Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2013
U.S. Census Bureau
Release Number: CB14-169
The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that in 2013,
the poverty rate declined from the previous year for the first time since 2006,
while there was no statistically significant change in either the number of
people living in poverty or real median household income. In addition, the
poverty rate for children under 18 declined from the previous year for the first
time since 2000. The following results for the nation were compiled from
information collected in the 2014 Current Population Survey Annual Social and
Economic Supplement.
The nationfs official poverty rate in 2013 was 14.5
percent, down from 15.0 percent in 2012. The 45.3 million people living at or
below the poverty line in 2013, for the third consecutive year, did not
represent a statistically significant change from the previous yearfs
estimate.
Median household income in the United States in 2013
was $51,939; the change in real terms from the 2012 median of $51,759 was not
statistically significant. This is the second consecutive year that the annual
change was not statistically significant, following two consecutive annual
declines.
The percentage of people without health insurance
coverage for the entire 2013 calendar year was 13.4 percent; this amounted to
42.0 million people.
These findings are contained in two reports: Income
and Poverty in the United States: 2013 and Health
Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2013. The Current Population
Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement was conducted between February and
April 2014 and collected information about income and health insurance coverage
during the 2013 calendar year. The Current Population Survey, sponsored jointly
by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, is conducted
every month and is the primary source of labor force statistics for the U.S.
population; it is used to calculate the monthly unemployment rate estimates.
Supplements are added in most months; the Annual Social and Economic Supplement
questionnaire is designed to give annual, calendar-year, national estimates of
income, poverty and health insurance numbers and rates.
Traditionally, the Census Bureau releases detailed
comparisons of year-to-year changes in health insurance from this survey.
However, because of the redesign of the Current Population Surveyfs health
insurance section of the questionnaire, its estimates of health insurance
coverage are not directly comparable to estimates from prior years. Research
suggested the Current Population Survey estimates needed improvement, as the
estimates were not in line with other sources. The redesigned survey is based on
over a decade of research, including two national field tests as well as
cognitive testing. The survey improvements this year will better measure health
insurance coverage for the prior calendar year, thus providing a strong 2013
baseline to measure future changes in health insurance coverage caused by the
Affordable Care Act.
The health insurance report contains Current
Population Survey statistics only for 2013. However, limited statistics on
year-to-year changes based on the American Community Survey are available in the
report. The report also includes state-level American Community Survey health
insurance coverage statistics. According to the American Community Survey, the
percent of people without health insurance coverage declined 0.2 percent between
2012 and 2013.
The American Community Survey has collected data on
health insurance coverage since 2008. Additional sources of health insurance
coverage data not included in this report are the Small Area Health Insurance
Estimates and National Health Interview Survey.
The Current Population Survey-based income and
poverty report includes comparisons with one year earlier. State and local
income and poverty results, as well as state and local health insurance coverage
results, will be available Thursday, Sept. 18, from the American Community
Survey.