what is poverty?

The Facts

19.2% or nearly 110,000 District residents live in poverty.

30% of District children, age 5-17, live in poverty.

13% of adult males, ages 18-64, in the District live in poverty.

Nearly 10% of District seniors, age 65 and older, live in poverty.

Nearly 20 percent of District residents live in poverty. In other words, 110,000 District families earn less than $22,314. That is an alarming number of poor residents, but it’s not the full picture.

Of great concern is the large number of struggling individuals who are not captured among the poor, even though their incomes are dangerously close to the official poverty level. These low-income workers, who are struggling to make ends meet, face many of the same economic risks and challenges as those who are officially poor.

To learn more about poverty, click here.

Poverty Impacts Us All.