Why is this indicator important?
The poverty level is determined as the minimum amount of income needed to provide for food, clothing, transportation, shelter, and other necessities.  Poverty levels are adjusted for the size of a family and the age of its members.  Therefore, a low poverty rate is an indicator of the ability of a community to adequately support its individuals and families through gainful employment and governmental transfers. 

The poverty level, as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is also used to determine eligibility for certain government assistance programs, such as Head Start, the Food Stamp Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program.

The level of, and changes in, poverty rates are indicative of the economic strength of a region.  A robust economy is more able to provide enough jobs that pay sufficient wages to minimize the number of families living below the poverty level.  The poverty guidelines are not adjusted for regional differences in the cost of living.  Therefore, comparisons across regions of the country may be misleading. 

How are we doing?
In 1999, 10.2% of Greater Dallas Area residents lived in poverty.  This was below the U.S. average of 11.9%.  By 2003, the poverty rate in the Dallas area had grown to 13.3%, surpassing the national average of 12.5%.  Each of the eight counties in the Dallas Primary Metropolitan Statistical Area (PMSA) experienced an increase in poverty levels over this time period. 

Disaggregating the Greater Dallas Area's poverty rate reveals significant differences among the eight constituent counties:

• Collin (5.4%), Rockwall (6.8%), and Denton (8.3%) Counties had 2003 poverty rates well below 10%.
• Ellis (10.9%) and Kaufman (11.5%) Counties had individual poverty rates slightly below the U.S. average.
• Dallas (16.9%), Henderson (16.6%), and Hunt (15.4%) Counties each had poverty rates well above the national average.
• The increase in the area poverty rate from 1999 to 2003 was driven by Dallas County, with a 4.7% increase in the poverty rate, and Denton County, with a 2.5% increase.

Poverty rates among the 5- to 17-year-old population in the Dallas Independent School District are significantly higher than that of the overall population.  In 2003, nearly one third of children in the DISD lived below the poverty level, a significant increase over the 1999 level, which was nearly 25%.