Graph of the Day: U.S. children living in low-income and poor families, 2007-2013

By Yang Jiang, Mercedes Ekono, and Curtis Skinner
January 2015 (NCCP) – Children under 18 years represent 23 percent of the population, but they comprise 33 percent of all people in poverty.1 Among all children, 44 percent live in low-income families and approximately one in every five (22 percent) live in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. Parental education and employment, race/ethnicity, and other factors are associated with children experiencing economic insecurity. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socio-economic, and geographic characteristics of children and their parents. It highlights the important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children from their less disadvantaged counterparts. The percentage of children living in low-income families (both poor and near poor) has been on the rise – increasing from 39 percent in 2007 to 44 percent in 2013 (Figure 2). During this time period, the overall number of children of all ages increased by less than one percent, while the numbers who were low income and poor increased by 13 percent and 23 percent, respectively. [more]

Basic Facts About Low-Income Children