Indicators Idaho

The poverty rate is the percentage of people living below the poverty level or “threshold.” Each year, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget establishes a series of poverty thresholds for different family sizes and ages of household heads.

Among Boise residents, the overall poverty rate . . .

was 12.8 percent in 2018, 12.9 percent in 1999, and 13.2 percent in 1989.
was 12.8 percent compared to 11.7 percent in Idaho in 2018.
ranked 26^th - from highest to lowest - out of the 44 counties in 2018.

To get the most out of this indicator . . .

Ask questions:

· Is the poverty rate going up or down over time?

· How does your county’s poverty rate compare to the state or national rate?

Look at other indicators:

· “Income and poverty: Poverty rate, by age” – How do child and elderly poverty rates compare to the overall poverty rate?

· “Employment: Unemployment rate” – If your county has a relatively high poverty rate, does it also have a relatively high unemployment rate?

· “County types: County policy type codes” - If your county has a relatively high poverty rate, is it classified as a “persistent poverty” county?

Dig deeper:

· Look at the county rankings for your state and/or view maps to see how your county compares to others.

· Download data for your county or state to view the total number of people living in poverty.

· The U.S. Census Bureau publishes poverty thresholds for various household and family types. See http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/threshld.html.

· Take a Big Picture view of your county.

· If you have specific questions, send us an e-mail.

Source: 1979: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population and Housing, (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census/data/tables.1980.html);
1989 and 1999: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Census of Population and Housing, American Factfinder, (http://factfinder2.census.gov/);
2000-2018: U.S. Bureau of the Census, Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates, (https://www.census.gov/data-tools/demo/saipe/#/?map_geoSelector=aa_c); DATE LAST UPDATED: December 19, 2019.