Poverty rate in Colorado rises to 10.6 percent

Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 29, 2007 at midnight

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Poverty in Colorado is up and incomes are down slightly, indicating the state still is recovering from the recession of the early 2000s, new census figures suggest.

The poverty rate inched upward between 2003-04 and 2005-06 while the national rate declined for the first time this decade, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday. However, the state's poverty rate still is lower than that of the nation as a whole.

The median household income in Colorado - meaning half of all households have higher income and half have lower income - fell slightly to $52,015, from $52,275 in 2005, the Census Bureau reported. It, too, is higher than the national average of $48,200.

"Colorado went from boom to bust. We got hit pretty hard between 2001 and 2003, when we lost more than 75,000 jobs," said Jeff Thredgold, chief economist for Vectra Bank.

"Recovery since then has been kind of soft. We've picked up some steam in the past couple of years, but we're never going back to the boom conditions that we had in the second half of the '90s."

According to the Community Population Survey, one of two survey instruments used by the Census Bureau, overall poverty in Colorado rose from 9.8 percent in 2003-2004 to 10.6 percent in 2005-2006.

Nationally, the overall poverty rate declined from 12.6 percent to 12.5 percent, with 36.5 million people living in poverty.

A family of two adults and two children are considered at the poverty level if their household income was $20,444 or less in 2006.

However, families in the Denver area might need twice that amount to live without public or private assistance, said Adela Flores-Brennan, a Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute analyst.

Donna Sablan, of Aurora, is among those struggling to make ends meet.

"Around our house, we don't talk about wants. We talk about needs," said Sablan, who is disabled and cares for her two children and a granddaughter.

Like Sablan, Anna Davis, of Littleton, battles poverty every day.

"I know a lot of families in my situation. I know that I'm one of thousands," said Davis, who is raising six children while pursuing a master's degree in public administration. "I'm not just talking about people who work at McDonald's. It's school teachers, firemen, and a lot of others who struggle."

Kathy White, project coordinator at the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, says census figures don't tell the whole story.

"These numbers don't talk about families right above the federal poverty level that are struggling," she said. "More and more, families are having to deal with rising costs and stagnating wages."

Fred Crowley, a business professor at CU's Colorado Springs campus, said the loss of high-paying jobs has brought the state's income numbers down and poverty rates up. Insurance benefits also went with the jobs.

About 772,000 people in Colorado had no insurance between 2004 and 2006, or 16.6 percent.

Although state income levels remained flat, Highlands Ranch, with a median income of $97,627 last year, ranked seventh in the U.S. among medium-sized towns.

How Colorado stacks up

• Number of people living in poverty in 2006

Colorado   556,153

U.S.   36.5 million

• Median household income in 2006

Colorado   $52,015

U.S.   $48,200

Maryland led the country with a median household income of $65,144. It was followed by New Jersey, Connecticut, Hawaii and Massachusetts.

• Lowest median income: Mississippi had the lowest median income, at $34,473. It was followed by West Virginia, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Alabama.

• Highest poverty rate: Mississippi had the highest poverty rate, at 21.1 percent. It was followed by Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas and West Virginia.

• Lowest poverty rate: MarylandSource: U.S. Census Bureau Reports, Associated Press

National numbers

• Go to census.gov and click on releases in the newsroom category for more on the national poverty rate. Related information can be found through the American Community Survey link.

quinterof@RockyMountainNews.com The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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