Learn more about United Way community schools!

Become a Women United for Community Schools member today!

Poverty Data

United Way of Erie County utilizes American Community Survey data to analyze poverty rates for Erie County. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Census Bureau did not release official American Community Survey data for the year of 2020. Instead, experimental estimates were released that did not include the Erie County region.


2012 Federal Poverty household income was $11,344 (individual) and $23,021 (family of four)

2014 Federal Poverty household income was $11,670 (individual) and $23,850 (family of four)

2016 Federal Poverty household income was $11,880 (individual) and $24,300 (family of four)

2017 Federal Poverty household income is $12,060 (individual) and $24,600 (family of four)

2018 Federal Poverty household income is $12,140 (individual) and $25,100 (family of four)

2019 Federal Poverty household income is $12,490 (individual) and $25,750 (family of four)

2020 Federal Poverty household income is $12,760 (individual) and $26,200 (family of four)

2021 Federal Poverty household income is $12,880 (individual) and $26,500 (family of four)

2022 Federal Poverty household income is $13,590 (individual) and $27,750 (family of four)
2023 Federal Poverty household income is $13,590 (individual) and $30,000 (family of four)

VIEW THE FULL PDF VERSION HERE

Poverty Rates for Overall Population

Population for whom poverty status is determined United States

Percent below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

Below Poverty Line

Erie County

Below Poverty Line

City of Erie

Below Poverty Level

2005 38,231,474 (13.3%) 1,420,396 (11.9%) 37,649 (14.2%) 18,390 (20.2%) 
2006 38,757,253 (13.3%) 1,448,228 (12.1%) 44,219(16.5%) 26,586 (26.1%)
2007 38,757,253 (13%) 1,393,026 (11.6%) 38,410 (14.5%) 22,534 (24.6%)
2008 39,108,822 (13.2%) 1,458,394 (12.1%) 38,591 (14.5%) 22,705 (24.2%)
2009 42,868,163 (14.3%) 1,516,705 (12.1%) 43,311 (15.8%) 22,683 (23.1%)
2010 46,215,956 (15.3%) 1,648,184 (13.4%) 46,718 (17.4%) 29,484 (30.2%)
2011 48,452,035 (15.9%) 1,6951,996 (13.8%) 44,205 (16.4%) 27,270 (28%)
2012 48,760,123 (15.9%) 1,693,285 (13.7%) 42,462 (22%) 24,725 (25.7%)
2013 48,810,818 (15.8%) 1,690,405 (13.7%) 49,005 (18.3%) 28,114 (29.2%)
2014 48,208,387 (15.5%) 1,682,212 (13.6%) 43,438 (16.3%) 23,944 (25.1%)
2015 46,153,077 (14.7%) 1,629,995 (13.2%) 46,429 (17.5%) 25,572 (26.9%)
2016 44,268,996 (14%) 1,592,045 (12.9%) 41,799 (15.9%) 25,499 (27.3%)
2017 42,583,651 (13.8%) 1,548,720 (12.5%) 41,865 (16%) 24,843 (26.9%)
2018 41,852,315 (13.1%) 1,517,870 (12.2%) 40.132 (15.5%) 24,614 (27.1%)
2019 39,490,096 (12.3%) 1,489,333 (12.0%) 44,656 (17.4%) 25,678 (28.5%)
2021 41,393,176 (12.8%) 1,519,032 (12.1%) 42,386 (16.5%) 20,692 (23.3%)
2022 40,951,625 (12.6%) 1,483,365 (11.8%) 38,548 (15.1%) 21,126 (24.0%)

