Table 1
Poverty among Individuals by the
Official Poverty Measure, 2006

Characteristic

No.
(in 000)

Poverty
Rate (%)

All

 36,460 12.3

Age
   Under 18 12,827 17.4
   18–64 20,239 10.8
   65 and over 3,394 9.4

Race/Ethnicity*
   White, not Hispanic 16,013 8.2
   Black alone or in combination 9,048 24.3
   Hispanic origin+ 9,243 20.6
   Asian alone or in combination* 1,353 10.3

Region of Residence
   Northeast  6,222 11.5
   Midwest 7,324 11.2
   South 14,882 13.8
   West 8,032 11.6

 

*Federal surveys now allow respondents to report more than one race, which makes possible two basic ways of defining a race group. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who reported Asian and no other race (the single-race concept) or those who reported Asian regardless of whether they also reported another race (the race-alone-or-in-combination concept). This table shows data using the race-alone approach, though the Census Bureau notes, "The use of the single-race population does not imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses a variety of approaches."

+Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Source: U.S. Census, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006, P60-233.