Census Trend Charts Demographic Maps Rankings & Comparisons Segregation Data  

Zoom in and out of geography at levels: US, States or Metro Areas, and Counties within States.

You can zoom out to Iowa


Visit the SSDAN Web Site
CensusScope is a product of the Social Science Data Analysis Network.

Buena Vista County

Print-Friendly Version

POVERTY BY AGE

While they say little about economic ups and downs in the decade between Censuses, income and poverty data provide us with economic "snapshots" of an area at the time of enumeration that can in turn be compared with economic data gathered from earlier Censuses. Poverty status, as measured in this chart, is determined by Poverty Thresholds, which take into account a number of factors, including income and family size and structure. For example, the 2000 Poverty Threshold for a family of four in the continental United States with two related children was 17,463. However, Poverty Thresholds are misleading because they do not provide an accurate picture of what a �poor� family�s life is like. According to the National Center for Children in poverty, most families of four would have to make twice their assigned Poverty Threshold in order to provide their children with basic necessities, such as housing, food, and health care.

Poverty by Age, 1990 and 2000
1990 2000
Number Percent Number Percent
Total Population* 18,683 100.00% 18,970 100.00%
In Poverty 1,633 8.74% 1,991 10.50%
Not in Poverty 17,050 91.26% 16,979 89.50%
11 Years and Under 3,424 18.33% 3,202 16.88%
In Poverty 395 2.11% 508 2.68%
Not in Poverty 3,029 16.21% 2,694 14.20%
12 to 17 Years 1,623 8.69% 1,854 9.77%
In Poverty 138 0.74% 160 0.84%
Not in Poverty 1,485 7.95% 1,694 8.93%
18 to 64 Years 10,399 55.66% 10,805 56.96%
In Poverty 780 4.17% 1,086 5.72%
Not in Poverty 9,619 51.49% 9,719 51.23%
65 Years and Above 3,237 17.33% 3,109 16.39%
In Poverty 320 1.71% 237 1.25%
Not in Poverty 2,917 15.61% 2,872 15.14%

* The total population is the population for which poverty status is determined. Therefore, the total in this table should not be expected to match the total population in the population growth topic.

Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).

Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy