2010 Reports

Basic Facts About Low-income Children, 2009: Children Aged 12 through 17

Chau, Michelle M.; Thampi, Kalyani; Wight, Vanessa

Children represent 25 percent of the population. Yet, they comprise 36 percent of all people in poverty. Among children, 42 percent live in low-income families and 21 percent live in poor families. Among our oldest children, adolescents aged 12 through 17, 38 percent live in low-income families and 17 percent live in poor families. Winding up in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. There are significant factors related to children's experiences with economic insecurity, such as race/ethnicity and parents' education and employment. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socio-economic, and geographic characteristics of adolescents and their parents, highlighting the important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children in this age group from their less disadvantaged counterparts.