Official and relative poverty rate, 1979–2010

Note: Shaded areas denote recessions.

Source: Authors' analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS-ASEC) Historical Poverty Tables (Table 2) and CPS-ASEC microdata

Documentation and methodology

Underlying data are from Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement Historical Poverty Tables, Table 2, “Poverty Status, by Family Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin,” and Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata; see Appendix A for details. To be consistent with international comparisons, median income includes noncash transfers such as food stamps and housing subsidies.