United States yearbook - 1982 (1)

Income, Expenditures, and Wealth 417
P overty.— Families and unrelated individuals are classified as being above or below the poverty
level using the poverty index originated at the Social Security Administration in 1964 and revised by
Federal Interagency Com mittees in 1969 and 1980. The poverty index is based solely on money
Income and does not reflect the fact that many low-income persons receive noncash benefits such
as food stamps, medicaid, and public housing. The index is based on the Department of Agriculture's
1961 econom y food plan and reflects the different consumption requirements of families
based on their size and composition. The poverty thresholds are updated every year to reflect
changes in the Consumer Price index. The following technical changes to the thresholds were
made in 1981: (1) distinctions based on sex of householder have been eliminated; (2) separate
thresholds for farm families have been dropped; and (3) the matrix has been expanded to families
of nine or more persons from the old cutoff of seven or more persons. These changes have been
incorporated in the calculation of the 1981 poverty data. The table below shows the thresholds
used for 1980 and 1 9 8 1 and also, for 1970 using the previous definition. See Current Population
Report, series P-60, No. 1 3 4 , for more details.
W e ig h te d A v e r a g e p o v e r t y L e v e ls B ased o n M o n e y I n c o m e f o r F a m i l i e s : 1 9 7 0 t o 1 9 8 0
SIZE OP UNIT
Total
1970 1980 1981
Families
with
female
hhtdr., no
husband
present1
All
other
families
2
Total
Families
with
female
hhtdr., no
husband
present1
All
other
families2
Total
1 person (unrelated individual).......................................... $1,954 $1,898 $2,044 $4,190 $4,037 $4,379 $4,620
Under 65 years............................................................. 2,010 1,935 2,092 4,290 4,109 4,441 4,729
65 years and over......................................................... 1,861 1,855 1,879 3,949 3,938 3,990 4,359
2 persons........................................................................ 2,525 2.471 2,534 5,363 5,316 5,373 5,917
Householder under 65 years......................................... 2,604 2,522 2,619 5,537 5,415 5,568 6,111
Householder 65 years and over................................... 2,348 2,336 2,349 4,983 4,946 4,988 5,498
3 persons......................................................................... 3,099 3,003 3,113 6,565 6,386 6,608 7,250
4 persons........................................................................ 3,968 3,948 3,970 8.414 8,382 8,418 9,287
5 persons........................................................................ 4,680 4,639 4,684 9,966 9,878 9,976 11,007
6 persons . .............. 5,260 5,220 5,263 11,269 11,227 11,274 12,449
7 or more persons........................................................... 6,468 6,317 6,486 13,955 13,767 13,966 (NA)
7 persons..................................................................... (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 14,110
8 persons..................................................................... (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 15,655
9 or more persons........................................................ (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) (NA) 18,572
NA Not available. 1Includes female unrelated Individuals. includes male unrelated individuals.
Persona! w e a lth .— Personal wealth estimates, issued by the IRS, are based on a sample o f Federal
estate tax returns which m ust be filed for deceased persons. Estim ates are weighted to adjust
for age, sex, and “ social class” (as determined by IRS through insurance holdings). Gross estate is
the gross value of all assets, including the full face value of life insurance (reduced by policy loans),
before reduction by the amount of debts. Net worth is one's level of worth after all debts have been
removed. A t the tim e of publication, data for 1972 was the most recent available, though 1976 was
in process.
C u rre n t and c o n s ta n t d o lla rs .— Figures in a number of tables in this section are expressed in
both current dollars and constant dollars. Current dollar figures reflect prices prevailing during the
specified period. C onstant dollar figures are values which do not include the effect of price
changes. The constant dollar values may be obtained by dividing current dollar values for a given
period by related price indexes for the same period.
The implicit price deflator for GNP is the ratio of GNP in current dollars to GNP in constant dollars.
The money incom e statistics are deflated by means of the Consumer Price Index prepared by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics; see text, Section 15, page 451.
S ta tistica l re lia b ility .— For a discussion of statistical collection and estimation, sampling procedures,
and measures of statistical reliability pertaining to Census Bureau data, see Appendix III.
H isto rica l s ta tis tic s .— Tabular headnotes provide cross-references, where applicable, to Historical
Statistics of the United States, Colonial Times to 1970. See Appendix I.