Poverty Rates by Employment Status

Employed

Living In Poverty

United States

below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

below Poverty Level

Erie County below Poverty Level City of Erie

below Poverty Level

2005 8,517,030 (6.2%) 283,421 (5.0%) 7,887 (6.4%) 3,573  (8.8%)
2006 8,733,238 (6.2%) 294,886 (5.1%) 9,600 (7.6%) 5,391 (11.8%)
2007 8,468,565 (6.0%) 282,188 (4.8%) 7,856 (6.2%) 4,523 (11.0%)
2008 9,040,908 (6.2%) 318,331 (5.3%) 8,264 (6.6%) 4,922 (11.4%)
2009 9,250,760 (6.6%) 291,321 (5.0%) 8,983 (7.1%) 5,650 (12.4%)
2010 9,759,572 (7.1%) 321,796 (5.6%) 9,518 (7.7%) 5,464 (12.8%)
2011 10,307,891 (7.4%) 314,832 (5.4%) 11,538 (9.1%) 6,331 (14.7%)
2012 10,552,413 (7.4%) 333,576 (5.7%) 8,670 (6.9%) 4,122 (9.7%)
2013 10,872,843 (7.5%) 339,277 (5.7%) 9,561 (7.5%) 5,131 (12.0%)
2014 11,066,384 (7.5%) 348,891 (5.8%) 9,527 (7.7%) 5,159 (12.3%)
2015 10,532,329 (7.0%) 342,411 (5.7%) 10,418 (8.3%)
5,605 (13.0%)
2016 10,077,653 (6.6%) 336,192 (5.6%) 8,753 (6.9%) 4,640 (11.5%)
2017 9,512,092 (6.2%) 317,533 (5.2%) 7,719 (6.4%) 4,595 (11.6%)
2018 9,350,818 (6.0%) 424,942 (6.5%) 10,650 (8.3%) 6,665 (15.5%)
2019 8,918,835 (5.6%) 335,392 (5.4%) 9,951 (8.1%) 5,472 (14.0%)
2021 8,672,108 (5.6%) 288,208 (4.7%) 7,155 (6.1%) 3,503 (9.1%)
2022 9,177,878 (5.7%) 312,567 (4.9%) 9,708 (8.0%) 4,726 (11.6%)

Poverty Rates by Employment Status

Unemployed

Living in Poverty

United States

below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

below Poverty Level

Erie County below Poverty Level City of Erie

below Poverty Level

2005 2,942,831 (29.1%) 105,947 (26.0%) 2,471 (25.6%) 1,425 (35.2%)
2006 2,744,987 (28.7%) 101,372 (26.6%) 3,076 (31.8%) 1,833 (43.1%)
2007 2,636,143 (27.8%) 98,540 (27.0%) 2,207 (29.7%) 1,379 (45.0%)
2008 2,782,629 (28.3%) 103,004 (28.5%) 2,727 (27.5%) 1,282 (28.2%)
2009 4,182,911 (27.4%) 146,306 (25.2%) 4,709 (35.6%) 2,029 (38.1%)
2010 4,978,163 (29.8%) 157,763 (25.9%) 3,946 (31.1%) 2,630 (44.5%)
2011 5,179,420 (32.6%) 169,515 (28.5%) 3,061 (21.2%) 2,022 (32.1%)
2012 4,872,011 (33.3%)
171,072 (30.2%) 4,229 (34.8%) 2,324 (48.0%)
2013 4,438,490 (33.6%) 165,442 (31.1%) 3,424 (34.4%) 2,657 (55.2%)
2014 3,854,681 (33.9%) 145,960 (32.5%) 3,018 (32.6%) 1,643 (40.3%)
2015 3,287,344 (33.0%) 122,866 (30.7%) 2,556 (29.3%) 1,381 (40.4%)
2016 2,872,590 (31.3%) 112,047 (30.5%) 3,845 (49.8%) 2,730 (61.0%)
2017 2,590,535 (30.4%) 101,502 (29.8%) 2,835 (35.2%) 2,139 (53.6%)
2018 2,393,406 (30.0%) 90,329 (28.7%) 1,655 (29.2%) 1,196 (38.5%)
2019 2,090,290 (28.3%) 84,102 (28.9%) 2,197 (34.9%) 1,575 (46.2%)
2021 2,874,391 (27.6%) 116,000 (28.0%) 3,229 (33.0%) 1,588 (42.6%)
2022 2,175,036 (30.4%) 91,281 (32.5%) 1,448 (42.1%) 260 (19.7%)

