Understanding the U.S. poverty line
The following table shows the U.S. poverty thresholds for 2011 by size of family and number of related children under the age of 18. All figures are in dollars. For example, a family with two adults and three children is considered to be living in poverty if the family's income in 2011 is below $26,844.
|
Size of Family Unit
|
Related Children under 18 Years
|
|
None
|
One
|
Two
|
Three
|
Four
|
Five
|
|
One person (unrelated individual)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Under 65 years
|
11,702
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
65 years and over
|
10,788
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Two persons
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Households under 65 years
|
15,063
|
15,504
|
|
|
|
|
|
Households 65 years and over
|
13,596
|
15,446
|
|
|
|
|
|
Three persons
|
17,595
|
18,106
|
18,123
|
|
|
|
|
Four persons
|
23,201
|
23,581
|
22,811
|
22,891
|
|
|
|
Five persons
|
27,979
|
28,386
|
27,517
|
26,844
|
26,434
|
|
|
Six persons
|
32,181
|
32,309
|
31,643
|
31,005
|
30,056
|
29,494
|
|
Seven persons
|
31,029
|
37,260
|
36,463
|
35,907
|
34,872
|
33,665
|
|
Eight persons
|
41,414
|
41,779
|
41,027
|
40,368
|
39,433
|
38,247
|
|
Nine persons or more
|
49,818
|
50,059
|
49,393
|
48,835
|
47,917
|
46,654
|
Source: "Poverty Thresholds by Size of Family and Number of Children, 2011", United States Census Bureau, last modified September 12, 2012, accessed September 24, 2012, https://www.census.gov/hhes/www/poverty/data/threshld/.
Neha and Lorenzo are married, under the age of 65, and have five children under the age of 18. Lorenzo works full time and earns $20,000, while Neha works part time and earns $9,000. Thus, in total, their family income is $29,000. Are Lorenzo and Neha living in poverty?
Suppose that Lorenzo divorces Neha and leaves the family without paying alimony or child support. Neha must now support her five children alone, so she begins working full time and earns a total of $16,000. Are Neha and her children living in poverty?
Again, consider Neha, a single mother with five children under 18 who earns an annual income of $16,000. Suppose that Neha qualifies for a welfare program for single mothers that provides her with $600 cash for each child (a total of $3,000, since Neha has five children). After receiving welfare, is Neha's family living in poverty?