U.S. Poverty Rate Remains Steady For The Fourth Year In A Row

The poverty level remained steady at 14.8% last year, but the number of people without health insurance dropped by 8.8 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual report.

Demonstrators cheer for the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Jacquelyn Martin / AP

There was no change in the United States poverty rate in 2014 compared to 2013, the U.S. Census Bureau reported Wednesday in its annual report.

The percentage of people without health insurance declined sharply, though, from 41.8 million in 2013 to 33 million in 2014.

Still, there was no "statistically significant change" in real median household income or the official poverty rate, the Census Bureau said. In 2014, the nation's official poverty rate was 14.8% – with 46.7 million people living in poverty. The median household income was $53,657.

In 2013, 13.3% of Americans were without health insurance. This figure dropped to 10.4% in 2014. The drop in the rate of uninsured people in 2014 was the largest percentage point decline in six years, which the bureau attributed to demographic shifts as well as policy changes that occurred in 2014 when provisions of the Affordable Care Act were fully implemented.

The poverty rate has remained steady for four years now, and this is the third consecutive year where median income has been level with the previous year.

Changes in poverty rates for men (13.4%) and women (16.4%) also remained steady. Around 15 million children under the age of 18 were in poverty last year, according to the Census Bureau.

Jane Waldfogel, a Columbia University professor and an expert on children and poverty, said in a statement, "Child poverty in the U.S. is dismally high, especially when we compare the U.S. to our peer countries."

She said that food stamps, along with child tax credit were essential to reduce child poverty. Comparing the U.S. to other developed nations, Waldfogel said the government supports for low-income families in the country were "vastly less generous" than those offered by others.

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