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Facts at a Glance: Census Bureau Shows No Change in Poverty Rate in Massachusetts

Table of Contents

  • No Change in Poverty Rate
Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Table of Contents

  • No Change in Poverty Rate
Today, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual updates on poverty, median household incomes, and health insurance coverage in the United States.


  • According to the American Community Survey (ACS), the total poverty rate for Massachusetts for 2007 remains at 9.9 percent, the same level as 2006.

  • The Census Bureau’s data indicate that, six years in to an economic recovery, poverty rates have not declined in Massachusetts. In 2000, the poverty rate, as measured by the ACS, was 9.6 percent. In 2007, the most recent period for which the Bureau has released data, the Massachusetts poverty rate stood at 9.9 percent.



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Note: According to the Census Bureau, 2004 and 2005 poverty data from the ACS are not comparable to other years due to a change in the way that survey respondents living in group quarters are recorded.


  • According to the ACS, for the country as a whole, the poverty rate fell from 13.3 percent in 2006 to 13.0 percent in 2007.

  • As explained in the notes below, the ACS is the official source of information for state-level poverty data. A different source, the Current Population Survey, is the primary source of national poverty data. According to the ACS, the national poverty rate increased from 12.2 percent in 2000 to 13.0 percent in 2007. According to the CPS, for the country as a whole, the poverty rate increased from 11.3 percent in 2000 to 12.5 percent in 2007.




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