Poverty Rates by Race/Nationality

White

Population living in Poverty

United States

below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

below Poverty Level

Erie County below Poverty Level City of Erie

below Poverty Level

2005 22,370,834 (10.4%) 929,560 (9.2%) 32,217 (13.3%) 13,625 (19.0%)
2006 22,657,417 (10.5%) 935,550 (9.3%)
32,862 (13.6%) 16,176 (20.2%)
2007 22,283,845 (10.2%) 898,087 (8.9%) 29,647 (12.3%) 14,742 (20.0%)
2008 23,934,719 (10.7%) 965,972 (9.6%) 28,994 (12.1%) 14,178 (19.0%)
2009 26,270,749 (11.7%) 991,860 (9.7%) 34,948 (14.4%) 16,180 (20.5%)
2010 27,951,752 (12.5%) 1,076,294 (10.6%) 34,464 (14.4%) 18,860 (25.0%)
2011 29,260,632 (13.0%) 1,086,711 (10.7%) 32,228 (13.5%) 16,250 (22.0%)
2012 29,493,814 (13.0%) 1,078,384 (10.6%) 28,900 (12.3%) 12,402 (17.8%)
2013 29,701,062 (13.0%) 1,081,639 (10.7%) 37,390 (15.8%) 18,495 (25.6%)
2014 29,193,983 (12.8%) 1,068,947 (10.6%) 33,084 (14.2%) 14,900 (21.5%)
2015 28,027,149 (12.2%) 1,036,697 (10.3%) 35,409 (15.1%) 16,123 (22.9%)
2016 26,653,418 (11.6%) 1,015,549 (10.1%) 30,673 (13.2%) 15,769 (22.3%)
2017 25,668,489 (11.1%) 1,014,213 (10.1%) 28,978 (12.7%) 15,521 (22.9%)
2018 25,230,693 (10.9%) 937,874 (9.4%) 29,332 (13.0%) 15,031 (22.5%)
2019 23,828,085 (10.3%) 922,707 (9.3%) 31,826 (14.4%) 14,837 (23.2%)
2021 19,510,415 (9.8%) 855,801 (9.1%) 28,956 (13.6%) 9,289 (15.9%)
2022 19,544,155 (9.9%) 834,013 (8.9%) 27,866 (13.2%) 11,881 (20.3%)

Poverty Rates by Race/Nationality

African American

Population

Living in Poverty

United

 States

below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

below Poverty Level

Erie County below Poverty Level City of Erie

below Poverty Level

2005 8,889,138 (25.6%) 353,255 (29.4%) N/A N/A
2006 8,968,940 (25.3%) 351,178 (29.0%) 7,698 (47.8%) 7,594 (49.3%)
2007 8,806,842 (24.7%) 322,289 (26.7%) 4,508 (34.4%) 3,944 (34.0%)
2008 8,661,570 (24.1%) 332,244 (27.4%) 7,023 (46.0%) 6,588 (47.7%)
2009 9,407,955 (25.8%) 353,136 (28.4%) 4,474 (31.6%) 4,345 (33.3%)
2010 10,099,631 (27.1%) 367,398 (28.4%) 8,313 (44.7%) 7,488 (45.5%)
2011 10,543,367 (28.1%) 392,487 (30.4%) 7,223 (40.0%) 6,862 (44.7%)
2012 10,665,149 (28.1%) 387,800 (29.5%) 7,985 (43.4%) 7,470 (475.3%)
2013 10,538,290 (27.6%) 370,273 (28.0%) 6,829 (37.9%) 6,002 (38.5%)
2014 10,434,389 (27.0%) 392,947 (29.5%) 4,670 (27.3%) 4,589 (28.7%)
2015 9,905,872 (25.4%) 378,173 (28.5%) 6,795 (37.2%) 6,211 (38.0%)
2016 9,366,792 (23.9%) 350,149 (26.4%) 8,434 (46.7%) 7,904 (52.0%)
2017 9,122,033 (23.0%) 336,427 (24.8%) 6,059 (36.1%) 4,033 (29.0%)
2018 8,971,239 (22.5%) 350,658 (26.1%) 6,903 (38.9%) 6,285 (41.2%)
2019 8,557,464 (21.2%) 341,424 (24.9%) 7,634 (47.9%) 7,179 (52.2%)
2021 8,402,643 (21.8%) 316,173 (24.8%) 5,109 (29.2%) 4,933 (31.4%)
2022 8,317,088 (21.3%) 295,367 (23.0%) 3,086 (18.8%) 2,919 (20.9%)

Poverty Rates by Race/Nationality

Hispanic/Latino Population Living in Poverty United

States below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania below Poverty Level Erie County below Poverty Level City of Erie

