Tenement Housing Usually Serves Low-Income People (2018)
Official Poverty Levels by Family Size
| Size | Income |
| 1 | $12,140 |
| 2 | $16,460 |
| 3 | $20,780 |
| 4 | $25,100 |
| 5 | $29,420 |
| 6 | $33,740 |
| 7 | $38,060 |
| 8 | $42,380 |
– – – – – – – – – –
For each additional family member, add $4,320. Standards for 2018 issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The more general term “low income” is commonly defined as 200% of the poverty standard. Thus a family of four in 2018 with an income of about $50,000 would be a low income family.
The following is a “Summary of Highlights and Trends” from the year 2008 Report Card on Poverty in the Maine economy, produced by law by the State Planning Office.
Poverty rate 3-year moving average 1982-2016
Maine’s overall poverty rate declined since a high point of 14.3 percent in 1993 until the recession of 2001. The strong economy created a demand for workers in the labor force that led to a low unemployment rate. However the rate rose steadily again through 2004 before easing during the next three years. The recessions of the early 1980’s, early 1990’s and 2002 pushed Maine’s poverty rates up as demand for labor declined.
On the surface, more work and more income looks good for those at the lower end of the income spectrum in Maine. Yet poverty remains a stubborn and persistent fact in Maine. Those with the least appear to be helped little by what appears to be a healthy economy.
Consider the following from a 2008 report by the Maine State Planning Office: [updated]
During the past 35 years, the poverty rate has never fallen below 10 percent.
Even in 2001 when the lowest rate (10.2%) was recorded, 135,000 Mainer’s were living in poverty. In 2007 that number stood at 142,000 and 167,000 in 2017. In 2017 the rate in Maine’s 1st Congressional District was 10.2%; in the 2nd District it was 14.9%.
In 2013 to 2015, an average of nearly 16 percent of Mane people (214.000) were “food insecure,” meaning not having “enough food for an active, healthy life,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Food insecurity can also reinforce the detrimental effects of poverty. Inadequate nutrition limits one’s ability to focus on work and learning.
In 2017 45% Maine school children qualify for free or reduced price school lunches, based on family income. Median income in Maine was $51,000 for the three-year average of 2012-2016.
There is great disparity in poverty levels across Maine’s regions. In easternmost Washington County, poverty is almost twice as prevalent as in southern Cumberland, York, and Sagadahoc counties.
As Maine evolves from a manufacturing–based economy to one more involved in services and information, there continue to be regional disparities in job growth and average earnings. Maine also has higher rates of people holding multiple jobs than in the nation as a whole.
Maine continues to lag behind the nation in the number of residents with post-secondary education. This has important implications for the earning power of Maine’s citizens.
Additional resources
See also Rank of Maine, Social Indicators
State of Maine, State Planning Office. 2008 Report on Poverty. February 2008. http://www.state.me.us/spo/economics/docs/publications/2008%20Report%20on%20Poverty.pdf
Maine’s Rank Nationally on Poverty Indicators
| Maine’s Rank in ==> | 1990 | 1998-1999 | 2016 | Scale |
| 1. Population Characteristics: | ||||
| Percent Elderly | 18th | 10th | 2nd (2017) | 1=highest |
| Percent Children | 35th | 49th | 50th (2017) | 1=highest |
| 2. Economic Characteristics: | ||||
| % in Labor Force | 24th | 30th | 31st (2017) | 1=highest |
| % Home Owner | 1st | 6th | 10th (2004) | 1=highest |
| 3. Income Characteristics: | ||||
| Poverty Rate | 25th | 31st | 21st (2016) | 1=highest |
| Annual Pay of Workers | 39th | 40th | 43rd (2009)* | 1=highest |
| Median Household Income | 32nd | 33rd | 30th (2017) | 1=highest |
| Gap between richest & poorest (Gini index) | 13th (2017) | 1=widest | ||
| Sources:
Rankings of States, US Statistical Abstract & Center for Budget & Policy Priorities. U.S. Census. “American Factfinder.” 2007 data. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/GRTSelectServlet?ds_name=ACS_2007_1YR_G00_ U.S. Census. “Income, Earnings, and Poverty Data From the 2006 American Community Survey.” http://www.census.gov/prod/2007pubs/acs-08.pdf Maine Equal Justice Partners. “Federal Poverty Levels.” http://www.mejp.org/content/federal-poverty-levels (accessed February 24, 2018) 2008-2016 data from “Poverty Rate in Maine from 2000 to 2016” statista at https://www.statista.com/statistics/205471/poverty-rate-in-maine/ (accessed February 24, 2018) U.S.Census. “Quick Facts Maine.” https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ME/PST045216 “Kids Count data center” http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/tables/1566-school-children-eligible-for-subsidized-school-lunch?loc=21&loct=2#detailed/2/any/false/871,870,573,869,36/any/12834,3339 U.S. News. “Best States About Maine.” *U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Employment and Wages Online Annual Averages, 2009,” <http://www.bls.gov/cew/cewbultn09.htm>. |
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