New statistics on poverty will be released by the U.S. Census Bureau at 10 a.m. ET today. The report, titled “Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2010″ will contain findings from the Current Population Survey (CPS).
Key findings:
- Real median household income in the United States declined from 2009 to 2010, to $49,445.
- The nation’s official poverty rate rose to 15.1 in 2010 percent from 14.3 percent in 2009 ─ the third consecutive annual increase in the poverty rate.
- There were 46.2 million people in poverty in 2010, up from 43.6 million in 2009 ─ the fourth consecutive annual increase and the largest number in the 52 years for which poverty estimates have been published.
- The number of people without health insurance coverage rose from 49.0 million in 2009 to 49.9 million in 2010, while the percentage without coverage −16.3 percent − was not statistically different from the rate in 2009.
- The poverty rate increased for children younger than 18 (from 20.7 percent in 2009 to 22.0 percent in 2010) and people 18 to 64 (from 12.9 percent in 2009 to 13.7 percent in 2010), while it was not statistically different for people 65 and older (9.0 percent).