rate of 23.5%.
  • Adolescents 12 to 17 Years Old in Texas have a Poverty Rate of 20.4%.
  • Adults 18 to 59 Years Old in Texas have a Poverty Rate of 14.3%.
  • Adults 60 to 74 Years Old in Texas have a Poverty Rate of 10.4%.
  • 75 to 84 Years Old in Texas have a Poverty Rate of 11.8%.
  • Over 85 Years Old in Texas have a Poverty Rate of 13.0%.

By race, 23 percent of Hispanic residents, 21.4 percent of Blacks, 10.6 percent of Asians, and 8.8 percent of Caucasians live below the poverty level, according to Welfareinfo.org.

Nationwide, the median household income stood at $63,179 last year, which was unchanged from 2017, according to the analysis. Over the same time period, the median earnings of all American workers rose by 3.4 percent to $40,247, according to the Census Bureau. The share of the U.S. population with health insurance in 2018, however, was 91.5 percent, compared to 92.1 percent a year earlier, the study says.

Poverty Rates by State

State 2015-2016 Average Poverty Rate 2017-2018 Average Poverty Rate Change in % From  2015-2016 to 2017-2018 Rank Based on 2017-2018 Poverty Rate
Louisiana 19.4 19.8 0.4 1
Mississippi 20.1 19.0 -1.1 2
New Mexico 18.7 18.2 -0.5 3
West Virginia 16.3 16.5 0.2 4
Alabama 16.3 15.6 -0.6 5
Arkansas 16.1 15.4 -0.7 6
Kentucky 17.4 14.6 *-2.8 7
District of Columbia 16.5 14.3 *-2.2 8
North Carolina 14.4 14.1 -0.3 9
Georgia 16.8 14.0 *-2.8 10
South Carolina 14.2 14.0 -0.2 11
Florida 14.6 13.5 -1.0 12
Texas 14.3 13.4 -0.8 13
Arizona 16.6 13.2 *-3.4 14
Nevada 11.5 13.1 1.5 15
Oklahoma 14.4 13.1 -1.2 16
Alaska 10.9 12.6 1.7 17
Ohio 13.6 12.4 -1.3 18
California 13.9 12.0 *-1.9 19
Maine 12.5 12.0 -0.5 20
Missouri 11.4 11.9 0.5 21
New York 13.1 11.9 *-1.1 22
Tennessee 14.8 11.7 *-3.1 23
Indiana 12.7 11.6 -1.1 24
Idaho 11.7 11.5 -0.2 25
Pennsylvania 11.7 11.4 -0.4 26
Wyoming 10.3 11.2 0.9 27
North Dakota 10.9 11.1 0.2 28
Michigan 11.9 11.0 -1.0 29
Nebraska 9.9 11.0 1.1 30
Illinois 11.5 10.9 -0.6 31
Kansas 12.7 10.9 -1.8 32
South Dakota 14.2 10.7 *-3.5 33
Oregon 11.8 10.6 -1.2 34
Connecticut 9.5 10.4 1.0 35
Montana 11.8 10.3 *-1.5 36
Rhode Island 11.6 10.1 -1.5 37
Virginia 11.1 10.1 -1.0 38
Massachusetts 10.6 10.0 -0.6 39
Hawaii 10.1 9.9 -0.2 40
Washington 11.2 9.7 -1.5 41
Vermont 10.2 9.2 -1.0 42
New Jersey 10.3 9.1 -1.2 43
Colorado 9.2 9.0 -0.2 44
Wisconsin 11.1 8.9 *-2.1 45
Iowa 10.1 8.2 *-1.8 46
Minnesota 8.2 8.2 0.0 47
Delaware 11.3 8.1 *-3.3 48
Maryland 8.4 7.8 -0.6 49
Utah 8.9 7.8 -1.1 50
New Hampshire 6.8 6.6 -0.2 51

*estimated

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

Advertisement

Advertisement

Interested in more news from Texas? We've got you covered! See More Texas News
Previous Article
Next Article

Trending on The Hayride

No trending posts were found.