People Below Poverty Level

What is This Indicator?

Number of people living at or below the federal poverty level.
(US Census, 2005-2007, American Community Survey, 2005-2007)

Census data indicate the number of people living below the poverty has not increased significantly.  This indicator has no data about the impact of the current recession.

The Federal Poverty Level is the threshold below which families or individuals are considered to be "lacking the resources to meet the basic needs for healthy living; having insufficient income to provide the food, shelter and clothing needed to preserve health."

Why is it Important?

This is used as an indicator of the number of people living in poverty in the U.S.  The federal government uses this to determine eligibility for many assistance programs.  Often, eligibility is set at multiples of the poverty level (i.e., 125%, 150%, etc.).

Most recognize this absolute measure of poverty is imperfect, and use other indicators to more accurately define poverty. Also, because this data is from 2007, it does not capture the number of people who have lost jobs as a result of the recession.

 

Age

While poverty presents challenges to all people, this data indicates a large percentage of children in Chittenden County live in poverty.  This affects their health, education and chances for future success. 

One indicator of children living in poverty is is the number of students receiving free/reduced lunches.  The Burlington School District reports that 45% of all students receive free or reduce cost lunches.

In April 2009, the Vermont Child Poverty Council released its report Improving the Odds which identifies strategies for accomplishing its mission of cutting childhood poverty in half by 2017.

Seniors, working or retired, also face different financial challenges.  Some have struggled with financial security for years, and others may have lost their retirement income in the banking crisis.  

The indicator does also not capture the financial challenges of college graduates who may be leaving Vermont. While many debate if and why these young Vermonters are leaving, all agree they face daunting challenges landing their first job amid high unemplyment due to the recession.

Gender

Women have long earned less than men.  This indicator does show a higher percentage of women living in poverty in Chittenden County.  Census shows they earn, on average, less than men.  The following chart shows the U.S. wage gap in different nationalities.

 

Race & Nationality

The indicator does confirm a large proportion of African Americans, Hispanic and Multi-Race individuals live in poverty in Chittenden County.  Of the Burlington School District students receiving free or reduced lunch, more than 1/3 are immigrants.  Not reflected in this data is the recent arrival of Africans from countries such as Somalia, Bhutan and Congo.  These new Americans have gone from repression to recession. 

 

 

What is a Livable Wage?

The Vermont Basic Needs Budget and Livable Wage is defined in statute as the hourly wage required for a full-time worker to pay for one-half of the basic needs budget for a two-person household with no children and employer-assisted health insurance. 

Basic needs budgets include the costs for essential items such as food, housing, transportation, child care, clothing and household expenses, telecommunications charges, health and dental care, renter’s insurance, life insurance, and savings. The table below shows how wages needed for this budget differ based on family size for an urban area like Chittenden County.  

 

To better define living costs and necessary income for seniors, AARP Vermont has established the Vermont Elder Economic Security Standard (VEESS).  The graph below compares this more realistic standard of living with other benchmarks, including the Federal Poverty Level.

 

 

Emergency Needs and the Recession

One important indicator of Vermonters' ability to pay for basic needs, especially in the current recession, is the number of calls received by Vermont 211 for food, fuel and housing.  As a key participant in the Vermont Fuel and Food Partnership, Vermont 211 responds to to these calls and refers callers to appropriate assistance programs.  The graph below shows requests as of July 2009, meaning calls from Chittenden County this year are projected to be double the amount from last year.