below Poverty Level

2005 9,315,923 (22.4%) 152,104 (31.7%) N/a N/A
2006 9,293,416 (21.5%) 143,594 (28.6%) N/A N/A
2007 9,219,100 (20.7%) 169,302 (31.9%) 2,823 (43.1%) 2,451 (51.1%)
2008 9,794,706 (21.3%) 171,576 (29.9%) 1,904 (24.5%) N/A
2009 11,130,896 (23.5%) 181,706 (29.3%) 3,382 (42.5%) 2,883 (48.1%)
2010 12,306,535 (24.8%) 232,292 (33.5%) 2,910 (31.6%) 2,641 (44.2%)
2011 13,126,374 (25.8%) 239,624 (33.3%) 3,820 (42.0%) 3,560 (49.0%)
2012 13,157,055 (25.4%) 251,810 (33.4%) 3,772 (38.5%) 3,156 (50.1%)
2013 13,089,210 (24.8%) 258,190 (33.2%) 4,640 (46.6%) 4,103 (59.5%)
2014 13,079,584 (24.1%) 255,740 (31.8%) 3,964 (39.8%) 3,509 (55.0%)
2015 12,505,613 (22.6%) 252,451 (30.3%) 4,937 (47.3%) 4,240 (55.9%)
2016 11,814,468 (21.0%) 259,823 (30.0%) 4,763 (44.9%) 4,195 (52.2%)
2017 11,173,521 (19.4%) 260,303 (28.7%) 4,451 (40.6%) 3,590 (53.2%)
2018 11,025,445 (18.8%) 247,710 (26.3%) 5,225 (45.7%) 4,536 (67.5%)
2019 10,201,081 (17.2%) 252,255 (26.2%) 3,774 (33.0%) 2,531 (28.2%)
2021 10,759,082 (17.5%) 237,254 (22.5%) 4,081 (32.2%) 3,776 (49.0%)
2022 10,465,447 (16.8%) 258,956 (23.9%) 3,944 (30.8%) 3,798 (45.0%)

Poverty Rates by Gender

Males Living in Poverty United

States

Percent below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

Below Poverty Line

Erie County

Below Poverty Line

City of Erie

Below Poverty Level

2005 16,570,504 (11.8%) 593,269 (10.3%) 18,180 (14%) 8,887 (20.5%)
2006 16,963,560 (11.9%) 623,939 (10.7%) 20,677 (15.7%) 13,125 (25.8%)
2007 16,576,071 (11.5%) 586,789 (10.1%) 18,103 (13.9%) 11,074 (25%)
2008 17,208,986 (11.8%) 625,382 (10.7%) 17,152 (3.1%) 10,352 (23.1%)
2009 19,183,762 (13.1%) 648,467 (11%) 18,431 (14.2%) 10,130 (21.3%)
2010 20,850,219 (14.1%) 125,169 (12.1%) 20,766 (15.9%) 13,106 (28.8%)
2011 21,825,281 (14.7%) 749,598 (12.5%) 19,094 (14.6%) 11,627 (25%)
2012 21,910,739 (14.6%) 749,388 (12.5%) 19,094 (15%) 12,640 (26.8%)
2013 21,938,525 (14.5%) 752,986 (12.5%) 22,114 (16.9%) 12,446 (26.1%)
2014 21,590,918 (14.2%) 746,833 (12.4%) 18,733 (14.5%) 11,005 (23.9%)
2015 20,599,407 (13.4%) 719,852 (11.9%) 20,029 (15.4%) 10,945 (23.7%)
2016 19,760,056 (12.8%) 703,375 (11.7%) 18,741 (14.6%) 11,702 (26.1%)
2017 19,004,547 (12.2%) 675,818 (11.2%) 17,702 (13.9%) 11,067 (24.4%)
2018 18,550,942 (11.9%) 678,853 (11.2%) 19,406 (15.4%) 13,628 (29.2%)
2019 17,473,451 (11.1%) 661,362 (10.9%) 19,098 (15.4%) 11,586 (26.5%)
2021 18,518,155 (11.6%) 662,566 (10.7%) 16,633 (13.3%) 7,578 (18.0%)
2022 18,281,641 (11.4%) 652,419 (10.6%) 17,316 (13.8%) 10,075 (22.8%)

Poverty Rates by Gender

Females Living in Poverty United States

Percent below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

Below Poverty Line

Erie County

Below Poverty Line

City of Erie

Percent below Poverty Level

2005 21,660,970 (14.8%) 827,127 (13.4%) 19,469 (14.3%)

9,503 (19.9%)

2006 21,793,693 (14.7%) 824,289 (13.3%) 23,542 (17.2%)

13,461 (26.4%)

2007 21,476,176 (14.3%) 806,237 (13.1%) 20,307 (15.2%)

11,460 (24.2%)

2008 17,208,986 (11.8%) 625,382 (10.7%) 17,152 (13.1%)

12,353 (25.3%)

2009 23,684,401 (15.6%) 868,238 (13.9%) 23,880 (17.3%)

12,553 (24.8%)

2010 25,365,737 (16.5%) 923,015 (14.6%) 25,952 (18.8%)

16,378 (31.4%)

2011 26,626,754 (17.2%) 946,398 (14.9%) 25,111 (28.2%)

15,643 (30.8%)

