On November 14, the Census Bureau released new Supplementary Poverty Measure (SPM) estimates for 2011. According to the report, 49.7 million Americans lived in poverty, three million more people than the official poverty measure estimates for 2011.

SPM estimates were released for the first time in 2010 in response to shortcomings of the official poverty measure methodology.  The official poverty measure only considers cash income, excluding government benefits and geographic differences in housing costs. The SPM, in contrast, includes the value of social benefits such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), housing assistance and the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The SPM also deducts certain expenses from income, including taxes, child care costs, and contributions towards health insurance premiums.

According to the new report, the SPM was 16.1% nationally for 2011, about 1 percentage point higher than the official poverty rate of 15%. The SPM estimates for children under the age of 18 (18.1%), and African-Americans (25.7%) are lower than the official poverty rates (22.3% and 27.8%, respectively). This reflects SPM’s inclusion of critical public benefit programs, including housing subsidies, which effectively keep some Americans above the poverty threshold.

For the first time, the SPM also includes state level poverty estimates, using three-year averages from the Current Population Survey. The SPM estimates are higher than the official poverty rate in 14 states and the District of Columbia. In 26 states, the supplemental poverty rate is lower than the official rate. These differences are in part tied to the variation in housing costs across the country.

Click here to access the Census Bureau’s report, The Research: Supplemental Poverty Measure 2011.