New Census Estimates Show Idaho Poverty Rate Stable

New Census Bureau estimates show Idaho’s poverty rate remained stable between 2006 and 2008.

The estimates placed Idaho's poverty rate of 12.6 percent or nearly 188,000 people among its non-institutionalized population. The percentage ranked 25th in the nation.

Nationally, the poverty rate was estimated at 13.2 percent, down fractionally from 2006. Idaho's rate dropped slightly, but statistically not significantly, in 2007 from 12.6 percent in 2006.

The number of Idaho children living in poverty in 2008 was up slightly but not significantly from 2006. The Census Bureau estimated 15.8 percent, or 64,500 of the state's children under age 18, lived in poverty, placing Idaho's rate at 28th among the states and below the national rate of 18.2 percent.

Idaho's median household income from 2007 to 2008 rose by 2.9 percent. While higher than the national average gain of 2.5 percent, it was below the 7.9 percent increase Idaho households saw from 2006 to 2007.

Women also lost ground to men in median household income. The Census Bureau estimated the median income for women working full time in Idaho in 2008 was just over $29,700, an increase of 3 percent from 2007. But it was still only 71.7 percent of the median income for Idaho men working full time, which was just under $41,500 or 5.2 percent above 2007.

Idaho’s median income for women was a lower percentage of the median income for men in all but six other states.

Of the 130,000 working-age Idahoans living in poverty in 2008, the Census Bureau estimated over 55,000 were employed, 9,500 had college or advanced degrees and over 27,000 more had associate degrees or some college education.