Some Charactersitics of Poverty in 2011: USA, Florida, Orange County

The Census Bureau released a huge amount of data regarding income and poverty this week, including data at the national, state, and local level.  There's too much to present in a blog post, but here's some highlights that illustrate some key causes of poverty (the source of the data is provided; you're encouraged to dig deeper if you desire).
 

Selective Characteristics of Those in Poverty, 2011

		USA	Florida	Orange County
Poverty rate	Overall	15.9%	17%	18.7%
Education	Less than HS	27.9%	28.4%	25.9%
	HS Grad	14.2%	16.1%	17.8%
	Bach. Degree+	4.4%	5.6%	6%
Work Experience	Unemployed	32.6%	34.9%	32.6%
	Employed	7.4%	8%	10%
	Year-round FT worker	2.9%	3.3%	3.8%
Marital Status	Married	5.8%	6.9%	7.8%
	Married (year round FT worker)	2.1%	2.3%	2.1%
	Female head of household	31.4%	28.9%	29.5%
	Female head of household (year round FT worker)	10.2%	9.9%	10.9%

Source: http://factfinder2.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml

A few key factors stand out when considering determinants of poverty.  Some have stated that having a job doesn't ensure that someone escapes poverty.  It doesn't.  However, having a year-round, full-time job sure does help!  Poverty rates for full-time workers range from 2.9% nationally to 3.8% in Orange County.  A similar result occurs for female heads of households: those with full-time employment are much less likely to be in poverty than those without full-time jobs.  A related determinant of poverty is education (people with more education are more likely to be employed).  Those with college degrees have much lower poverty rates than those with just high school degrees or less.

 

What's the take away?  Poverty is a complex issue that requires a multifaceted approach, but policies that strengthen economic growth resulting in more jobs are vital over the next few years.  Improving educational outcomes in general along with efforts to enhance the skills of adults without higher education are critical to reducing poverty over time.  Obviously, there are other policies to be considered and debated, but improving economic growth and education/skills is a good place to start.