• Age: The official rate of poverty for children aged 0-17 is substantially higher than for other age groups. In 1998 the child poverty rate was 18.9 percent (13.5 million children), a one percent drop from 1997, when it was 19.9 percent. The poverty rate for children under age six was 20.6 percent, statistically unchanged from 1997. The poverty rate for adults aged 18-64 and for seniors aged 65 and over was 10.5 percent. The rate for adults aged 18-64 was down slightly from 10.9 percent in 1997, while the rate for seniors was statistically unchanged.
• Race: Blacks and Hispanics suffer higher rates of poverty than whites and Asians. The poverty rate for blacks in 1998 was 26.1 percent, statistically unchanged from the year before. The poverty rate for Hispanics was 25.6 percent, down from 27.1 percent. The rate for Asians and Pacific Islanders was 12.5 percent, down from 14 percent (not a statistically significant change). The poverty rate for non-Hispanic whites was 8.2 percent, down from 8.6 percent. Even though the poverty rate for whites is lower than for other groups, because whites make up the largest share of the population, nearly half of the poor (46 percent) were non-Hispanic whites in 1998.
• Family Composition: Marriage tends to be associated with lower rates of poverty. In 1998, the poverty rate for female-headed households with children and no husband present was 29.9 percent. By contrast, the poverty rate for married couples was just 5.3 percent.
• Region: Historically, the South has suffered much higher rates of poverty than the rest of the country, but the difference has narrowed in recent years. In 1998 western states suffered the highest rate of poverty (14.0 percent), followed by the South (13.7 percent), the northeast (12.3 percent) and the midwest (10.3 percent). Geographically, more significant differences can be found between inner cities (18.5 percent) and the suburbs (8.7 percent).