X

Poverty a problem in St. Lawrence County; 29% of kids live below poverty line

Posted 4/22/19

By JIMMY LAWTON North Country This Week Nearly one-third of children in St. Lawrence County live in poverty according to a report from the state Community Action Association. St. Lawrence County is …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

Poverty a problem in St. Lawrence County; 29% of kids live below poverty line

Posted

By JIMMY LAWTON
North Country This Week

Nearly one-third of children in St. Lawrence County live in poverty according to a report from the state Community Action Association.

St. Lawrence County is the seventh most impoverished county in New York with more than 29% of kids living below the party line, according to the annual report.

The 2019 report shows 19,107 or about 19.2% of St. Lawrence County’s trackable residents living in poverty. That’s significantly higher than the state’s overall rate of 15%.

The report estimates that an adult with one child would need to earn $25.45 per hour to have a living wage. The report defines a living wage as the amount an individual would need to earn as the sole provider for a household consisting of themselves and one child based on typical expenses in the county.

The poverty threshold used in the report is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau and is based on household size. Currently that level is $12,490 for an individual. For a family of two the poverty threshold is set at $16,190. A family of three earning $21,330 or less is considered impoverished.

 Age and Education

According to a report from the St. Lawrence County Community Development program, 19.4% or 19,142 of St. Lawrence County residents live in poverty.

About 29% of St. Lawrence County’s children, which is about 6,356 kids under 18, live in poverty.

The report shows about 14.5% or 10,100 adults ages 25 to 65 live in poverty and about 8.5% or 1,412 seniors live in poverty.

According to the report, education appears to play a role in poverty. About 34% or 2,563 of the 7,492 adults without a high school diploma live in poverty, while only about 16% or 3,857 of the 24,848 adults with a diploma live below the poverty line.

Adults with an associate’s degree fare better with only about 12% or 2,514 of the 20,157 adults with an associate degree living in poverty.

Of the 16,456 adults with a bachelor’s or higher degree only 7.2% or 1,166 are living in poverty.

 One in Five

Poverty levels in St. Lawrence County have grown substantially in the past 15 years. In 2004 about 15.5% of residents lived in poverty, which is up to 19.4% in the most current data.

At times the rate has been even higher. In 2013 21.4% of the county’s residents were living in poverty.

St. Lawrence County’s unemployment rate is about 7.4%. The median income for county residents is $33,324. For people with high school diplomas and no higher education, the median income is $26,714.

Fifty-four percent of the county’s children qualify for free and reduced lunches and 40.2% of families with a female head of the household live in poverty.

About 9% of people with jobs do not have health insurance and about 15.5% of unemployed people do not have insurance.

According to report, the numbers were based on self reporting which includes people who have insurance from a current or former employer, insurance purchased directly from an insurance company, Medicare, Medicaid, Medical Assistance, any government assistance plan for people with low income or disability, TRICARE or military health care, VA, Indian Health Service or any other type of health insurance or health coverage plan. The data was cited by the United States Census Bureau.

 Seventh in State

While St. Lawrence County’s poverty rate is higher than the state and federal rates, there are a few counties in even worse shape.

Those are Bronx County, which has a poverty rate of 30.5%; Kings County with a 22.73% poverty rate; Montgomery County with a 20.61% poverty rate; Tompkins County with a 20.07% poverty rate; Chautauqua County with a 19.4% poverty rate; and Franklin County where 19.23% of people live in poverty.

The complete report can be found at

http://nyscommunityaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/FINAL-VERSION-2018-POVERTY-REPORT-COMPLETE.pdf