2013 Reports

Basic Facts About Low-income Children: Children Aged 12 through 17 Years, 2011

Addy, Sophia D.; Englehardt, William; Skinner, Curtis

Children represent 24 percent of the population, but they comprise 34 percent of all people in poverty. 1 Among all children, 45 percent live in low-income families and approximately one in every five (22 percent) live in poor families. Among our oldest children, adolescents 12 through 17 years of age, 41 percent live in low-income families and 19 percent live in poor families. Being a child in a low-income or poor family does not happen by chance. There are a range of factors associated with children’s experiences of economic insecurity, including race/ethnicity and parents’ education and employment. This fact sheet describes the demographic, socio-economic, and geographic characteristics of adolescents and their parents. It highlights the important factors that appear to distinguish low-income and poor children in this age group from their less disadvantaged counterparts.