Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the Current Population Survey

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.

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

Keeping Your Information
Confidential
All the information given by you to the U.S.
Census Bureau for this survey is confidential by
law (Title 13, U.S. Code, Section 9). All Census
Bureau employees take an oath of nondisclosure
and are subject to imprisonment and/or a fine
if they disclose any confidential information. 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 identify
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.

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

Thank you for your participation
in the Current Population Survey.
For more information, call one of our
regional offices or visit us on our Web
site at .
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• Median household income.
• People without health
insurance coverage.
• Poverty rate and number
of people in poverty.

Issued December 2014
CPS-676 (11/2014)

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

census.gov

Household Income
Median household income
was $51,939 in 2013,
not statistically different
in real terms from 2012.
This is the second consecutive year that the annual
change was not statistically significant following two consecutive years of annual declines.
A comparison of real median household income
over the past 6 years shows an 8.0 percent
decline since 2007, the year before the nation
entered the most recent economic recession.

Median Household Income by
Type of Household: 2013

People Without Health
Insurance Coverage for the
Entire Year by Selected
Characteristics: 2013

Family households

(In percent)

$51,939

All households

All people
People in poverty

Total family
households

$65,587

Married-couple
households
Female householder,
no husband present

Female householder
Male householder

Real median income of Hispanic households
increased by 3.5 percent between 2012 and
2013, while the changes for non-Hispanic,
White, Black, and Asian households were not
statistically different. Changes in real median
household income were not statistically different for the Northeast, Midwest, South, and West
between 2012 and 2013. In 2013, households
with the highest median household incomes
were in the Northeast and West (with medians
that were not statistically different from each
other), followed by the Midwest and the South.

14.5

Male
$35,154

27.4

Female
$50,625

Under 18 years

$31,178

22.8
7.3
9.3
20.7

18 to 24 years

$26,425

42.0
19.0

35 to 44 years

$36,876

42.0
15.7

45 to 54 years
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

37.3

Health Insurance Coverage

Poverty Rates of People in
Families by Family Type and
Presence of Workers: 2013
(In percent)

13.2

55 to 64
65 years
and older

31.3

23.7

25 to 34 years

In 2013, the official poverty rate was 14.5
percent, down from 15.0 percent in 2012.
This was the first decrease in the poverty rate
since 2006. There were 45.3 million people
in poverty. For the third consecutive year, the
number of people in poverty at the national
level was not statistically different from the
previous year’s estimate.
The chart below shows lower poverty rates
for family members living with at least one
worker than for family members living with
no worker—9.0 percent compared with 35.5
percent. The same pattern held when families
were classified by family types.

12.3

Age

Male householder,
no wife present
Total nonfamily
households

24.9

Sex

$76,509

Nonfamily households

Median family household income ($65,587) and
nonfamily household income ($31,178) in 2013
were not statistically different, in real terms,
from the levels in 2012.

13.4

Total

Poverty Rate, Number of People
in Poverty

29.8

Total
With no workers

1.6
4.8

With 1 or more workers

Race and Hispanic origin1
White1

In 2013, the percentage of people without health
insurance was 13.4 percent.

White, nonHispanic

The number of people with health insurance was
271.4 million.

Black
Asian
Hispanic
(any race)

12.8
26.0
9.8
23.2

72.9

15.9
21.2
14.5
33.4

54.1

24.3
29.9

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 table 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 2010 through American
FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people reported more than
one race in Census 2010.

1

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

35.5

33.2

24.1
18.2

17.1
12.3

12.4
9.0

In families

6.8

5.3

In marriedcouple
families

In femalehouseholder
families

In malehouseholder
families

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2014 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.