Poverty Spreads among the Exceptional Nation

46.5 Million Americans in poverty in 2012

The U.S. poverty figure climbed by 300,000 in 2012 up from 46.2 million in 2011; however, the national poverty rate remained unchanged at 15%.

Number in Poverty and Poverty Rate: 1959 to 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2013 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

2012 was the 6th consecutive year that the national poverty rate failed to improve.

The 2012 poverty threshold was a total household income below $23,492 for a family of four.

Real Household Income at Selected Percentiles: 1967 to 2012. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1968 to 2013 Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

Poverty Rates by Race and Hispanic Origin: 1959 to 2012. Source:
U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 1960 to 2013
Annual Social and Economic Supplements.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates about 16.1 million children and 3.9 million adults aged 65 years and older were living in poverty in 2012.

The 2012 poverty figure is “discouraging,” said John Iceland, a former Census Bureau expert on poverty and a sociologist at Penn State University.

“This lack of progress in poverty indicates that these small improvements in the economy are not yet being equally shared by all,” he told the Associated Press.