The U.S. poverty rate fell to 13.5 percent, down by 1.2 points from the previous year and the largest one-year decline since 1968, says the Census Bureau. But in rural areas, there was no significant change, with 16.7 percent of rural Americans living in poverty.
One-in-six Americans, or slightly more than 50 million people, live in rural areas, which historically have lower income levels, higher jobless rates and higher poverty rates than urban areas. The rural poverty rate is nearly the same as in center cities. The suburban rate was 10.8 percent.
Median household income rose by 5.2 percent from 2014, to $56,516 — the first increase since 2007, just before the 2008-09 recession. In a White House video, President Obama said the income and poverty report “paints a picture of an economy that is improving, that is reducing poverty and is increasing income.”
While household income rose overall, rural incomes were nearly unchanged at $44,657 or nearly $12,000 lower than the U.S. average. The poverty threshold for a family of four nationwide was $24,257.
The Census Bureau report came five days after USDA said food insecurity was at its lowest level, 13.3 percent in 2015, since the onset of the 2008-09 recession. Like food stamps, the insecurity rate is highest during economic turmoil and lowest when the economy is booming.
Some 43.4 million people received food stamps at latest count, down slightly from May and 2.1 million fewer than in June 2015. “This is the lowest (food stamp) participation level since October 2010, said the Food Research and Action Center. The anti-hunger group said the decline was due to improved economic conditions and by expiration of benefits for able-bodied adults without dependents. The so-called ABAWDs are limited to 90 days of benefits in a three-year period, but the time limit is often waived during periods of high unemployment.
“Today’s data show that SNAP (formerly known as food stamps) lifted 4.6 million people out of poverty in 2015, under the SPM,” wrote Robert Greenstein, referring to the Supplemental Poverty Measure, an alternative gauge that takes into account the effect of programs such as food stamps, the earned income tax credit and the child tax credit.