Annual Social and Economic Supplement

Attachment H

Measuring a Changing America
In our rapidly changing world, leaders,
policymakers, and researchers need current
information to make good decisions. That is
why we conduct the
Annual Social and
Economic Supplement
to the Current Population
Survey every year.
Because of the cooperation
we received from the
households participating
last year, we have been
able to learn a great
deal about how
we live
and
work.

Keeping Your
Information Confidential
All the information given by you to the
Census Bureau for this survey is confidential
by law (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). All
Census Bureau employees take an oath to
this effect and are subject to a jail penalty
and/or fine if they disclose any census
information given to them. We use computers
to collect the survey data, but the information
is encrypted to ensure its confidentiality.
We present published information only in
the form of statistical summaries, and we
never release any information that could
indentify individuals. The Census Bureau
has established rigid procedures and
guidelines to ensure data confidentiality and
is proud of the excellent reputation it has
earned in this regard.
Thank you for your participation
in the Current Population Survey.

Here are three categories
of important facts and
emerging trends the U.S.
Census Bureau has discovered
about Americans and their
families:

For more information, call
one of our regional offices or
visit us on our Web site at
.
Atlanta

• Median household income

Charlotte

• People without health
insurance coverage

Chicago

• Poverty rate and number of
people in poverty

404-730-3832

Boston

Dallas

617-424-4501
800-331-7358, #2
800-865-6384
800-835-9752, #34410

Denver

800-593-5096

Detroit

800-432-1495

Kansas City

913-551-6728

Los Angeles
New York

800-992-3530, #2
800-991-2520, #43475

Philadelphia
Seattle

U.S. Department of Commerce
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

800-262-2367
800-233-3308, #22

Issued November 2009
CPS-676(11/09)

The Changing Situation
of Americans and
Their Families
Facts From the Current Population Survey
Annual Social and Economic Supplement

Household Income

Midwest

Attachment H

Health Insurance Coverage

Poverty Rate and Number of
People in Poverty

The percentage of people without
health insurance in 2008 was not
statistically different from 2007 at 15.4
percent. The number of uninsured
increased to 46.3 million in 2008, from
45.7 million in 2007.

The official poverty rate in 2008 was 13.2 percent,
up from 12.5 percent in 2007. This was the first
statistically significant annual increase in the
poverty rate since 2004, when poverty increased
to 12.7 percent from 12.5 percent in 2003.

Northeast

West

After adjusting for inflation,
median household income in
the United States declined by
3.6 percent between 2007 and
2008—from $52,163 to $50,303—
following 3 years of annual income increases. The
decline in income coincides with the recession that
started in December 2007.
South

The decline in household income was widespread.
Median income fell for family and nonfamily
households; native and foreign-born households;
households in the Midwest, South, and West; and
households of each race category and those of
Hispanic origin.

People Without Health
Insurance Coverage for the
Entire Year by Selected
Characteristics: 2008
All people
People in poverty

(In percent)

The number of working men aged 15 and older
decreased by 0.4 million between 2007 and 2008
to 84.1 million. An estimated 71.2 percent worked
full-time, year-round. The number of working
women aged 15 and older was 74.6 million,
statistically unchanged from 2007. About 59.2
percent of these women worked full-time, yearround in 2008. Between 2007 and 2008, the median
earnings of men who worked full-time, year-round
declined by 1.0 percent to $46,367; and the earnings
of women who worked full-time, year-round
declined by 1.9 percent to $35,745.

15.4

Total

The chart below shows lower poverty rates for
family members living with at least one worker
than for family members living with no worker—
8.6 percent compared with 35.4 percent. The
same pattern held when families were classified
by family types.
Poverty Rates of People in Families by Family
Type and Presence of Workers: 2008

30.4

(In percent)

Sex
17.0

Male

33.5

Total

13.8

Female

71.9

With no workers

28.0

With 1 or more workers

Age
9.9

Under 18 years

15.7
28.6

18 to 24 years

Median Household Income by
Type of Household: 2008

26.5

25 to 34 years

(Income In thousands of dollars)

80

51.4
19.4

35 to 44 years

70

48.2
14.4

45 to 64 years

60

65 years
and older

50

54.0

41.6

37.2

35.4

1.7

31.4

6.2

Race and Hispanic Origin1

40

White

30

White,
non-Hispanic
Black

20

Asian

10

Hispanic (any race)

0
All
households

Marriedcouple
households

Total
family
households

Male
Female
householder,
householder
no wife
present
Male
Female
Total
householder
householder,
nonfamily
no husband
households
present

Family households

Nonfamily households

1

22.8

14.5
32.2

17.8

10.8

14.2

27.7
11.5

19.1

8.6

25.3
17.6

9.5
6.7

5.5

32.4
30.7
38.9

Federal surveys now give respondents the option of reporting more than one race. Therefore, two
basic ways of defining a race group are possible. A group such as Asian may be defined as those who
reported Asian and no other race (the race-alone or single-race concept) or as those who reported Asian
regardless of whether they also reported another race (the race-alone-or-in-combination concept). This
figure shows data using the first approach (race alone). The use of the single-race population does not
imply that it is the preferred method of presenting or analyzing data. The Census Bureau uses of variety
of approaches. Information on people who reported more than one race, such as White and American
Indian and Alaska Native or Asian and Black or African American, is available from Census 2000 through
American FactFinder. About 2.6 percent of people reported more than one race in Census 2000.

In families

In married-couple
families

In femalehouseholder
families

In malehouseholder
families

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2009
Annual Social and Economic Supplement.