Higher Education: Gaps in Access and Persistence Study

Figure 1-2.
Percent
100
Percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty with a female parent and no spouse present, by
race/ethnicity and sex: 2010
1
80
60
40
20
0
44 44
35 35
52 51 50 50
Race/ethnicity
Male
29 29 29
Total¹ White Black Hispanic Asian Native
Hawaiian/
Pacific
Islander
Female
39
53 53
American
Indian
36 36
Alaska
Native
42
40
Two or
more races
Demographics
1
¹ Total includes other racial/ethnic groups not shown separately in the figure.
NOTE: To determine living arrangements, children are classified either by their parent’s marital status or, if no parents are present in the household, by the
marital status of the related householder. Poverty information was available only for children who were related to the householder. Therefore, this figure
excludes any children who were not related to the householder or who are recorded as the householder or spouse of the householder. To define poverty, the
U.S. Census Bureau uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition. A family, along with each individual in it, is considered
poor if the family’s total income is less than that family’s threshold. The poverty thresholds do not vary geographically and are adjusted annually for inflation
using the Consumer Price Index. The official poverty definition counts money income before taxes and does not include capital gains and noncash benefits
(such as public housing, Medicaid, and food stamps). Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2010.
The percentage of Hispanic children living in poverty
differed by nativity. In 2010, the percentage of Hispanic
children who were living in poverty was higher for
children born outside of the United States than for those
born within the United States (39 vs. 31 percent). The
same pattern by nativity was found in the poverty rates for
children living with a single mother. Of those children in
this living arrangement, 54 percent of Hispanic children
born outside of the United States were living in poverty,
compared with 49 percent of those born within the
United States.
Overall, a higher percentage of children were living in
poverty in 2010 than in 2005 (21 vs. 18 percent). This
finding was true for both male and female children. Some
differences were found by race/ethnicity: the percentages
of White, Black, Hispanic, and American Indian children,
and children of two or more races living in poverty were
higher in 2010 than in 2005. For example, 30 percent of
American Indian children were living in poverty in
2005 compared with 36 percent in 2010. The poverty rate
for all children living with a single mother was also higher
in 2010 than 2005 (44 vs. 42 percent). The percentage
of Black children living with a single mother who were
living in poverty was higher in 2010 than in 2005 (51 vs.
50 percent). In addition, the percentage of White children
living with a single mother who were living in poverty was
higher in 2010 than in 2005 (35 vs. 32 percent).
Technical Notes
To determine living arrangements, children are classified
either by their parent’s marital status or, if no parents
are present in the household, by the marital status of the
related householder. Children were identified as living
with a single mother if they were living with a female
parent with no spouse present in the household. Poverty
information was available only for children who were
related to the householder. Therefore, estimates exclude
any children who were not related to the householder
or who are recorded as the householder or spouse of the
householder. To define poverty, the U.S. Census Bureau
uses a set of money income thresholds that vary by
family size and composition. A family, along with each
individual in it, is considered poor if the family’s total
income is less than that family’s threshold. The poverty
thresholds do not vary geographically and are adjusted
annually for inflation using the Consumer Price Index.
The official poverty definition counts money income
before taxes and does not include capital gains and
noncash benefits (such as public housing, Medicaid, and
food stamps). Born within the United States includes the
50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam,
the U.S. Virgin Islands, the Northern Marianas, and
those born abroad of American parents.
Demographic Context 9