Overlooked and Undercounted - Insight Center for Community ...

STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET IN MISSISSIPPI — 3
preschooler ranges from $22,365 to $35,382 annually
depending on the county. Mississippi’s metropolitan
areas tend to have higher Self-Sufficiency Standards than
non-metropolitan areas. The Pine Belt, Gulf Coast, and
Central Mississippi metropolitan areas have the highest
Self-Sufficiency Standards for this family type, ranging
from $30,797 to $35,382 a year depending on the county.
Counties with annual Self-Sufficiency Standards between
$25,264 and $29,358 are in the second most expensive
group in this comparison. This group includes counties
located in metropolitan areas in southeast Mississippi,
counties in or near the Jackson metropolitan area,
as well as several counties in the northwest corner of
Mississippi near or in the Memphis metropolitan area.
Most of the non-metropolitan counties in the state have
Standards that range from $22,365 to $24,676 for one
adult and one preschooler, encompassing most of the
state geographically. (The 2009 Annual Self-Sufficiency
Standards for eight different family types for all counties
in Mississippi are shown in Appendix Table B-1.)
III. Sample and Methodology
This study uses data from the 2007 American
Community Survey (ACS), an annual U.S. Census
Bureau survey of social, housing, and economic
characteristics of the population.
In the Census data, households are divided into family
and non-family households. Family households have
two or more persons residing together who are related
by birth, marriage, or adoption; non-family households
consist of a person living alone or with one or more nonrelatives.
The sample unit for the study is the household,
not the individual or the family. The householder is the
person in whose name the housing unit is owned or
rented; when the housing unit is jointly owned or rented,
the householder is whoever designates him or herself.
Given the increasing variety of living arrangements,
this study includes all persons residing in households,
including not only the family, but also non-relatives
such as unmarried partners, foster children, boarders
and their income. In Mississippi, 76% of households are
“family” households (that is, at least two persons are
related) and 24% are non-family households. Most nonfamily
households consist of a single individual (84%);
the remaining 16% have two or more unrelated persons.
Regardless of household composition, it is assumed
that all members of the household share income and
expenses.
To determine the income required to cover each
family’s basic needs, the Self-Sufficiency Standard is
used. The Self-Sufficiency Standard assumes that all
adult household members work and includes all their
work-related costs (e.g., transportation, taxes, child
care) in the calculation of expenses. Therefore, to be
consistent, the population sample in this report excludes
those household members not expected to work—that
is, those who report having a disability that prevents
them from working and/or are elderly are excluded,
as is their income, when determining household size,
household composition, and total income. For example,
a grandmother who is over 65 and living with her adult
children is not counted towards the household size
or composition; nor is her income (e.g., from Social
Security benefits) counted as part of household income.
Households that consist of only elderly and/or disabled
adults are excluded altogether. Homeless individuals
and families, as well as those who live in shelters or
institutions, are also not included, as these groups are not
included in the ACS household-based survey. This results
in a total number of 743,859 households in Mississippi.
To cover all possible household combinations (of number
of adults, number and ages of children) for each region
in Mississippi, Self-Sufficiency Standards were calculated
for additional family types beyond the basic 70 family
types. To determine whether a household’s income is
above or below the Standard (the self-sufficiency income)
the household’s income is compared to the calculated
Standard for the appropriate family composition and
geographic location. Household income is also compared
to the appropriate family size Federal Poverty Level
in order to determine whether households are above
or below the FPL. (See Appendix A: Methodology and
Assumptions for more detailed information.)