Has the percentage of children living in low-income and poor families changed over time?
The percentage of children living in low-income families (both poor and near poor) has been on the rise – increasing from 37 percent in 2000 to 41 percent in 2008. During this time period, the overall number of children of all ages increased by three percent while the number who were low-income and poor increased by 12 percent and 21 percent, respectively. This upward trend in low-income and poor children follows on the heels of a decade of decline in the 1990s.
