The rate of poverty among Hispanics in the U.S. fell to 18.3 percent in 2017 – the lowest number since government officials started tracking the data in 1972.
The new U.S. Census data shows the year-on-year decrease of 1.1 percent in 2017 was also the largest single decline that the Hispanic population – of all races – has ever experienced.
Hispanic households saw their median household income increase 3.7 percent to $50,486 in 2017, the third year in a row that the population saw a rise in pay.
The declines in poverty were concentrated among Hispanic males, who saw their poverty rates go down 1.1 percent.
In addition, foreign-born Hispanics saw a 1.4 percentage point decline in their poverty rates, while those living in Western states had a 2.3 percentage point decrease.
The biggest concentration was among Hispanics living outside of major cities, where poverty rates among that population were down 5.7 percentage points.
The rate of poverty among all Americans declined slightly in 2017 to 12.3 percent, the third year in a row that the numbers have gone down, though Census officials said the year-on-year decline wasn’t statistically significant.
While fewer Hispanics are now considered poor, they continue to be disproportionately impoverished given how much of the overall population they represent.
Hispanics make up 18.3 percent of the U.S. population, yet account for 27.2 percent of people living in poverty in America.
By comparison, white people are 60.5 percent of the U.S. population and account for 42.8 percent of the people living in poverty.
Black Americans account for 13.2 percent of the population but 22.7 percent of all Americans living in poverty, while Asians in America make up 6 percent of the population and 4.9 percent live in poverty.
Meanwhile, poverty rates for Hispanic females, native-born Hispanics and those living outside of the Western U.S. did not change significantly in 2017 compared to 2016.
Overall, 12.3 percent of Americans were living in poverty in 2017, down from 12.7 percent in 2016 – and representing a 2.5 percentage point decrease since 2015’s rate of 13.5.
It’s the longest stretch of declines in the overall poverty rate since the four-year period from 1997-2000.
The national poverty rate was 22.4 percent in 1959, the year the measure was established.
In the 10 years that followed, poverty rates moved steadily downward – dropping 10.3 percentage points – until a recession in 1969.
Since then, the rate has fluctuated up and down between a low of 11.1 in 1972 and a high of 15.2 in 1983.
These numbers could provide a helpful economic message for President Trump, and make it tougher for Democrats, in 2020.