The U.S. Census Bureau released Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: 2015 on December 14. These data provide annual estimates of income and poverty for all U.S. counties and school districts. The Census Bureau provides an interactive map and other data access options for users.
From 2014 to 2015, 74% of the nation’s 3,141 counties (2,314) saw an increase in median household income, but only 14% (440) had an increase large enough to be statistically significant. In comparison to pre-recession income, the median household income in 2015 was not significantly different from 2007 for three-quarters of U.S. counties.
From 2014 to 2015, 66% of counties (2,061) saw a decrease in their poverty rate, but only 7.8% (244) experienced a decrease large enough to be statistically significant. Eighty percent of counties have poverty rates in 2015 that are not statistically different from 2007.
Highlights from Small Area Income and Poverty Estimates: 2015 are available at: http://bit.ly/2hzDwnu
An interactive map of poverty rates and median income and other data access options are available at: http://bit.ly/2hQX322