Attachment J - CPS-676

Attachment J
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 U.S. Census Bureau has
discovered about Americans and their families:
•

Median household income

•

People without health insurance coverage

•

Poverty rate and number of people in poverty

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 .
Atlanta
Chicago
Denver
Los Angeles
New York
Philadelphia

800-424-6974, #53939
800-865-6384, #2
800-593-5096
800-992-3530, #2
800-991-2520
800-262-2367

Issued November 2017
CPS-676 (11/2017)

Household Income
Median household income
was $59,039 in 2016, an
increase in real terms of
3.2 percent from the 2015
median. This is the second
consecutive annual increase
in median household income since 2007, the
year before the most recent recession.
Median family household income ($75,062)
and nonfamily household income ($35,761)
increased 2.7 percent and 4.5 percent,
respectively, from their 2015 medians.
The real median income of non-Hispanic
White, Black, and Hispanic-origin households
increased 2.0 percent, 5.7 percent, and
4.3 percent, respectively, between 2015 and
2016. Asian households had the highest
median income in 2016, though the 2015 to
2016 percentage change in their real median
income was not statistically significant. Households in all regions experienced an increase
in real median income between 2015 and
2016. Median household income increased 3.9
percent in the South, 3.3 percent in the West
between 2015 and 2016, while the changes for
the Northeast and Midwest were not statistically significant. Households with the highest median household incomes were in the
Northeast ($64,390) and the West ($64,275),
followed by the Midwest ($58,305) and the
South ($53,861).

Median Household Income by Type
of Household: 2016

People Without Health Insurance
for the Entire Year by
Selected Characteristics: 2016
(In percent)

Family households

People in poverty

Total family
households

$75,062

$87,057

Male householder

9.6

Male

17.8

$58,051

15.1

Age
Under 18 years

$35,761

5.3
6.7
11.9

18 to 24 years

19.3
15.6

25 to 34 years

$30,572

28.7
13.1

35 to 44 years

$41,749

30.4
10.3

45 to 54 years
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2017 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

55 to 64
65 years
and older

Health Insurance Coverage

24.1
8.5
18.4
1.2
4.0

White

In 2016, the percentage of people without
health insurance for the entire calendar year
was 8.8 percent, or 28.1 million, lower than the
rate and number of uninsured in 2015 (9.1 percent or 29.0 million).

White, nonHispanic
Black
Asian

Poverty Rates of People in
Families by Family Type and
Presence of Workers: 2016
(In percent)
Total

Race and Hispanic origin1
1

The official poverty rate in 2016 was 12.7 percent, down 0.8 percentage points from 13.5
percent in 2015. In 2016, there were 40.6 million
people in poverty, 2.5 million less than in 2015
and 6.0 million fewer than in 2014. The poverty
rate in 2016 (12.7 percent) was not significantly
different than the poverty rate in 2007 (12.5 percent), the year before the most recent recession.
The chart below shows lower poverty rates for
family members living with at least one worker
than for family members living with no
worker—7.7 percent compared with 32.7
percent. The same pattern held when families
were classified by family type.

7.9

Female

Nonfamily households

Female householder

16.3

Sex

$41,027

Male householder,
no wife present

Total nonfamily
households

8.8

Total

Married-couple
households
Female householder,
no husband present

All people

$59,039

All households

Poverty Rate, Number of People in
Poverty

8.4

With no workers
With 1 or more workers

16.6
6.3

70.8

13.8
10.5
14.8
7.6
18.0

50.1
Hispanic
(any race)

16.0
20.8

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-orin-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 a 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 the 2010 Census
through American FactFinder. About 2.9 percent of people
reported more than one race in the 2010 Census.

32.7

1

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2017 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

28.8
20.6
17.0
13.8
10.7
7.7

In families

9.7
5.8

4.4

In marriedcouple
families

In femalehouseholder
families

In malehouseholder
families

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey,
2017 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.