A Geographic Comparison of Child Poverty and Adult Poverty from 2006 to 2009

KaNin Reese, U.S. Census Bureau
Jasen Taciak, U.S. Census Bureau

Historically, poverty rates for children have been higher than adult poverty rates. Much research has been written on the social causes and implications of child poverty, but limited research has been possible on county-level child poverty and geographic location. Using single-year county-level poverty estimates from the Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates (SAIPE) program from 2006 to 2009, this research compares child poverty rates to adult poverty rates geographically including by region, state, and metropolitan and nonmetropolitan area status. Because poverty rates have been consistently higher for nonmetropolitan areas than for metropolitan areas since poverty was first measured in the 1960s, this research then explores if the disparities between child and adult poverty are more or less prevalent in historically high-poverty geographic locations.