1、Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code 95-1024 EPWUpdated September 6, 2005Trends in Poverty in the United StatesThomas GabeDomestic Social Policy DivisionSummaryIn 2004, 37 million people were found poor under the official
2、 poverty definition a 1.1 million increase from 2003. The poverty rate, or percent of the populationconsidered poor, increased for the fourth straight year, to 12.7% in 2004 up from12.5% in 2003, and 11.3% in 2000, its most recent low. The poverty rate in 2004 is stillwell below its most recent peak
3、 of 15.1%, in 1993. The highest rate recorded was22.4% in 1959, the first year in the Census Bureau series. Persons are considered poorunder the Census Bureau measure if their familys pre-tax cash income is below apoverty income threshold for a family of similar size and composition. In 2004, forexa
4、mple, the poverty threshold for a family of 2, averaged $12,334 and for a family of4, $19,307. This report will be updated annually.Poverty among Selected Groups. The poverty rate among children is higher thanthat of any other age group. In 2004 17.3 of all children were poor still above the mostlow
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