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Description

POVERTY reports the total annual income of each person's family expressed as a percentage of their family's poverty threshold. POVERTY assigns all members of each family-not each household-the same value. Families are identified by the variable FAMUNIT, which is based on the IPUMS-created family interrelationship variables. POVERTY is calculated by comparing the value of FTOTINC to the family's poverty threshold, which is determined by the family's size, number of children, and age of the householder. See the poverty definition page for more information on poverty thresholds. POVERTY is also calculated for unrelated individuals over age 15 living in households, while group quarters residents are excluded.

In all samples, POVERTY is calculated by IPUMS based on income, family composition, and the associated poverty threshold within each family unit (as defined by FAMUNIT). The original census microdata samples from 1990 onward and the ACS/PRCS included a version of poverty calculated by the Census Bureau, but due to the different family definitions used by the Census Bureau, this original variable does not always match POVERTY. The original Census Bureau poverty values can be found in the variable CBPOVERTY. Note that while the original variables in the 2006 and later ACS/PRCS samples (reported in CBPOVERTY) included values for some group quarters residents, these are all treated as not-in-universe for POVERTY.

Note that IPUMS applies the income adjustment factor before calculating poverty in the ACS and PRCS, although use of this adjustment is not recommended by IPUMS generally (see the ACS income standardization note for more information.)