Change in Asset Poverty

Definition

Percent change in asset poverty rate, 2002-2010.

Description

This measure expands the notion of poverty to include how much of a financial cushion a household has to weather financial crises such as a job loss, medical emergency or the need to fix a car. Three months’ of living expenses at the poverty level is a conservative cushion for a family that loses its income, and asset poverty includes durable assets, such as a home or business, that would need to be liquidated to cover day-to-day needs. This indicator tracks the change, over time, of household asset poverty.

Data are point estimates produced from a national survey with relatively small samples for some states, which can result in imprecise estimates and ranks. States are not ranked on this measure because estimates are too imprecise to say with confidence how the state compares to other states. For more information on how we measured precision and to download margin of error data for each state, see here.

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Change in Asset Poverty

	Asset Poverty Rate (%)
State	2002	2004	2006	2009	2010
United States	25.2%	22.4%	22.4%	27.1%	26.0%
Alabama	24.5%	26.1%	20.2%	24.1%	21.2%
Alaska	23.4%	—	—	21.7% *	—
Arizona	27.5%	27.0%	25.3%	33.9%	30.0%
Arkansas	25.8%	24.1%	22.4%	25.6%	28.4%
California	25.8%	24.2%	23.7%	30.9%	29.9%
Colorado	28.6%	24.9%	21.2%	28.9%	26.3%
Connecticut	21.7%	19.7%	23.1%	24.9%	23.5%
Delaware	16.2%	11.1%	17.9%	19.8% *	23.8% *
District of Columbia	39.7%	27.1%	25.0%	41.3%	30.3%
Florida	25.0%	20.8%	19.0%	27.2%	29.6%
Georgia	26.8%	25.7%	23.3%	30.8%	29.3%
Hawaii	26.9%	33.6%	17.0%	18.7% *	14.6% *
Idaho	28.1%	23.1%	18.9%	24.8%	31.9% *
Illinois	22.8%	19.8%	20.8%	26.4%	26.4%
Indiana	23.9%	18.6%	21.9%	26.2%	22.9%
Iowa	17.2%	15.5%	18.3%	22.9%	22.8%
Kansas	21.8%	21.9%	22.1%	22.2%	22.2%
Kentucky	23.8%	26.0%	23.2%	27.5%	23.7%
Louisiana	23.6%	24.4%	26.9%	23.6%	26.1%
Maine	19.3% 1	18.0% 1	22.9%	24.1%	22.9%
Maryland	23.8%	18.3%	18.1%	20.2%	22.8%
Massachusetts	20.3%	21.8%	24.0%	26.4%	27.1%
Michigan	20.8%	17.3%	19.9%	25.9%	25.8%
Minnesota	15.8%	15.7%	16.1%	22.5%	19.3%
Mississippi	25.8%	29.6%	23.8%	31.9%	29.5%
Missouri	22.4%	21.6%	22.2%	24.3%	22.2%
Montana	31.3%	29.4%	32.5%	26.1%	25.5% *
Nebraska	22.5%	20.1%	18.0%	23.5% *	21.1%
Nevada	32.8%	29.2%	26.3%	45.2%	43.9%
New Hampshire	17.4%	19.4%	18.6%	20.1% *	21.0%
New Jersey	21.9%	18.8%	19.5%	26.1%	26.0%
New Mexico	29.5%	38.7%	25.2%	29.4%	26.0%
New York	34.7%	34.2%	32.5%	35.5%	32.9%
North Carolina	21.1%	18.0%	26.0%	27.6%	26.8%
North Dakota	31.2% 2	23.3% 2	24.3%	20.0% *	12.7%
Ohio	22.0%	24.2%	21.9%	27.3%	26.3%
Oklahoma	27.6%	21.1%	23.1%	26.9%	23.4%
Oregon	26.2%	24.7%	26.2%	28.2%	24.1%
Pennsylvania	19.4%	17.4%	18.7%	20.6%	19.6%
Rhode Island	15.9%	24.6%	17.4%	21.8%	27.2%
South Carolina	25.6%	22.7%	25.6%	25.1%	23.9%
South Dakota	31.2% 2	23.3% 2	16.1%	21.7% *	26.6% *
Tennessee	25.7%	24.7%	21.6%	25.8%	23.0%
Texas	28.8%	26.4%	23.9%	27.7%	25.9%
Utah	25.7%	29.2%	26.7%	22.0%	23.1%
Vermont	19.3% 1	18.0% 1	—	15.7% *	20.6%
Virginia	24.9%	20.6%	13.9%	20.9%	17.7%
Washington	21.8%	20.2%	20.3%	23.2%	23.2%
West Virginia	26.2%	22.9%	18.0%	18.7%	15.5%
Wisconsin	19.6%	18.1%	19.2%	22.0%	21.4%
Wyoming	31.2% 2	23.3% 2	18.1%	20.9% *	21.5% *

Survey of Income and Program Participation. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010. Data calculated by the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.

"—" indicates that no data is available, or data is suppressed due to a margin of error that is greater than 50% of the estimate.