Children Living in Poverty for Racial/Ethnic Subgroups (2024)

Indicator 4 Snapshot: Children Living in Poverty for Racial/Ethnic Subgroups
(Last Updated: February 2019)

Among Hispanic subgroups in 2016, the percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty ranged from 11 to 38 percent. Among Asian subgroups, the percentage of children living in poverty ranged from 6 to 37 percent.

This snapshot examines the poverty rate of children of different racial/ethnic groups and subgroups, using the American Community Survey (ACS) rather than the Current Population Survey (CPS) which is used in the indicator Children Living in Poverty. The ACS includes a broader representation of American society than the CPS does by including people in institutions—such as hospitals, prisons, and the military—in addition to people in households. Also, the ACS allows for more precision in presenting data on smaller groups in the population, such as American Indians/Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders. It also allows for the reporting of poverty rates for many specific Hispanic and Asian subgroups, including, for example, the Mexican, Puerto Rican, Chinese, and Asian Indian subgroups. The percentage of children under age 18¹ living in poverty² is estimated using the official poverty measure.

Figure 4S.1. Percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty, by race/ethnicity: 2016

¹ Includes persons reporting American Indian alone, persons reporting Alaska Native alone, and persons from American Indian and/or Alaska Native tribes specified or not specified.
NOTE: Data shown are based only on related children in a family; that is, all children in the household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit. This figure includes only children related to the householder. It excludes unrelated children and householders who are themselves under the age of 18. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 102.60.

In 2016, about 19 percent of children under age 18 were living in poverty. The percentages of children living in poverty were highest for Black and American Indian/Alaska Native children (34 percent each), followed by Hispanic children (28 percent), Pacific Islander children (23 percent), and children of Two or more races (19 percent), and were lowest for White and Asian children (11 percent each).

Figure 4S.2. Percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty, by selected Hispanic subgroups: 2016

! Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
¹ Includes other Central American subgroups not shown separately.
NOTE: Data shown are based only on related children in a family; that is, all children in the household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit. This figure includes only children related to the householder. It excludes unrelated children and householders who are themselves under the age of 18. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 102.60.

In 2016, about 28 percent of Hispanic children under age 18 were living in poverty. Among Hispanic subgroups, the percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty ranged from 11 to 38 percent. The percentages of the Hispanic subgroups of Guatemalan (38 percent) and Honduran children (36 percent) living in poverty were higher than the overall Hispanic percentage. The percentages of Dominican, Mexican, and Puerto Rican children living in poverty were not measurably different from the overall Hispanic percentage. The percentages of children from all South American subgroups and Central American subgroups (except Guatemalan and Honduran) living in poverty were lower than the overall Hispanic percentage.

Figure 4S.3. Percentage of children under age 18 living in poverty, by selected Asian subgroups: 2016

! Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡ Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.
¹ Includes Taiwanese.
² In addition to the subgroups shown, also includes Sri Lankan.
³ Consists of Indonesian and Malaysian.
NOTE: Data shown are based only on related children in a family; that is, all children in the household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit. This figure includes only children related to the householder. It excludes unrelated children and householders who are themselves under the age of 18. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded numbers are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, American Community Survey (ACS), 2016. See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 102.60.

About 11 percent of Asian children under age 18 were living in poverty in 2016. Among Asian subgroups, the percentage of children living in poverty ranged from 6 to 37 percent. The percentages of children living in poverty were higher than the overall Asian percentage in some of the Asian subgroups,³ ranging from 15 percent for Vietnamese children to 37 percent for Bangladeshi children. The percentages of Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, Laotian, Nepalese, and Thai children living in poverty were not measurably different from the overall Asian percentage. The percentages of Asian Indian, Filipino, and Japanese children living in poverty (6 percent each) were lower than the overall Asian percentage.

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Endnotes

¹ Data shown are based only on related children in a family; that is, all children in the household who are related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption (except a child who is the spouse of the householder). The householder is the person (or one of the people) who owns or rents (maintains) the housing unit. This indicator includes only children related to the householder. It excludes unrelated children and householders who are themselves under the age of 18.
² In this indicator, poverty status is determined by the Census Bureau using a set of money income thresholds that vary by family size and composition. For additional information about poverty status, see https://www.census.gov/topics/income-poverty/poverty/guidance/poverty-measures.html. In 2016, the poverty threshold for a family of four with two related children under 18 years old was $24,339.
³ Poverty rates for Bhutanese children are not available because these estimates did not meet reporting standards.