2012 26,849,384 (17.2%) 943,897 (14.9%) 22,802 (16.7%)

12,085 (24.6%)

2013 26,872,343 (17.2%) 937,469 (14.8%) 26,891 (19.6%)

15,668 (32.3%)

2014 26,617,496 (16.8%) 935,379 (14.7%) 24,705 (18%)

12,939 (26.3%)

2015 25,553,670 (16%) 910,143 (14.3%) 26,400 (19.4%)

14,627 (30%)

2016 24,508,940 (15.2%) 888,670 (14%) 23,058 (17.1%)

13,797 (28.3%)

2017 23,579,108 (14.5%) 872,906 (13.7%) 24,163 (18%)

13,776 (29.3%)

2018 23,301,373 (14.3%) 839,017 (13.2%) 20,726 (15.6%) 10,986 (24.8%)
2019 22,016,645 (13.5%) 827,971 (13.0%) 25,558 (19.3%) 14,092 (30.3%)
2021 22,875,021 (13.9%) 856,466 (13.4%) 25,753 (19.5%) 13,115 (28.1%)
2022 22,669,984 (13.8%) 830,946 (13.0%) 21,232 (16.5%) 11,051 (25.3%)

Poverty Rates by Age Group

Children Under 18 living in poverty United States

Percent below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

Below Poverty Line

Erie County

Below Poverty Line

City of Erie

Below Poverty Level

2005 13,360,273 (18.5%) 460,616 (16.7%) 11,254 (17.4%)

5,704 (24.1%)

2006 13,285,569 (18.3%) 464,686 (16.9%) 16,515 (25.6%)

10,290 (40%)

2007 13,097,100 (18%) 446,686 (16.3%) 14,172 (22.5%)

8,950 (40.7%)

2008 13,240,870 (18%) 455,488 (16.8%) 13,471 (21.9%)

8,587 (37.4%)

2009 14,656,962 (20%) 466,638 (17.1%) 13,366 (21.6%)

6,838 (30.2%)

2010 16,386,500 (22.5%) 522,189 (19.2%) 15,142 (24.7%)

10,521 (43.1%)

2011 16,386,500 (22.5%) 521,160 (19.2%) 15,878 (25.7%)

10,730 (47.3%)

2012 16,396,863 (22.6%) 532,166 (19.7%) 13,414 (22%)

8,236 (36.5%)

2013 16,086,960 (22.2%) 516,390 (19.4%) 17,089 (28.4%)

9,649 (45.5%)

2014 15,086,960 (21.7%) 514,292 (19.4%) 13,550 (22.7%)

7,961 (35.7%)

2015 15,000,273 (20.7%) 512,793 (19.4%) 16,141 (27.2%)

8,615 (38.2%)

2016 14,115,713 (19.5%) 486,029 (18.5%) 14,252 (24.4%)

9,123 (40.6%)

2017 13,353,202 (18.4%) 444,486 (17%) 14,452 (24.9%)

9,373 (43.5%)

2018 12,997,532 (18.0%) 434,736 (16.8%) 11,961 (21.1%)

7,788 (38.9%)

2019 12,000,470 (16.8%) 434,904 (16.9%) 14,487 (26.2%)

9,245 (44.6%)

2021 12,243,219 (16.9%) 445,513 (16.9%) 15,211 (27.2%)

7,455 (35.9%)

2022 11,582,950 (16.3%) 393,542 (15.2%) 10,278 (18.9%)

6,334 (33.8%)

Poverty Rates by Age Group

Under 5 Years Old United States

Percent below Poverty Level

Pennsylvania

Below Poverty Line

Erie County

Below Poverty Line

City of Erie

Below Poverty Level

2015 4,448,211 (22.8%) 149,390 (21.2%) 5,782 (36.7%) 3,339 (46.7%)
2016 4,156,949 (21.3%) 141,094 (20.2%) 4,310 (28.3%) 3,152 (42.1%)
2017 3,932,969 (20.2%) 135,492 (19.5%) 5,072 (34.1%) 2,784 (44.1%)
2018 3,758,704 (19.5%) 121,224 (17.6%) 3,033 (20.8%) 1,851 (38.4%)
2019 3,457,689 (18.2%) 118,512 (17.4%) 4,523 (30.8%) 2,282 (44.9%)
2021 3,349,149 (18.3%) 120,064 (18.0%) 4,309 (31.3%) 2,639 (41.7%)
2022 3,141,107 (17.4%) 106,428 (16.2%) 2,647 (19.2%) 1,669 (35.1%)