Essential takeaways from the latest Census data
By Samantha Curran
CFI Communications Associate
Colorado’s median household income is climbing to reach pre-recession levels. However, we have not yet reached the pre-recession peak according to the new U.S. Census poverty and income data. Although the just-released official poverty rate and the uninsured rate are down — and median household income is up — disparities in income and poverty by race and gender still persist heavily in Colorado.
Poverty and Median Household Income by Race:
The official poverty rate for Colorado has declined from 12 percent in 2014 to 11.5 percent in 2015, however, communities of color still experience poverty levels almost twice as high as their white counterparts.
Overall, median household income has increased over the last year from $61,303 in 2014 to $63,909 in 2015. Colorado’s median household income in 2007 was $65,586 in 2015 inflation-adjusted dollars.
Figure 2: Median Household Income Still Below Recession Levels
(In 2015 inflation-adjusted dollars)
Despite this upward trend, disparities in income among race still persist. Hispanic/Latino and black/African-American Coloradans are earning almost $20,000 less than white Coloradans, while American Indian Coloradans are earning more than $29,000 less than white Coloradans.
Figure 3: Median Household Income by Race (2015)
Poverty and Median Household Income by Gender
Although median household income has increased, the gender wage gap remains unchanged. Women who work full time continue to earn just under 20 cents less compared to their male counterparts working full time. Median earnings for women working full time in 2015 was $41,747 while median earnings for men working full time in 2015 was $51,848.
In addition, women are more likely to live in poverty than men. In 2015, 12.3 percent of women and 10.6 percent of men in Colorado lived below the poverty line.
Poverty by Families
In 2015, 7.6 percent of families lived below the poverty line. This percentage increased for families with children under the age of 18 and was even greater for families with children under the age of 5. This past year, 12 percent of families with children under the age of 18 and 12.5 percent of families with children under the age of 5 lived in poverty. For families with both children under the age of 5 and children between the ages of 5 and 17, 18 percent lived in poverty.
The poverty rate increased for female-headed households. These households were 6.25 times more likely to live in poverty than dual-headed households. Forty-one-point-six percent of single mothers with children under the age of 5 lived in poverty, and this number jumped to 57.3 percent when a household included both a child under the age of 5 and a school-aged child. Once children reach school age for these single mothers, poverty rates drop significantly from 57.6 percent to 26.5 percent.
Figure 4: Percent of Female-Headed Households Living in Poverty
(At left, single mothers with children under 5. Right, single mothers with children between 5 and 17.)
Deep Poverty
Those living below 50 percent of the federal poverty threshold are considered to live in deep poverty. In other words, a family of four with an annual income of less than $12,129 is considered to live in deep poverty.
In 2015, 5.1 percent of Coloradans lived in deep poverty. This is less than the 2014 level of 5.5 percent. Although the overall level has dropped, deep poverty rates by race, gender and age are still disproportionately high. Black/African American, American Indian and Hispanic Coloradans are about two times more likely to live in deep poverty when compared to white Coloradans. Females experience a higher rate of deep poverty than males by 0.9 percent. In 2015, 5.6 percent of females and 4.7 percent of males in Colorado lived in deep poverty. Out of all age groups, children have the highest deep poverty rate, as 6.2 percent of children (under the age of 18) lived in deep poverty in 2015.
Conclusion
Despite small improvements in the overall poverty rate and median household income, the new data tells the same story as in years past; minority groups continue to see the highest rates of poverty and earn the lowest median incomes.
Colorado can improve upon these racial and gender disparities by making policy decisions that promote economic prosperity for all Coloradans. Governmental assistant programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Child Tax Credit and Medicaid are examples of programs that have found success in keeping families from falling below the poverty line. As this year’s data shows, Colorado still has a long way to go to achieve equity and the implementation of new anti-poverty programs can help ensure that not just poverty and income overall improve, but that they improve across the board.
