The poverty rate is the percentage of people living below the poverty level or “threshold.” Each year, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget establishes a series of poverty thresholds for different family sizes and ages of household heads.
Among Jefferson's residents, the poverty rate for people under 18 . . .
- was 9.9 percent in 2019, 13.0 percent in 1999, and 17.5 percent in 1989;
- was 9.9 percent compared to 12.7 percent in Idaho in 2019;
- ranked 40th - from highest to lowest - out of the 44 counties in 2019.
These next data come from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey. They are based on averages of data collected in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018. These estimates cannot be used to say what is going on in any particular year in the period, only what the average value is over the full period. The Census Bureau's data.census.gov provides 3-year estimates for counties with at 20,000 people, and 1-year estimates for counties with at least 65,000 people. We use 5-year estimates because they are available for all counties and allow comparison to other counties within the region.
The poverty rate for the youngest children, those under age 5 . . .
- was 16.2 percent in 2014-2018 compared to 14.4 percent in 1999;
- was 16.2 percent in 2014-2018 compared to 23.0 percent in Idaho;
- ranked 35th - from highest to lowest - out of the 44 counties in 2013-2018.
The rate for people 65 and over . . .
- was 5.4 percent in 2014-2018 and 8.7 percent in 1999;
- was 5.4 percent compared to 8.0 percent in Idaho in 2014-2018;
- ranked 39th - from highest to lowest - out of the 44 counties in 2014-2018.