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8 — OVERLOOKED AND UNDERCOUNTED HOUSEHOLDS MAINTAINED BY WOMEN ARE TWICE AS LIKELY TO HAVE INCOME BELOW THE STANDARD AS HOUSEHOLDS WITH MALE HOUSEHOLDERS smaller difference compared to the gender difference for all households (44% versus 22%, see above). In other words while women householders living alone (or in a few cases, with non-relatives) do have higher rates of income inadequacy than male householders living alone (or with non-relatives), the difference is much less than for ALL female householders versus ALL male householders. Clearly, other factors contribute to the overall gender difference in income adequacy beyond gender. Presence of Children. Since gender alone does not account for the notably higher rates of inadequate income among households maintained by women, perhaps the economic costs of children—such as the high cost of child care—has an impact on rates of income adequacy. First, let us confirm that the presence of children is indeed associated with higher rates of income inadequacy. The impact of the presence of children on rates of income inadequacy is shown in Table 3. The proportion of all Mississippi households with inadequate income is 26% for those with no children, but increases to 32% for households with one child, and 34% of households with two children. The increase is more dramatic for families with three children, 53%, and for those with four or more children, 72%; however, these larger families account for a very small proportion, about seven percent and three percent, respectively, of all Mississippi households. Overall, households with children account for over half, 58%, of all households in Mississippi with incomes below the Standard. Moreover, the relationship between the presence of children and inadequate income is even stronger if the children in the household are younger than schoolage. Because the presence of young children is associated with increased costs of basic needs, particularly full-time child care, but also housing, food, and health care, the cost of living and therefore the Standard is higher for families with children below schoolage. At the same time, the presence of young children may make it harder for the parent(s) to work full-time, and in general, families with young children have younger parents, with lesser earning power on average. Thus, it is not surprising that the proportion of households with inadequate income who have at least one child under the age of six is considerably higher than households with only schoolage Table 3. The Self-Sufficiency Standard and Federal Poverty Level by Number of Children in Household and Age of Youngest Child: Mississippi 2007 TOTAL PERCENT OF HOUSEHOLDS BELOW SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARD Below Standard and Below Poverty Percent of Total Below Standard and Above Poverty Percent of Total Total Below Standard Percent of Total ABOVE SELF- SUFFICIENCY STANDARD Percent of Total TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS 743,859 100.0% 17.6% 14.2% 31.8% 68.2% NUMBER OF CHILDREN IN HOUSEHOLD No children 386,755 52.0% 13.3% 12.2% 25.5% 74.5% 1 or more 357,104 48.0% 22.2% 16.3% 38.5% 61.5% 1 153,026 20.6% 16.8% 15.7% 32.4% 67.6% 2 130,166 17.5% 20.6% 13.6% 34.1% 65.9% 3 52,275 7.0% 30.9% 22.4% 53.3% 46.7% 4 or more 21,637 2.9% 49.2% 23.0% 72.2% 27.8% AGE OF YOUNGEST CHILD Less than 6 yrs 161,815 21.8% 26.4% 21.0% 47.3% 52.7% 6 to 17 yrs 195,289 26.3% 18.7% 12.5% 31.2% 68.8% Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 American Community Survey.
STRUGGLING TO MAKE ENDS MEET IN MISSISSIPPI — 9 Table 4. The Self-Sufficiency Standard and Federal Poverty Level by Household Type and Number of Children: Mississippi 2007 TOTAL PERCENT OF HOUSEHOLDS children (47% compared to 31%). Thus, the presence of children—particularly young children—in the household does increase the likelihood of inadequate income. Household Type and Presence of Children. While the increase in child care and associated expenses increases the possibility of inadequate income, the impact varies widely depending on the type of household. At the same time, rates of income adequacy vary depending on the type of household as well. Table 4 divides households according to whether they are maintained by a married couple, a man alone, or a woman alone and also shows the impact of the presence of children. BELOW SELF-SUFFICIENCY STANDARD Below Standard and Below Poverty Percent of Total Below Standard and Above Poverty Percent of Total Total Below Standard Percent of Total ABOVE SELF- SUFFICIENCY STANDARD Percent of Total TOTAL HOUSEHOLDS 743,859 100.0% 17.6% 14.2% 31.8% 68.2% HOUSEHOLD TYPE AND NUMBER OF CHILDREN MARRIED COUPLE 380,616 51.2% 7.3% 11.0% 18.3% 81.7% No children 168,495 22.7% 5.3% 8.0% 13.4% 86.6% 1 or more 212,121 28.5% 8.9% 13.4% 22.3% 77.7% 1 86,749 11.7% 6.7% 11.3% 18.0% 82.0% 2 84,140 11.3% 8.2% 10.3% 18.4% 81.6% 3 30,246 4.1% 11.6% 21.2% 32.8% 67.2% 4 or more 10,986 1.5% 24.1% 32.6% 56.7% 43.3% MALE HOUSEHOLDER 1 , NO SPOUSE PRESENT 145,073 19.5% 17.1% 15.3% 32.4% 67.6% No children 116,543 15.7% 16.2% 14.4% 30.6% 69.4% 1 or more 28,530 3.8% 20.7% 19.0% 39.7% 60.3% 1 14,377 1.9% 16.6% 14.7% 31.2% 68.8% 2 8,641 1.2% 20.7% 16.1% 36.8% 63.2% 3* 3,590 0.5% 24.2% 37.1% 61.3% 38.7% 4 or more* 1,922 0.3% 45.4% 30.4% 75.8% 24.2% FEMALE HOUSEHOLDER, NO SPOUSE PRESENT" 218,170 29.3% 35.7% 19.0% 54.7% 45.3% No children 101,717 13.7% 23.1% 16.7% 39.8% 60.2% 1 or more 116,453 15.7% 46.8% 21.0% 67.8% 32.2% 1 51,900 7.0% 33.5% 23.3% 56.8% 43.2% 2 37,385 5.0% 48.5% 20.4% 68.9% 31.1% 3 18,439 2.5% 63.9% 21.6% 85.5% 14.5% 4 or more* 8,729 1.2% 81.8% 9.2% 90.9% 9.1% 1 The householder is the person (or one of the persons) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented or, if there is no such person, any adult member, excluding roomers, boarders, or paid employees. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2007 American Community Survey. *Note: The sample size for one or more cells in this row is small. Data may not be statistically stable. When we compare households by type, regardless of the presence of children, married couples have the lowest rate of income inadequacy (18%), while male-householders alone have higher rates (32%). However, the highest rates are those of women maintaining homes alone (without a partner), with over half lacking adequate income (55%). When we limit the analysis to households with children, we find a similar pattern by household type; that is, married couple households with children have the lowest rate of income inadequacy at 22%. Income inadequacy increases for single father households, 17 with 40% lacking
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Page 5: Preface The Self-Sufficiency Standa
Page 9 and 10: I. Introduction With living costs r
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