Fact of the Month – June 2009

What is poverty? Poverty is defined by the annual income for a specific family size. If a family with a certain amount of members earns an annual income below what is stipulated in the federal guidelines, that family is considered to be in poverty. For example, a family of four members was considered in poverty if the total income for that particular household fell below $20,650 during 2007. For the complete 2009 federal poverty income guidelines click here.

In the SRDC region, Virginia’s median family income with four members exceeded the federal poverty family income guideline by 400% (highest in the region), followed by Georgia (334%) and Florida (332%). The states that had the lowest percent exceeding the federal poverty family income guideline with four members were Mississippi (260%) followed by Arkansas (265%) and Oklahoma (289%).

Table 1. 2007 Federal Income Level for Poverty

Family Size	Gross Yearly Income	Gross Monthly Income	Approx. Hourly Income
1	$10,210	$851	$4.91
2	$13,690	$1,141	$6.58
3	$17,170	$1,431	$8.25
4	$20,650	$1,721	$9.93
5	$24,130	$2,011	$11.60
6	$27,610	$2,301	$13.27
7	$31,090	$2,591	$14.95
8	$34,570	$2,881	$16.62
Over 8 add	+$3,480	+$290	+$1.67

Source: 2007 Federal Poverty Income Guidelines; Oregon Center for Public Policy