|
|
|
Projects
|
Demographics: Elders in Massachusetts |
Poverty Status and Income
In the 2000 Census, income data were
collected for the previous calendar year (that is, for the year 1999).
Poverty status is established based on a comparison of the reported
cash income of a family to an established income standard based on
family size. As an illustration, the established income standard for a
one-person household with the household head aged 65 or over was
$7,990 in 1999; so an older person living alone at the time of the
2000 Census with previous year's income less than $7,990 would be
considered poor. The comparable income standard for a two-person
household with an older household head was $10,075; for a four-person
household with two minor children the standard was $16,895. Because
the poverty standards are not adjusted for cost of living
differentials in different geographic areas, nor do they include the
values of noncash transfers such as health coverage or housing
subsidies, the poverty rate is only a crude indicator of economic
hardship.
Figure 1 shows the percentage of people
in different age groups who lived in poor households according to this
criterion, for Massachusetts and the United States. For every age
group, poverty rates are higher in the United States as a whole than
in Massachusetts. Poverty rates are highest among children, reaching
12% for children under 18 in Massachusetts and nearly 17% for children
throughout the United States. Poverty rates are lower for adults under
65 and lower still for "young-old" seniors aged 65-74.
Higher levels are estimated for adults 75 and over. Overall, the gap
between the poverty rates for Massachusetts and the United States is
smallest among seniors, suggesting that in 1999, the Commonwealth was
more successful in lowering poverty compared to the national average
for children and working-age adults than for seniors.
FIGURE 1: Percent Poor by Age,
Massachusetts and the United States, 1999
Percent Poor, 1999
| Age |
Massachusetts |
United States |
| 0 - 17 |
12.0% |
16.6% |
| 18 - 64 |
8.4% |
11.1% |
| 65 - 74 |
7.5% |
8.5% |
| 75 and Older |
10.4% |
11.5% |
| Total |
9.3% |
12.4% |
Source: United StatesCensus Bureau, 2002, Census 2000 Summary File 3
(SF 3), Sample Data, Table PCT49.
Many experts argue that the income
thresholds used to define poverty are too low to provide a fair
assessment of economic hardship. As a result, many analysts also
examine alternative points on the income distribution. Figure 2
replicates the percentages poor by age shown in the previous figure,
and also provides the percentage who are "near-poor," or living in
families with cash income between 100% and 149% of the poverty cutoff.
These percentages show that, in Massachusetts, nearly a quarter of
seniors 75 and over are either poor or near-poor, a far larger share
than observed among younger individuals. Moreover, when the definition
of hardship is expanded to include those below 150% of the poverty
cutoff, "young-old" seniors in the 65 to 74 age range have about
the same level of hardship as observed among those under 65.
Figure 2: Poverty and Near-Poverty in Massachusetts by Age Group, 1999
Poverty Status and Age Massachusetts, 1999
| Age |
Below 100% of
poverty cutoff |
100 - 149% of
poverty cutoff |
| Younger than 65 |
9.4% |
5.4% |
| 65 - 74 |
7.5% |
8.2% |
| 75 and Over |
10.4% |
13.0% |
| Total |
9.3% |
6.0% |
Source: United StatesCensus Bureau,
2002, Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3), Sample Data, Table PCT50.
Additional insights regarding the
financial standing of older residents of Massachusetts are obtained
through an examination of the distribution of reported income. The
median household income is the income value below which half of all
the income reports fall. For households headed by individuals aged 75
and over, median income was $21,522 in 1999, considerably lower than
the median of $33,589 for households with heads aged 65 to 74, and
less than half of the median of $58,770 for households with heads
under age 65. Note that household income includes the cash income of
all individuals in the household, regardless of age. Moreover, the
calculations refer to reported age of the household head (that is, the
individual in whose name the residence is owned or rented).
A view of the entire distribution of
income in the population is presented in Figure 3, according to the
age of the household head. This figure is consistent with the
information presented on poverty in that a larger share of households
headed by seniors reports low incomes. More than one-third of the
households headed by individuals aged 65 to 74 have cash incomes
totaling less than $25,000 a year, with more than one-half of the
households headed by seniors 75 and over reporting incomes below
$25,000. The highest incomes are far more likely to be reported by the
younger households' heads. Twenty percent of households headed by
individuals under age 65 report incomes of $100,000 or more, compared
to 10% of households headed by those 65-74 and just 5% of the
households headed by seniors 75 and older.
FIGURE 3: Household Income by Age of
Householder, Massachusetts, 1999
Household Income by Age of Householder, Massachusetts, 1999
| Income ($) |
Under 65 |
65-74 |
75 and older |
| Under $15,000 |
10.5% |
21.6% |
34.3% |
| $15,000 - 24,999 |
7.5% |
16.2% |
22.1% |
| $25,000 - 49,999 |
24.2% |
29.8% |
25.3% |
| $50,000 - 100,000 |
37.2% |
22.6% |
13.2% |
| $100,000 or more |
20.6% |
9.8% |
5.1% |
| Total (%) |
100.0% |
100.0% |
100.0% |
| Total (N) |
1,898,357 |
269,965 |
276,266 |
| Median Income |
$ 58,770 |
$33,589 |
$21,522 |
Source: United StatesCensus Bureau,
2002, Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3), Sample Data, Table P55.
|
|
|
|
